• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Simple, Sweet Life

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • About Me
    • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×
    Home » All Breakfasts

    Published: Mar 22, 2023 by Claire

    Carrot Cake Muffins

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe· 5 from 1 review

    These easy carrot cake muffins feature two of my favorite muffin things: Streusel and a (cream cheese) drizzled glaze. Moist, tender and full of flavor, these muffins are sure to be your new favorite breakfast treat.

    Overhead view of carrot cake muffins in a vintage slate colored muffin pan. Carrots, plates, silverware and other muffins are around it.

    Who says you can't have carrot cake for breakfast?

    Could never be me.

    And if you're a cake for breakfast kind of gal (or guy), you're gonna want to slow your scroll for these carrot cake muffins.

    These tender muffins are jam-packed with carrots and earthy spices, topped with a crunchy, crumbly streusel and drizzled with a tangy cream cheese glaze. And they're an easy bake making them perfect for a busy weekday or lazy weekend.

    In this post you'll find: hide
    1 How to make these carrot cake muffins
    2 Modifications and substitutions
    3 Expert tips
    4 Recipe
    5 Carrot Cake Muffin Recipe

    How to make these carrot cake muffins

    Overhead view of struesel in a white bowl with a pastry cutter to the side.

    First, make the streusel.

    In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the streusel. A bowl that's low and with a gentle slope to the sides is easiest for this step.

    Use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and all of the sugar has been incorporated into the butter.

    Pastry cutter substitute:
    If you don't have a pastry cutter on hand, you can cut the butter together using a fork or by rubbing it together using your finger tips.

    Overhead view of orange carrot cake batter in a white bowl with a white spatula.

    Second, make the carrot cake muffins.

    In a bowl, whip the eggs and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).

    Recipe Note:
    It’s important to give the egg/sugar mixture the benefit of the full 2-3 minute whipping as this will give it a beautifully fluffy texture and is part of the process that will help your cake to rise.

    Add the vegetable oil and whip until just combined.

    Fold in everything but the carrots until lump-free. Add the carrots and fold to combined.

    How do I make my muffins light and fluffy?
    Start with room temperature ingredients. This is important because room temperature ingredients mix together more easily, creating a batter with evenly distributed ingredients that traps air and expands during baking. This results in a fluffier muffin with a nice, tall dome.

    Side view of baked carrot cake muffins topped with streusel on a gold cooling rack.

    Generously grease two muffin pans. Making sure the pan is well-greased will be important for removing the muffins later since we're not using liners.

    Spoon 6 tablespoons of batter into every other cavity and top with streusel.

    Bake at 400F for 16-18 minutes.

    Allow the muffins to cool completely before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

    Overhead view of cream cheese glaze in a white bowl with a white spatula sticking out of it.

    Finally, make the cream cheese glaze.

    Beat the cream cheese until smooth.

    Add the remaining ingredients (powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract) and continue beating until the glaze is smooth. It should resemble a thin frosting.

    Spoon into a piping bag (it's not really thin enough to drizzle from a spoon), clip the tip and drizzle over the cooled muffins.

    Cream cheese topped carrot cake muffins on a small silver cooling rack. Carrots, eggs, a white bowl and blue and white plates are in the background.

    Modifications and substitutions

    • Cream cheese glaze: Cream cheese not your jam? You can leave it off (honestly, these muffins are delicious by themselves) or try the brown butter icing from my pumpkin oatmeal cookies.
    • Pineapple: Want extra moist carrot cake muffins with a little more sweetness? Pineapple can make a great addition! Fold ½ - ¾ cup of crushed pineapple (drained) into your muffins when you add the carrots and continue as directed. Or try my pineapple carrot cake as cupcakes!

    Expert tips

    • Bringing cold eggs to room temperature quickly: If you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly for this recipe, fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.
    • Greasing your muffin pan: These muffins have a tendency to stick to their pan, so a well greased pan is a must in order to remove them without tearing. I’ve found a homemade pan release or a liberally amount of a cooking spray like Pam, works best.
    • Testing for doneness: Although tempting to wait until the toothpick comes out clean, doing so will likely lead to over-baking your muffins. Instead, you want your toothpick to come out without any raw batter and with some cooked crumbs still clinging to it.
    • Storage: These muffins can be kept at room temperature (without the cream cheese glaze) in an air tight container or individually wrapped for 2-3 days. If they've already been glazed, these muffins should be stored in the refrigerator.
    Print

    Recipe

    Carrot Cake Muffin Recipe

    Cream cheese topped carrot cake muffins on a small silver cooling rack. Carrots, eggs, a white bowl and blue and white plates are in the background.
    Print Recipe

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 1 review

    Moist carrot cake muffins topped with a sweet streusel and a cream cheese glaze drizzle.

    • Author: Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life
    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 18 minutes
    • Total Time: 33 minutes
    • Yield: 9-10 1x
    • Category: Breakfast
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    Units Scale

    Streusel topping:

    • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
    • 2 tbsp all purpose flour
    • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
    • 2 tbsp butter, cold

    Carrot cake muffins:

    • 2 eggs, at room temperature
    • ½ cup light brown sugar
    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
    • ⅛ tsp ground ginger
    • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 2 cups carrot, freshly shredded

    Cream cheese glaze:

    • 2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
    • ¼ cup powdered sugar
    • 2 tbsp milk (any kind)
    • ½ tsp vanilla extract

    Instructions

    Streusel:

    1. Combine the ingredients for the streusel in a small bowl. 
    2. Use a pastry cutter or the side of a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
    3. The streusel is ready when all of the dry ingredients are incorporated into the butter and the mixture is chunky.

    Carrot cake muffins:

    1. In a bowl, whip the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
    2. Add the vegetable oil and whip on low until combined.
    3. Fold in everything but the carrots until the batter is thick and lump-free.
    4. Add the shredded carrots and fold until evenly distributed.
    5. Generously grease two muffin pans.
    6. Spoon 6 tablespoons of batter into every other cavity.
    7. Top with the streusel.
    8. Bake at 400F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just cooked crumbs.
    9. Remove the muffins from the oven, gently run a knife around the edge of each, and allow to cool completely before turning them out on a cooling rack.

    Cream cheese glaze:

    1. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
    2. Add the remaining ingredients and continue beating until lump free. It should resemble a thin frosting.
    3. Spoon the glaze into a piping bag, clip a small opening in the end and drizzle over the cooled muffins.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 muffin
    • Calories: 334
    • Sugar: 22g
    • Sodium: 126mg
    • Fat: 16.4g
    • Saturated Fat: 5.2g
    • Carbohydrates: 43.2g
    • Fiber: 1.4g
    • Protein: 4.5g
    • Cholesterol: 45mg

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @thesimplesweetlifeblog on Instagram and hashtag it #thesimplesweetlife

    If you liked this recipe, you might also like...

    • Carrot snack cake
    • Bakery style strawberry muffins
    • Pineapple carrot cake
    • Raspberry lemon muffins

    More Breakfasts

    • Slices of cinnamon roll brain covered in red dyed caramel sauce sliced and plated.
      Cinnamon Roll Brains
    • Risgrøt in a white bowl on a small round cutting board with a white napkin under it. A bowl of strawberries, another bowl of porridge, a glass of milk and a white casserole dish are in the background.
      Risgrøt (Norwegian Rice Porridge)
    • Hand pulling a skillingsboller out of a silver loaf pan with plates, a glass of milk and other skillingsboller around it.
      Skillingsboller (Norwegian Cinnamon Rolls)
    • Three blueberry doughnuts stacked with another doughnut leaning against them in front of a glass of milk.
      Baked Blueberry Doughnuts

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    1. Sue says

      March 22, 2023 at 2:40 pm

      These look and sound delicious !! I've got to try these soon. Thank you.






      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    woman with long brown hair, half up in a bun, sitting in front of an open refrigerator eating a cookie with a white and orange cat.

    I'm Claire, the baker, blogger, and general sprinkle enthusiast behind The Simple, Sweet Life. Whether you like simple sweets, comfort (baked) foods, or works of sugar art, you're sure to find something here to sweeten your day!

    More about me →

    Popular

    • How to Make Meringue: Everything You Need to Know
    • 10 Things I Wish I Knew About Cookie Decorating
    • overhead view of fluffernutter brownies on a cooling rack
      8 Ways to Upgrade Your Boxed Brownie Mix
    • cacti cookies on a plate with other cookies around it
      How to Make Royal Icing: The Ultimate Guide

    Spooky Treats

    • Slices of cinnamon roll brain covered in red dyed caramel sauce sliced and plated.
      Cinnamon Roll Brains
    • Eyeball decorated Halloween cookies on a black plate with other cookies, a vase of black flowers and a bubbling cauldron in the background.
      Easy Eyeball Cookies
    • black cat cupcakes arranged against a white backdrop next to a bowl of sprinkles, a pairing knife with a light wood handle and a bowl of cut up Oreo cookies.
      Black Cat Cupcakes
    • Overhead view of multiple frankenstein rice krispie treats on a white background.
      Frankenstein Halloween Rice Krispie Treats

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Quick Links

    About
    Privacy Policy
    Contact

    Recipes

    Scandinavian baking
    Cakes
    Cookies
    Pies and tarts
    Brownies and bars
    Breakfasts

    Follow

    Instagram
    Pinterest
    TikTok

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Purchases from these links helps support this blog so I can keep creating the free recipes you know and love. All affiliate links are clearly marked.

    Copyright © 2023 The Simple, Sweet Life