Carrot cake muffins are a delicious baked treat that gives you the best of both worlds - the classic taste of carrot cake in a convenient muffin form!
Perfect for lunchboxes, after-school snacks, Afternoon tea, and picnics, just like my chocolate courgette (zucchini) muffins!
Fluffy and moist, these easy carrot cake muffins are super simple to make and quick to bake!
The citrusy lime drizzle is a match made in heaven against the sweet cinnamon-spiced carrot cake underneath. One will not be enough!
👩🍳 Love fruit muffins? Try my easy apple muffins with a cinnamon sugar topping!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best carrot cake muffin recipe!
- Quick and easy to make.
- Soft and fluffy texture.
- They can be frozen, which means you can make a large batch and freeze some for later use.
- Perfect for lunchboxes or taking on picnics as they're really easy to transport.
🛒 Ingredient notes
Plain Flour - white plain flour is best, but for a healthier muffin use wholemeal.
Bicarbonate of Soda - the raising agent which makes the muffins rise.
Caster Sugar - or swap for granulated sugar.
Cinnamon - ground cinnamon gives the muffins a lovely spicy warmth. You could also use nutmeg or mixed spice.
Natural Yogurt - plain natural yogurt or use creme fraiche.
Eggs - must be at room temperature.
Butter - unsalted butter is best for muffins.
Carrots - finely grated with a box grater.
Lime - use the zest for the cake batter and the lime juice for the drizzle icing.
Icing Sugar - for the drizzle icing.
🔪 How to make moist carrot cake muffins
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
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One: Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir in the caster sugar.
Two: Whisk together the cooled melted butter, yogurt, and eggs in a jug, then gently fold them into the dry ingredients.
Three: Mix in the grated carrot, cinnamon, and lime zest.
Four: Spoon into 12 muffin cases and bake in a preheated oven for 18 minutes.
Five: Whisk together the icing sugar and lime juice to make a runny drizzle icing.
Six: Drizzle onto the warm muffins and allow to cool before eating.
💭 Expert tips
- Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before beginning the recipe. They mix into the batter much better when they aren't cold, and help the muffins to rise.
- Try not to overmix the muffin batter. Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon. This will result in a light and fluffy muffin, rather than a tough and chewy one!
- Don't use pre-shredded carrots in this recipe as they will be too dry and hard. Grate the carrots yourself using a box grater on the finest grating side.
📖 Variations
- Add 100g of raisins for carrot and raisin muffins.
- Mix in 50g of chopped walnuts or pecan nuts for crunch and texture.
- Make healthy carrot cake muffins and use wholewheat flour instead of white flour (you can also skip the lime sugar drizzle).
- Add chopped fresh pineapple for pineapple carrot muffins.
- Swap the lime drizzle for a cream cheese frosting.
🥡 Storage
Store: The muffins will keep in an airtight container or cake tin for up to 3 days.
Freeze: The muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Use a fine box grater or the grating attachment on your food processor.
It's best not to use pre-grated carrots as they lack moisture and can be hard.
Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature before using them, particularly the eggs. Then make sure your raising agent is evenly distributed through the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients to it.
Tough muffins result from over-mixing the muffin batter. Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately first before mixing them together. Be gentle and it doesn't matter if the batter is a bit lumpy. Gently fold in additional ingredients like fruit, chocolate chips, and nuts.
😋 More muffin recipes
- Lemon Drizzle Muffins
- Gingerbread Muffins
- Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins
- Blackberry and Lemon Muffins
- Blueberry and White Chocolate Muffins
- Blackcurrant Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
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Recipe
Easy Carrot Cake Muffins
Would you like to save this?
We'll email you this post for easy access later! You'll also join the Effortless Foodie mailing list and receive my popular 'No Bake Bars and Slices' eBook for free!
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Equipment
- Whisk
- 12 Hole Muffin Tin
Ingredients
- 140 g Caster Sugar
- 200 g Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- 100 ml Natural Yogurt
- 140 g Butter melted in the microwave and cooled
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 200 g Grated Carrot
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 Lime zest
Drizzle Icing
- 100 g Icing Sugar
- 1½ Limes juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (170 fan / Gas 4) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases.
- Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir in the caster sugar.140 g Caster Sugar, 200 g Plain Flour, 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- Whisk together the cooled melted butter, yogurt and eggs in a jug, then gently fold them into the dry ingredients.100 ml Natural Yogurt, 140 g Butter, 2 Eggs
- Mix in the grated carrot, cinnamon, and lime zest.200 g Grated Carrot, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1 Lime
- Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cases and bake in a preheated oven for 18 minutes until golden.
- Whisk together the icing sugar and lime juice to make a runny drizzle icing and drizzle over the top of the warm muffins. Allow to cool before eating.100 g Icing Sugar, 1½ Limes
Notes
- Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before beginning the recipe. They mix into the batter much better when they aren't fridge cold, and help the muffins to rise.
- Try not to overmix the muffin batter. Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon. This will result in a light and fluffy muffin, rather than a tough and chewy one!
- Don't use pre-shredded carrots in this recipe as they will be too dry and hard. Grate the carrots yourself using a box grater on the finest grating side.
- Add 100g of raisins for carrot and raisin muffins.
- Mix in 50g of chopped walnuts or pecan nuts for crunch and texture.
- Make healthy carrot cake muffins and use wholewheat flour instead of white flour.
- Add chopped fresh pineapple for pineapple carrot muffins.
- Swap the lime drizzle for a cream cheese frosting.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Those are so pretty Beth and I love the lime icing. I bet they taste lush!
Dana says
These turned out beautifully and let me tell you, they did NOT last in this house! Planning on making another batch this weekend!
Andrea says
These easy carrot cake muffins sound fantastic. I really like the lime glaze on top too. It really brings a zing to the muffin.
Tayler Ross says
I made these muffins for breakfast this morning and OMG were they delicious! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
Anything carrot cake is on my list. I really love the lime drizzle too!