Listen, you are an adult now and that means you get to make your own rules. Like having dessert for breakfast…. carrot cake for breakfast!
Carrot Cake Muffins are muffins loaded with carrots and stuffed with cream cheese frosting. Perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack. Also freezer-friendly!
But since these are technically “muffins” you aren’t even breaking that rule. Sneaky, sneaky.
I didn’t like carrot cake until I was an adult. Even now, I think I like the cream cheese frosting more than I like the actual cake. I try to rationalize that it is “healthy” cake because it is packed with carrots that are good for my peepers. Right?
For some reason, I like Carrot Cake Muffins more than the actual cake. For my muffins, I wanted to make sure there was a distinct layers of carrot cake batter, cheesecake mix and walnut streusel (usually carrot cakes are topped with chopped walnuts).
Instead of swirling them together, I let them bake up in their individual forms, melding as nature intended.
My mini food processor is perfect for the carrots, I chop them coarsely and pulse the crap out of them. There is nothing worse than getting a long string of carrot in your mouth.
You can also use the finest, small setting on a box grater, but I don’t have time for that jazz!
Don’t even get me started on the streusel topping. All muffins should have a sugary crust and these have a sugary crust with walnuts.
Don’t like walnuts? Use pecans or almond! Don’t like nuts at all? Just omit them altogether!
Carrot Cake Muffins can be made ahead and are also freezer friendly. Wrap them up nice in an airtight plastic bag and they will be good for about a month. Perfect for any weekend brunch and especially Easter brunch. I even like pairing them with Orange Breakfast Muffins.
If you liked this muffin recipe, check out my others:
Classic Blueberry Muffins
Banana Nut Muffin Recipe
Applesauce Muffin Recipe
Pancake Muffin Recipe
Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Muffins:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup skim or 1% milk plus one tablespoon
- 1 1/4 cup carrot , finely minced or grated
CHEESECAKE FILLING:
- 6 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons sugar
WALNUT STREUSEL TOPPING:
- 1/3 cup walnuts , finely chopped
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with fun cupcake liners.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a mixing bowl, set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, blend melted butter, milk and egg.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to the batter. Do not over mix. Stop when it is combined, but there are still small lumps.
- Fold in finely grated carrots.
- Evenly spoon batter into cupcake liners. It will be approximately 1 heaping tablespoon.
- In another small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.
- Add egg yolk, vanilla and sugar, blending until smooth.
- Place a dollop of cream cheese batter in the center of the carrot cake batter.
- In another small bowl, mix together walnut streusel topping, walnuts, brown sugar and flour, breaking up any pieces of brown sugar.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Times may vary based on oven and how much you filled those cups (I know a few of you took some chances and filled them to the brim, didn’t you??). Muffin tops will spring back to the touch.
- Remove and allow to cool.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Yummy! I think carrot cake is way to conduct a good way to eat cream cheese frosting! The same for Italian Creme Cake. Nuts – no nut it doesn’t matter to me. I love the idea of carrot cake for breakfast. I don’t even eat breakfast and I’ll make these to take to work so I can eat just 1!
Wishes for tasty dishes, Linda
I LOVE dessert for breakfast, and how could you not feel good about it with a healthy vegetable involved!? YUM!
I love carrot cake. I especially love these muffins because I can attempt to apply self control. Thanks for the recipe
This recipe is awesome. Can’t think of anything better than having cake for breakfast!
This settles it for me, more muffins need streusel and stuffing!
Sure do like that cream cheese layer in the middle, and how moist do these “muffins” look! 🙂