Carrot Cake Muffins
Moist and fluffy carrot cake muffins stuffed with a sweetened cream cheese filling and topped with a golden toasty streusel!
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. Gently 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.