Carrot cake cupcakes

A melted-butter carrot cake batter mixed in one bowl, heavy on cinnamon and grated carrot, finished with a swoosh of cream cheese frosting from card FR-003.

SourceNYT Cooking · Adapted, metricContainsWheat · Milk · Egg · Nuts if addedLast changeRev 01 · First issue

Equipment12-cup muffin tin, paper liners · Box grater · Cookie scoop · Stand or hand mixer · Offset spatula or piping bag

Yield · cupcakes12

Batter · each≈ 66 g

Carrot · % flour100%

Plan1.5 h

Oven · 350 °F175 °C

Formula

% · flour = 100

Carrots: 3 or 4 medium, grated on the fine holes of a box grater. Weigh after grating.

Add-ins are optional and outside the batter total; with them the batter is ≈ 857 g, ≈ 71 g each.

Frosting is made from card FR-003, ≈ 32 g per cupcake, and sits outside the formula.

Altitude, 4,700 ft: soda and powder −12–25%. Run as trial B before changing the sheet.

† Doesn't scale in a straight line past 2×.

	Ingredient	%	Grams
A Batter · % · flour = 100
	Unsalted butter · melted, warm	100.0	170
	Light brown sugar · packed	97.1	165
	Vanilla extract † · 2 tsp	4.7	8
	Kosher salt · Diamond Crystal, ½ tsp	0.9	1.5
	Whole eggs · 2 large	58.8	100
	All-purpose flour	100.0	170
	Ground cinnamon † · 2 tsp	2.9	5
	Baking soda † · ¾ tsp	2.1	3.5
	Baking powder † · ¾ tsp	1.8	3
	Carrots · finely grated	100.0	170
	Batter · without add-ins	468.2	796
B Add-ins · optional · % · flour = 100
	Walnuts, pecans or raisins · chopped	35.9	61
C Frosting · outside the formula
	Cream cheese frosting · FR-003	—	≈ 385

Continues on page 2: method, done when, trials, revisions →

CA-011Carrot cake cupcakesCake · Cupcake, one bowl

Rev 012026-09-262 / 2

Method

Tick each step as done

Make FR-003 while the cupcakes cool. Frost only when fully cold.

01
Prep. Rack in the middle; heat the oven. Line the 12-cup tin with paper liners.
—
175 °C 350 °F
02
Wet. In a large bowl whisk melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth and glossy.
20 s
03
Eggs. Add one at a time, whisking until no streaks of white remain before the next.
1 min
04
Dry. Whisk flour, cinnamon, soda and powder; fold in with a spatula until no flour pockets remain.
—
Don’t overmix
05
Carrots. Fold in the carrots and any add-ins just until the shreds are even through the batter.
—
06
Portion. Scoop into the liners, three-quarters full. Weigh the first cup to set the scoop.
—
≈ 66 g each
07
Bake. Until the tops dome slightly and a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
17–20 min
175 °C 350 °F
08
Cool. Completely, in the tin. Make the frosting from card FR-003 meanwhile.
Until cool
45–60 min
09
Frost. Pipe, or swoosh on with an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon.
10 min
≈ 32 g each

Done when

And how it keeps

Done when

TopDomed, set to the touch

ToothpickClean, a few crumbs

Keeps

Unfrosted2 days, airtight

Frosted3 days, 4 °C

Trials

Change one variable per trial

B tests the altitude rule for 4,700 ft.

Variable	Trial A	Trial B	Trial C
Date
Change	As written	Leavening −20%	Pecans, 61 g
Bake time
Staff rating 1–5

Revisions

Newest last

Rev	Date	Change	From
Rev 01	2026-09-26	First issue, adapted from NYT Cooking	—