Serves
12
cupcakes

Intro

All the comfort of a proper carrot cake, but handheld and done in an afternoon — soft, warmly spiced sponge with grated carrot melting into the crumb, under a swirl of tangycream cheese frosting. The batter is oil-based, so there’s no creaming and no mixer — just two bowls and a whisk — and it keeps a moist crumb for days. Grate the carrot on the coarse side of the box grater; fine shreds turn to mush and you lose those little flecks of colour.

At a glance

  • Makes: 12 cupcakes(base for the scaler)
  • Prep: 25 min ·Bake: 20–22 min ·Decorate: 15 min
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Pillar: The Bake → Quick Bakes / The Community
  • Themes (dietary): contains gluten, dairy, egg · nut-freewithout the optional walnuts

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 175g light brown soft sugar
  • 150ml flavourless oil
  • 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
  • 175g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • ¼ tsp fine salt
  • 200g coarsely grated carrot(2–3 medium carrots)
  • optional: 50g sultanas, or 50g chopped walnuts(walnuts make it no longer nut-free)

Cream cheese frosting

  • 100g unsalted butter, soft
  • 200g full-fat cream cheese, cold
  • 400g icing sugar, sifted

Method

  1. Heat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / gas 3 / 325°F. Line a 12-hole tin.
  2. Whisk the sugar, oil and eggs together in a large bowl until smooth and glossy.
  3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt in a second bowl, then fold into the wet mix untilalmost combined.
  4. Fold through the grated carrot (and sultanas or walnuts, if using) — the batter will be thick and flecked orange.
  5. Divide between the cases (about two-thirds full) and bake 20–22 minutes, until springy and a skewer comes out clean. Cool fully.
  6. Frosting: beat the butter smooth, add the cold cream cheese, then the icing sugar; beat just until pipeable — overbeating makes it loose.
  7. Pipe or swirl onto the cooled cupcakes. A dusting of cinnamon is lovely, or add little sugar toppers for a playful finish — the rainbow-and-cloud ones in the photo are a hit with children.

Allergens & swaps

  • Contains: wheat/gluten, milk, egg (and tree nutsif you add walnuts).
  • Nut-free as written without the walnuts — sultanas give the same little pockets of sweetness.
  • If your frosting turns runny, it’s nearly always warm cream cheese or overbeating — there’s afull fix-it guide for exactly this.

Baker’s notes

Cold cream cheese and minimal beating keep the frosting pipeable — the same rule as myred velvet cupcakes. These cupcakes actually improve overnight as the spice settles in; store them somewhere cool and frost on the day if you can. If you’re after another easy tin-liner bake to try next, mybanana bread is a good one.