Moist and fluffy carrot cake muffins stuffed with a sweetened cream cheese filling and topped with a golden toasty streusel!
Other than eggs and the Easter bunny, two things that are synonymous with Easter are definitely carrot cake and brunch. Although it took me a while to acquire the taste for carrot cake, I can’t get enough of it these days! I’m obsessed with its moist, deliciously cinnamon-spiced crumb along with that tangy cream cheese frosting. It also has the perfect disguise of being healthy since it is indeed CARROT cake.
So if you’re on the prowl for something sweet to share at an upcoming Easter brunch (or literally ANY gathering), I suggest these Carrot Cake Muffins…
Why You’ll Love These Carrot Cake Muffins
Perfectly Moist Crumb: Thanks to a hefty amount of yogurt and a little vegetable oil, these muffins are ultra moist and pillowy.
Full of Flavor: Loaded with freshly-grated carrots, maple brown sugar, brown butter, and a medley of warm spices, these muffins are packed with flavor!
Cream Cheese Filling: Hidden in the center of each muffin is a tangy cream cheese filling. Everyone knows that carrot cake isn’t complete without cream cheese frosting, so the sweetened cream cheese center was a MUST.
Streusel Topping: In case you needed more convincing, these muffins are topped with a buttery golden streusel.
Tips for Making the BEST Muffins
Don’t Over-mix the Batter: As with most cake and quick bread recipes, it’s best to go easy on the mixing. Over-mixing develops too much gluten in the flour, which leads to dense or tough muffins. Excessive mixing also prevents the muffins from rising properly, since it pops the air bubbles created by the leavening agents. So when it comes time to add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together. You want the batter to be lumpy with a few spots of flour.
Rest the Muffin Batter: Letting the batter sit at room temperature for an hour does a couple of things. First, it allows the flavors to develop and meld together, giving the muffins a richer taste. Secondly, resting allows the flour to fully absorb the moisture of the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, yogurt, etc.), resulting in a thicker batter. Having a thicker batter reduces spread during baking, giving the muffin tops a nicely rounded appearance. If you’re short on time, resting the batter for even 30 minutes will do wonders for your muffins!
Be Generous When Filling: Although it’s pretty standard to fill the muffin cups about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way, if you want to encourage a taller rise, you’ll need to fill the muffin cups ALL the way. Try to aim for a level that’s almost at the top of the muffin cup, but not overflowing.
High Initial Temperature: For those sky-high muffin tops, the secret is to bake them at a high temperature of 425ºF for the first 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375ºF for the remaining 12-13 minutes. The high initial temperature helps the leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda) react quickly, giving the muffins a bit of a head start in rising. This creates that tall, domed top. After the initial rise, the temperature is decreased to 375º to allow the muffins to bake the rest of the way.
Other Important Tips
Use FRESHLY-Grated Carrots: Whatever you do, do NOT use store-bought shredded carrots in the bag. Those are way too dry and are usually coated in something to prevent them from sticking together. Grating the carrots yourself gives the muffins a moister, more flavorful crumb. Plus, it only takes about 2 minutes if you use your cheese grater.
Use a Flavored Yogurt: This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of yogurt. I recommend using a yogurt that’s flavored (like vanilla), or at least sweetened since it’ll add more overall sweetness to the muffin. If you prefer a less sweet muffin, you can definitely use plain unsweetened yogurt.
Toast the Pecans: Toasting the pecans not only enhances the flavor of the pecans, but it also adds a nice crunch. To toast whole pecans, scatter them evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet, and pop them into a preheated 350ºF oven. Bake until the pecans begin to brown and become aromatic, making sure to toss halfway through. This should take 7-10 minutes.
Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients
Muffin Batter:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cup yogurt (I used vanilla-flavored)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ½ cups freshly-shredded carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- ⅔ cup chopped toasted pecans
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
Streusel Topping:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Make the Batter:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma.
- Once browned and nutty, turn off the heat and pour the browned butter into a shallow bowl, allowing it to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk both sugars and the eggs together until thickened and combined, about 45 seconds. Whisk in the browned butter and oil. Add the yogurt and vanilla, and continue whisking until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until almost combined. Genly fold in the shredded carrots and chopped pecans. Batter should still be lumpy with a few spots of flour. Allow batter to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
Make the Filling:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt together until smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the Streusel:
- In a mixing bowl, use a fork to combine the butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Once the mixture looks “sandy” in texture, use your hands to squeeze clumps together, forcing the mixture together.
Assemble and Bake the Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the muffin batter into the bottom of each muffin liner. Then, drop one heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese filling directly into the center of the batter. Spoon more batter on top, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle/Press streusel on top of the batter.
- Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and continue to bake for another 12-13 minutes until muffin tops are puffed and golden. Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before serving.