Just when you thought carrot cake couldn’t get any better–along comes caramel carrot cake cupcakes! These ultra moist carrot cupcakes are swirled with salted vanilla caramel sauce, and topped with cream cheese frosting and more caramel.
These aren’t just any any ordinary carrot cupcakes–they’re caramel carrot cake cupcakes. The batter swirled with caramel sauce, making them a wonderfully decadent yet veggie-forward dessert. Caramel adds depth and sweetness to the cake, which pairs perfectly with the warm cinnamon spice flavors. To create contrast, I frosted these with a tangy cream cheese frosting. They’re some of the best carrot cake cupcakes that I’ve tried!
Why You’ll Love These Carrot Cupcakes
- There is caramel sauce in the batter: you can either use homemade or store bought caramel sauce. The recipe for my homemade salted vanilla caramel sauce is included in here–it’s super easy and so good! Regardless of what caramel you choose, we will be swirling it into the carrot cake batter, adding richness into every single bite.
- They are so moist and fluffy: the first time I tested this recipe for these caramel carrot cake cupcakes they actually turned out too moist (lol) so I had to dial it back. The end result is a perfectly soft and moist cake that almost just melts in your mouth. The trick is using applesauce, which has a high water content, to keep the carrot cake ultra moist.
- They’re cozy and decadent: one of my favorite things about carrot cake is how warm and caramel-y the flavors are. By using brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, we get this subtle rich and cozy flavor that carrot cake is known for. The additional of caramel sauce helps bring this out even more!
- A perfect spring dessert that can carry into fall: when I think carrot cake, I think spring. I mean, it’s the Easter dessert right? 😉 This is a perfect spring dessert, but the caramel also gives it some fall vibes.
Ingredients
Unlike this fully loaded carrot cake, which is stuffed with nuts and coconut and pineapple (and delicious), the ingredients in this carrot cake are relatively simple:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda and baking powder
- Ground cinnamon and nutmeg
- Brown sugar and granulated cane sugar
- A neutral oil, such as vegetable oil or avocado oil
- Large eggs, at room temperature: soak cold eggs in a bowl of very warm water for 10 minutes to bring them to room temperature.
- Vanilla extract
- Unsweetened applesauce: this ingredient is key to adding moisture and softness to the carrot cake without making it too oil
- Grated carrots: see next section for the best way to grate the carrots
- Chopped pecans
The cream cheese frosting used here is a classic. For it, you will need:
- One 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened: make sure to use cream cheese from a block, not a tub.
- Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
How to Make The Cupcakes
The first thing you’ll want to do is make your caramel sauce. I’ll have an entire section on that in a bit if you’d like to do this! I used to be scared of making caramel sauce but promise it’s super easy. However, you are more than welcome to use a store-bought caramel sauce to save yourself some time. Ghirardelli is a good one that’s easy to find. I also love this sea salt caramel sauce from Stonewall Kitchen.
Now on to the cake!
Grating the Carrots
To grate the carrots, peel them first using a vegetable peeler. Then, use either a box grater or a food processor. Do not use store-bought shredded carrots (a tempting shortcut that would result in a chunky and crunchy cake). If you are using a food processor, cut the carrots into pieces first, and then briefly pulse them a few times so that they get chopped up but not puréed.
The Cupcakes
To make the cake batter, you are going to need two mixing bowls and a whisk. Go ahead and preheat your oven as well and line one to two cupcake pans with liners.
Before you start, as a reminder, make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature. It’s so important! The main things I’m thinking of here are the eggs and potentially the applesauce. Cold ingredients and cake batter are not best friends–it’ll inhibit rise and impact the texture of your cake.
Start by whisking the dry ingredients (except sugars) together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Make sure that they are well blended so that the spices and rising agents get evenly distributed throughout the batter. Then, in a separate, larger bowl, whisk your wet ingredients together + sugar together, add the applesauce, and then fold in the dry ingredients, carrots, and chopped pecans. Be careful to not over-mix, as it can result in a tough and gummy carrot cake.
Make carrot cake batter 
Swirl in caramel sauce
After all of that, take ¼ cup of caramel sauce and swirl it in. It’s okay if it’s not fully combined as long as you don’t have giant puddles of caramel. Add around 3 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake tin and then bake!
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese frosting may very well be one of the easiest things to make! Start by beating cream cheese and butter together until they are blended, then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. That’s it! Something I like to do is start the mixer on lower speed when I’m first beating in the sugar, and then gradually increase it. This prevents sugar from flying everywhere in my kitchen, and with clean up being my least favorite thing, it sure is easier when there isn’t sugar dust everywhere to wipe up!
Divide batter into liners and bake 
Frost and decorate!
Make sure your cupcakes are fully cooled before decorating them. I used Wilton’s #12 round tip to pipe my frosting on. Drizzle some more caramel on top and sprinkle with more chopped pecans if desired!
How to Make Homemade Caramel Sauce
Homemade caramel sauce is one of my new favorite things to make! This salted vanilla caramel is actually super easy to make and goes so well with these cupcakes. Just make to keep a close eye on it the whole time to prevent burning.
For it, you will need six ingredients:
- Granulated sugar
- Water
- Unsalted butter
- Heavy whipping cream: make sure this is at room temperature
- Sea salt
- Vanilla extract
To make the caramel:
- Heat sugar and water in a nonstick skillet over slightly higher than medium heat.
- Begin melting the sugar. Every once in a while, lift the pan and give it a few shakes forward and back every to prevent burning. The sugar will clump up at first as the water evaporates, and then melt completely. As it melts, it’ll turn a deep amber color. Begin stirring the sugar once it’s close to fully melted.
- Then, reduce the heat and add in 4 tbsp of butter. It’ll immediately begin to sizzle and melt. It helps if the butter is cut into cubes ahead of time so that it melts evenly. At this point, stir continuously and aggressively, until the butter is fully melted and combined.
- Pour in the heavy whipping cream. Make sure the heavy whipping cream is at room temperature, as cold cream may cause the sugar to clump up. Continue stirring until the cream is combined.
- Continue cooking the caramel for another 1-2 minutes on low heat, or until it starts to thicken. Once you see it start to thicken, immediately remove it from heat and pour it into a separate, heat-proof bowl to cool. Whisk in the vanilla and salt.
Recipe Q&A
How do I store leftovers? Given these have fresh vegetables and cream cheese, store cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, they’re best enjoyed within 2-3 days as prolonged time in the fridge may start to dry them out.
Do you have any add-in ideas? Yes! There are so many great things you can mix into the batter to make it even better. My personal favorites include shredded coconut flakes, walnuts, or some ground ginger. You could also add some raisins or sultanas.
Can I substitute out the applesauce? Unfortunately, I’m going to put my foot down on this one. Applesauce is what makes these cakes so moist without making them oily. If you really don’t want to use or have applesauce, then I would recommend mashed banana its place. Just note it’ll add a slight banana flavor to the cake.
Have other questions? Feel free to ask in the comments!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a rating and/or comment to spread the love and help others find this recipe.
Also feel free take a picture and share it with me on Instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your delicious caramel carrot cake cupcakes!
If you’re not ready to bake yet, no problem! Simply hover over any image in this post (pick your favorite), or tap if you’re on mobile, and click the pin icon in the corner to save for later.
More carrot cake recipes:
Spiced mini carrot bundt cakes with cream cheese glaze
Inside-out carrot cake sandwich cookies
Caramel Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Caramel Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Equipment
- box grater
- nonstick skillet
- Cupcake Pan
- two mixing bowls
Ingredients
Homemade Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into slices
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Carrot Cupcakes
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup granulated cane sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated carrots
- ½ cup chopped pecans, optional
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese (from a block), softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Caramel Sauce
- Make the caramel sauce first so that it has time to cool down.
- Place the sugar and one tablespoon of water in an even layer in a nonstick skillet over slightly higher than medium heat. Heat the sugar until it is fully melted and dark amber in color. The sugar will clump up at first before melting completely. While you are melting the sugar, lift up the pan and give it a few shakes every once in a while to prevent burning. Once the sugar is almost fully melted, start stirring the mixture frequently.
- After the sugar is fully melted and deep amber in color, turn down the heat to medium-low and add in all of the butter. It will immediately begin to bubble. Stir frequently using either a whisk or rubber spatula until the butter is fully melted.
- Pour in the heavy whipping cream while continuing to stir. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring for another 1-2 minutes, or until caramel starts to thicken. Then, pour the caramel into a heatproof bowl and stir in the vanilla and salt. Let it cool down before using.
Carrot Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan or two with liners. This recipe yields 15-16 standard cupcakes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until fully combined.
- In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the two sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Then whisk in the applesauce until combined.
- Gently whisk the flour mixture in until it is just combined–do not overmix. Then, fold in the carrots and pecans (if using) with a rubber spatula. Lastly, swirl in ¼ cup of the caramel sauce that you made.
- Add around 3 tbsp of batter into each cupcake tin. Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until the cakes are set. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until fluffy and combined–around 1 minute.
- Then, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue beating on medium to medium-high speed until the frosting is creamy. Pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times to ensure evenness.
- Once the cupcakes have fully cooled, use a knife or piping bag (I used a round tip) to frost the tops. Drizzle with more caramel sauce. If your sauce has thickened too much, microwave it for a few seconds to make it easier to drizzle. Garnish with chopped pecans if desired. Enjoy!
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