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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

March 22, 2009 by Joy the Baker 102 Comments

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

This morning I stood under a blossoming orange tree that hummed with honey bees.  I found my way under this tree after a walk through my neighborhood on one of those mornings that couldn’t decide if it wanted to laugh or cry.

The sidewalk showed evidence of midnight rain.  The smell of rain on asphalt… ooh so perfectly dreamy.  The sky, bright blue with clusters of pure white and angry grey clouds.

The air was just cold enough to chill me through my sweater and carried the scent of orange blossoms nearly a block.  That’s the scene that lead me, arms hugging my chest, to the bee humming orange tree, live with blossoms and heavy with fruit.

The scene screamed of Spring.

Standing there under that tree, it felt like life was just bursting out into the world.  What a pure expression of life and beauty that tree was this morning.

Happy Spring.

Have some life… enjoy it!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Carrot Cake Cupcakes are a spring classic.  Right?  I paired mine with Dulce de Leche Buttercream, but feel free to groove on with a classic Cream Cheese Frosting.  These beauties are unadulterated carrot yum, the kind of treat you might find at a church bake sale…. like, the best church bake sale ever!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewart

Print this Recipe!

makes about 28 cupcakes

  • 4 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use (or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
    1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together carrots, eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla seeds, and coconut, pineapple and nuts if desired. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well combined.
    2. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until testers inserted into centers come out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks, 10 minutes. Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks, and let cool completely. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen for up to 2 months in airtight containers.
    3. Frost cupcakes with dulce de leche or cream cheese frosting. Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature, and sprinkle with toasted coconut (press gently to adhere) before serving.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting

from The Pastry Queen
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup prepared dulce de leche
Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer.  Add cream and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the prepared dulce de leche and beat to incorporate.  Frost cooled cupcakes using a knife or a pastry bag and tip.  Top with toasted coconut.
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Filed Under: Buttermilk, Cupcakes, Fruit, Holiday, Nuts, Recipes, Vanilla

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Reader Interactions

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I Made This
Questions
  1. Holly Grayhart

    August 20, 2016 at 8:35 pm

    Hi, I was just wondering what size tin to use for the double layer cake?
    Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      October 25, 2016 at 10:54 am

      8″ or 9″ pan

      Reply
  2. Veronica

    November 15, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    I’m allergic to nuts; is there any way I could leave them out or use some more coconut as a substitute?

    Reply
  3. Lauren

    December 8, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    Instead of coconut I lightly sprinkled them with sea salt. It was amazeballs….!
    I’m bring them into to work for a holiday party. I will be super popular.
    Thanks Joy

    Reply
« Older Comments

Trackbacks

  1. CARROT CAKE CUPCAKE WITH DULCE DE LECHE BUTTERCREAM | The art of cupcake says:
    August 21, 2014 at 5:10 am

    […] Carrot cake is usually topped with smooth, slightly buttery cream cheese frosting. Not these. These carrot cake cupcakes with their baked in vanilla, pineapple, walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, are finished off with a layer of dulce de leche buttercream. The frosting, which contains butter, heavy cream, vanilla, powdered sugar, salt and dulce de leche, adds another dimension to the already complex flavors within the cake. Of course, if you want to go the traditional route, reach for the cream cheese! Source Joy The Baker […]

    Reply
  2. CARROT CAKE CUPCAKE WITH DULCE DE LECHE BUTTERCREAM — Cupcake Pictures says:
    November 17, 2013 at 10:10 pm

    […] Carrot cake is usually topped with smooth, slightly buttery cream cheese frosting. Not these. These carrot cake cupcakes with their baked in vanilla, pineapple, walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, are finished off with a layer of dulce de leche buttercream. The frosting, which contains butter, heavy cream, vanilla, powdered sugar, salt and dulce de leche, adds another dimension to the already complex flavors within the cake. Of course, if you want to go the traditional route, reach for the cream cheese! Source Joy The Baker […]

    Reply
  3. CARROT CAKE CUPCAKE WITH DULCE DE LECHE BUTTERCREAM « The Cupcake Blog says:
    November 17, 2013 at 10:28 am

    […] Carrot cake is usually topped with smooth, slightly buttery cream cheese frosting. Not these. These carrot cake cupcakes with their baked in vanilla, pineapple, walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, are finished off with a layer of dulce de leche buttercream. The frosting, which contains butter, heavy cream, vanilla, powdered sugar, salt and dulce de leche, adds another dimension to the already complex flavors within the cake. Of course, if you want to go the traditional route, reach for the cream cheese! Source Joy The Baker […]

    Reply
  4. TodaysMama.com - Recipe For Dulce de Leche Blondies says:
    May 5, 2013 at 9:23 am

    […] de Leche Cheesecake Squares from Technicolor Kitchen Pear Dulce de Leche Pie from Beyond The Plate Carrot Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream from Joy The Baker Alfajores from Roxana’s Home […]

    Reply
  5. Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting and Easter | NerdyBaker says:
    April 12, 2012 at 6:14 am

    […] my adaptation of Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting from Joanne Choi at Week of Menus.  Then I made Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream from Joy the Baker.  O man, that was an adventure.  I tried to make my own Dulce de Leche and it […]

    Reply
  6. carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting « Thrilling Miracles! says:
    February 26, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    […] when it comes to cream cheese frosting. Deb adds a maple twist to hers, and Joy the Baker uses a dulce de leche buttercream on her carrot cupcakes. Both sound delicious, but I turned to good ol’ Martha for a basic […]

    Reply
  7. MOXEE says:
    January 6, 2012 at 8:03 am

    […] this isn’t technically a cake, I think I’ll try these carrot cake cupcakes … because Joy The Baker rocks, doesn’t she!? I get very excited each time I try a new […]

    Reply

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