These Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes are light, fluffy, eggless, & moist while having that ideal cinnamon carrot flavor. Plus, they are topped with the most luscious maple buttercream frosting for a vegan cupcake recipe that is perfect for any occasion!
Right around April, my Vegan Carrot Cake with cashew frosting and Carrot Cake Sticky Buns start to get a lot of love. I think it's partly to do with Easter, but also because carrot cake is one of the best ways to ring in Spring!
This year I really wanted to make a classic carrot cake cupcake! However, instead of a "traditional" cream cheese frosting, I decided to use the maple frosting from my Vegan Pumpkin Bourbon Cupcakes. Let me just say, this was the BEST decision I could have made. Maple+ Carrot+ Pecans together= pure bliss!
Ingredient substitution notes:
- Oat milk: Can be subbed 1:1 for any plant-based milk like soy, rice, and almond. Just make sure to use a plant-based milk without tons of additives for the best results!
- Apple cider vinegar: This helps to create a vegan buttermilk and is needed to interact with the baking soda. Can be subbed 1:1 for lemon juice.
- Olive oil: Can be subbed 1:1 for any liquid oil. I don't recommend coconut oil because it can sieze up and turn solid. For oil-free carrot cake cupcakes, just sub for applesauce!
- Vegan butter : I like using Earth Balance, Miyokos, or Flora Plant butter.
Tips to make vegan carrot cake cupcakes
Here are some of my favorite tips & tricks to make the perfect vegan carrot cupcakes every time!
Make sure to peel & finely grate carrots
For this recipe, grating the carrots finely provides extra moisture to the batter. It also makes sure that the carrots get evenly distributed throughout the batter. Just chopping the carrots won't work, so make sure to use a grater. Also, you'll want to remove and discard the exterior skins of the carrots so using a peeler is highly recommended.
Do not over-mix batter
When it comes to cupcakes, one of the problems you may face is a dense/gummy cupcake from over-mixing the batter. Over-mixing cupcake batter can allow too much gluten to form and can actually lead to big pockets of air in the cupcakes too. That's why I recommend JUST mixing until all streaks of flour are gone. A few clumps in the batter is totally okay!
Fill cupcake liners only until ⅔ full
Another really important tip is to make sure to only fill the cupcake liners until they are ⅔ full. Unlike muffin recipes, we want a flat cupcake top that is not domed. Filling each liner with less batter leads to that flat top that makes cupcakes easier to frost. I love using a large cookie scoop to fill each cupcake liner so they are perfectly even.
P.S- I pretty much exclusively use If You Care unbleached cupcake liners since they're also compostable- so I highly recommend them!
Bake without peaking!
Once the batter is ready, pop these vegan carrot cupcakes into the oven and bake them right around 20 minutes. Depending on the temperature of your oven, anywhere from 18-22 minutes is an ideal range. However, don't open the oven door before that 18-minute mark! Doing this can cause the cupcakes to cool down too much before they are cooked and they may actually collapse in the center.
How to make vegan maple buttercream
The best part of this recipe? Mile high frosting, of course! Maple buttercream frosting is not only SO easy to make, but it's incredibly delicious and requires just three simple ingredients.
The first step is to cream the butter and maple syrup together until it's super fluffy. Then, gradually add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and beat together.
Once all the powdered sugar has been added, continue beating the frosting another 5 minutes. You'll notice the frosting will get SUPER airy & lighter in color during these extra 5 minutes, so don't skip it!
FAQ & Expert Tips:
Yes! While I don't peel carrots in some of my savory recipes like my Carrot Cauliflower soup, I always peel them for baked goods! The skin can have a bitter texture after baking so you always want to remove it.
Probably, but I do not know the exact pan that would be a fit. If you do try making this as a cake, the cake pan should be ⅔ full of batter before baking for the best results. Better yet, if you want a cake recipe, try my Vegan Carrot Cake instead!
If the carrot pecan cupcakes are unfrosted they can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge 5-7 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. If frosted, they must be stored in the fridge or freezer or the frosting will melt. I HIGHLY recommend storing cupcakes in the freezer over the fridge as the fridge tends to dry out the cake.
I truly hope you love these delicious Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Maple Frosting & Pecan crumbles! They are perfect for Easter, Mother's Day, or any spring gathering. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan cupcake recipes you will love:
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Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- ½ cup oat milk
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup grated carrots
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil or any liquid oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon crushed pecans
Maple Frosting:
- ½ cup cold vegan butter
- 1.5 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¾-1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Additional crushed pecans & cinnamon to top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with 7 cupcake liners. Finely grate the carrots and set aside.
- Add the oat milk and apple cider vinegar to a small bowl and let sit for 1-2 minutes until milk starts to curdle. This forms the vegan buttermilk. Then, add in the grated carrots, white sugar, brown sugar, olive oil, and vanilla. Whisk together.
- Next, add in the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first and pile the other dry ingredients on top so they get mixed in evenly. Mix everything together until all the streaks of flour are gone and you have a thick batter. I highly recommend using a whisk when mixing cupcake batter to avoid over-mixing.Then, gently fold the crushed pecans into the batter.
- Fill the cupcake liners with the carrot cake batter until they are about ⅔ full. Then, add to the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes (for my oven, 20 minutes is the perfect time).
- Remove the cooked cupcakes from the oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Don't let them sit in the hot muffin tin when cooling or they could overcook/become soggy on the bottom.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the maple frosting.
- Add the vegan butter and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl and use an electric/standing mixer to beat together until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Then, gradually add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until the frosting has reached your desired sweetness. Continue beating the frosting another 3-5 minutes until it is super fluffy and becomes light in color.
- Add the maple frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. Top with additional crushed pecans, a dash of cinnamon, and serve!
Notes
- Oat milk: Can be subbed 1:1 for any plant-based milk like soy, rice, and almond. Just make sure to use plant-based milk without tons of additives for the best results!
- Apple cider vinegar: This helps to create vegan buttermilk and is needed to interact with the baking soda. Can be subbed 1:1 for lemon juice.
- Olive oil: Can be subbed 1:1 for any liquid oil. I don't recommend coconut oil because it can sieze up and turn solid. For oil-free carrot cake cupcakes, just sub for applesauce!
- Vegan butter: I like using Earth Balance, Miyokos, or Flora Plant butter.
- If the cupcakes are unfrosted they can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, the fridge 5-7 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month.
- If frosted, they must be stored in the fridge or freezer or the frosting will melt. I HIGHLY recommend storing cupcakes in the freezer over the fridge as storing in the fridge can dry out the cake.
Abby says
Hello those look amaing! I'm going to make them. Is there anyway you could tell me how to subsitute the vegan butter for spectrum shortening? Vegan butter is just so expensive.
Megan says
Technically it could be a 1:1 substitute, but vegan butter has a lot more flavor than shortening so I don't think it will taste as good unfortunately.
Nancy says
This recipe is wonderful!
Megan says
Thank you!
Edith says
hi!! i used this recipe to make a cake and it was one of the best cakes i’ve ever made!!! and i could share it with my vegan mom 😀
i doubled the recipe and put it in an 8x8 baking dish, and it was perfect. since then i’ve made it AGAIN and quadrupled it. was still delicious, and it fit the dish much better, but was much more dense as it had to cook longer! next time i’ll try it in layers and i’m pretty sure it will be best of both worlds: more cake while still being light and fluffy :]
Megan says
Amazing thank you SO much for the review and love hearing how it can be baked in a cake pan when doubled!
patricia says
Can these be made with gluten-free flour? If so what kind do you recommend?
Megan says
A gluten-free all-purpose mix should work but I've personally never tried it- I recommend trying the one from Bob's Red Mill. Other flour alternatives won't work.
Savannah says
Amazing! So very tasty and I loved the frosting!
Only downside was it made 6 instead of 8 regular sized.
Amazing still!
Megan says
So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Martha says
This recipe is amazing!
I’m not a fan of very many vegan recipes but this one was deliciously moist and very flavorful.
So glad you shared it.
Megan says
Thank you so much glad you liked them!
Jasmine says
Love that it is an one-bowl recipe! Quick and easy to whip up in a jiffy! I omitted the pecans due to nut allergies, but the cupcakes still tasted phenomenal! The maple frosting compliments the cupcakes perfectly since the cupcakes themselves are not overly sweet. Delicious! 😋💖🥕🍁
Avery says
These cupcakes are so light and fluffy, lots of cinnamon but not too much! The maple didn't want to incorporate into the butter at first, but it did and turned out delicious!
I would love to try adding pineapple, do you have any advice on how to balance out the liquid?
Megan says
So glad you liked them! The maple buttercream starts off kind of chunky, but gets super smooth and fluffy as you keep whipping it so I'm so happy it worked out :). Unfortunately, I do think adding Pineapple would be too much liquid for this recipe and may make the batter too dense if you do BOTH pineapple and carrot. You could try swapping out 1/2 of the carrot for pineapple and see how that goes. I'll have to experiment with this a bit before I could give tons of advice on that addition!