Whole Grain Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!  What better way to kick off the weekend than with cupcakes.  The cupcakes I'm sharing with you today are not just any old cupcakes. They are a lightened- up take on a classic treat.

Let's face it-  many carrot cake cupcakes are fat and sugar filled treats with a handful of carrot thrown in.  These can be good, but not the best for a regular treat.  What if I told you that it's possible to get all of sugary and spicy goodness of carrot cake with lots of wholesome ingredients and a fraction of the sugar of a normal said cupcake?  Would you believe me?

It's true!  I explained it more in depth in this post, but this cake batter is packed with whole wheat flour and carrots, with a minimal amount of refined-sugar.

You might be wondering why I'm bothering posting this cake in cupcake form.  The truth is, I needed to because cupcakes are LIFE.  In all seriousness though, there is a major tweak that needed to be made with this recipe for it to be cupcake-worthy.

If you saw my post on the original whole grain carrot cake, it was a sheet cake.  WARNING:  I am about to unleash my inner baking nerd 🤓⚠!  If you think about it, a sheet cake doesn't rise much since it's so wide.  Cupcakes, on the other hand, are not very wide but need to be tall.  A flat cupcake is a BIG problem!  I made these cupcakes originally for my birthday.  (As a side note, shout out to those who love cooking so much that they bake their own birthday treats!  I'm talking to you, Sally!)  Since these cupcakes were for my birthday, I needed them to turn out well, so I wasn't all that apt to experiment with the leavening side of these cupcakes.  I looked at the original recipe for any tips on how to transform the sheet cake into cupcakes.  And guess what?  My question was answered!  With 1 teaspoon of baking powder, the whole grain carrot sheet cake was transformed into a plethora of cupcakes!

So that's about it!  Let me know your favorite dessert to eat or make in the comments below!

Whole Grain Carrot Cake Cupcakes

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 T. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup light-tasting olive oil
•  2 cups carrots, grated, peeled, and packed
• 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Grease the cavities of one muffin tin, then set aside.

3.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

4.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the sugar, applesauce, and olive oil, whisking until combined.

5.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just combined.

6.  Fold in the carrots and walnuts until just combined.

7.  Fill each prepared muffin cavity about 2/3 full and bake in prepared oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a few of the cupcakes comes out clean.

8.  Enjoy, frosting when completely cooled if desired with cream cheese frosting and refrigerating leftovers for up to 5 days.