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This is my favourite carrot cake cupcakes recipe made ‘Easter edition’ by smothering them in a beautiful matcha cream cheese frosting and topping them with a chocolate-dipped strawberry ‘carrot.’
In this recipe we will use real white chocolate to dip the strawberries, rather than ‘candy melts’ that have a long list of ingredients I would rather not put into my body. For the melted chocolate to be solid and perfect at room temperature, we first have to temper it.
I will briefly explain how I did this for this recipe below. However, for a detailed, step-by-step guide with lots of helpful tips, check out my ‘Complete Guide on How to Temper Chocolate.‘
How to make carrot cake cupcakes
These cupcakes are so easy to make! Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and greasing your muffin tray. In a large bowl add and stir together these grouped ingredients in the order they are listed:
- Eggs, sugar, and brown sugar.
- Oil and vanilla.
- Carrots and pineapple.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Add this mixture into the large bowl and stir together. Finally, fold in the walnuts if you would like to use them. Distribute the batter into your muffin tray and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick test comes out clean. (Oven times can vary greatly.)

When the cupcakes are finished baking, let them sit in the tray for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before decorating.
Decorating the cupcakes
Frosting:
For these cupcakes I used my matcha vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. Check out that post for the recipe and video. As you know, cream cheese frosting pairs wonderfully with carrot cake. And the green colour from the matcha powder in this frosting makes the cupcakes look like the perfect little resting places for your strawberry ‘carrots’!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry ‘Carrots’:
For the strawberries, you will want to select nicely shaped, small berries that come to a little point. Give them a rinse then pat them dry.

Use a good quality white chocolate with real cocoa butter. For more information on what kind of chocolate to use, helpful tips, and step-by-step instructions, see ‘A Complete Guide on How to Temper Chocolate.’
I tempered the chocolate for this recipe using the seeding method. You can do this method using either a double boiler or a microwave; both are explained in detail within the guide. I will briefly go over what I did using a double boiler here.
I used these:


You will want to first temper some chocolate (about 6 ounces) for dipping the strawberries in, and then temper a smaller amount (about 2 ounces) for the drizzle.

Start by chopping up all of your white chocolate into small pieces. Set aside the chocolate for the drizzle. Fill a saucepan with about an inch of water. Bring it to a simmer on your stovetop. Put three quarters of the chopped chocolate into the double boiler on top of the saucepan.
Melt the chocolate, stirring and checking the temperature often. Once the temperature reaches 40°C (104°F), remove the double boiler from the pan. It’s ok if there are still some unmelted pieces. Add the remaining quarter of unmelted chocolate in with the melted chocolate.
These solid pieces will encourage the cooling melted chocolate to form stronger crystals. Now, stirring continuously, allow the chocolate to slowly cool. Keep track of the temperature. When it has cooled to 25°C (77°F), return the double boiler to the saucepan and reheat the chocolate to white chocolate’s working temperature of 28°C (82.4°F). Use a spoon to remove any unmelted pieces.

Have a bowl with some hot water ready on a heat safe surface. Once you have tempered the chocolate, move the double boiler to sit on the bowl. The hot water will help maintain the melted consistency of the chocolate. Now you can add the orange powder food colouring to the chocolate. [You cannot use liquid food colouring in melted chocolate]. It is very pigmented so just add a little at a time until you get the colour intensity you want.
Check out the video below if you want to see the decorating process in action.
Stick a short kebab stick into the berries so you’ll have something to hold onto. Pull and hold the leaves upwards. Using a small kebab stick, get some chocolate onto the berry up close to the leaves where it would be difficult to dip.
Then, holding the stick for support, dip the berry into the chocolate and twist it around to coat it. Decide which will be the underside of the berry and scrap the excess chocolate off so that it doesn’t pool around the bottom when you set it onto the cupcake. Set the strawberry onto the cupcake and gently ease it off of the stick.

Continue this with the rest of the berries. If the chocolate begins to firm up while you are still working, you can heat it over the pot again to remelt it. See ‘how to keep chocolate in temper.’
Repeat the same tempering and colouring process with the chocolate you reserved earlier and yellow powder colour. Then pour it into a small zip top bag. Cut a tiny whole in one corner, and use it to squeeze out a thin drizzle on top of the berries.

Your carrot cake cupcakes are all done! Let the chocolate set and harden, then store any that you don’t eat today in an airtight container in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge an hour or two before eating to bring them back to the right temperature. (Although the tempered chocolate will be perfect at room temperature, the strawberries and cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated.)
Print
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Delectable carrot cake cupcakes smothered in a beautiful matcha cream cheese frosting and topped with a chocolate-dipped strawberry ‘carrot.’
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
one batch of Matcha Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry ‘Carrots’
12 strawberries
8 ounces white chocolate, roughly chopped
orange and yellow powder food colouring *
wooden kebab sticks
equipment for tempering chocolate: double boiler, digital food thermometer
Instructions
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease your muffin tray.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and brown sugar.
Stir in the oil and vanilla, followed by the carrots and pineapple.
In a small bowl, mix to combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix to combine. Fold the walnuts into the batter.
Distribute the batter into the muffin tray and bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (Oven times can vary.)
Let muffins cool in tray for 10 minutes, then cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack. Ensure that they have cooled completely before decorating.
Frost the room temperature cupcakes with Matcha Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting.
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry ‘Carrots’
Select berries that are small and nicely shaped, tapering to a point. Wash and pat the berries completely dry.
Chop all of your white chocolate into small pieces. Set aside 2 ounces to be used for the drizzle later. For now we are just working with the dipping chocolate.
Fill a saucepan with about an inch of water. Bring it to a simmer (do not let it come to a boil). Put three-fourths of the chopped chocolate into a completely dry double boiler on top of the saucepan (any contact with water will ruin the chocolate). Melt, stirring and checking temperature often. Once the temperature reaches 40°C (104°F), remove the double boiler from the pan. It’s ok if there are still some unmelted pieces.
Add the remaining fourth of chopped chocolate in with the melted chocolate. Stirring continuously, allow the chocolate to slowly cool. Keep checking the temperature. When it has cooled to 25°C (77°F), return the double boiler to the saucepan and reheat the chocolate to white chocolate’s working temperature of 28°C (82.4°F). Remove any unmelted pieces.
Once tempered, set the double boiler on top of a bowl of hot water on a heat-safe surface. Stir in orange powder food colour a little bit at a time until you achieve the desired colour intensity.
Insert a small kebab stick into the top of a berry to give you something to hold onto. Lift the leaves of the berry upwards and hold them out of the way. Use another stick to apply some melted chocolate up close to the leaves where it would be difficult to dip. [See video below for visual.]
Dip the berry using a gentle twirling motion. Use a stick to scrape some excess chocolate from what will be the underside of the berry so that it will not pool. Set the berry on top of a cupcake and gently remove the inserted stick. Repeat with the remaining berries.
Repeat the tempering and colouring process with the reserved two ounces of chocolate and yellow powder food colour. Pour the yellow chocolate into a small zip top bag and cut a very tiny hole into one corner. Squeeze the chocolate through the hole to drizzle the yellow chocolate on top of the berries.
For more detailed instructions and helpful tips, check out my complete guide on how to temper chocolate. I used the seeding method.
Storage
Anything with cream cheese frosting should be stored in the fridge. Wait for the chocolate to set and harden, then any cupcakes that you don’t intend to eat the day of should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Set them out a couple hours before you intend to eat them to bring them back to room temperature.
Notes
* You cannot use liquid food colouring in melted chocolate as the moisture will cause it to seize. Instead use powder food colour. You can buy it online or find it at specialty baking stores.
** You can temper chocolate using a microwave if you don’t have a double boiler.
Keywords: carrot cake, carrot cake cupcakes, easter
I made these for my boyfriend’s birthday. He loves carrot cakes. He and everyone else loved them. The carrots came out so well! And the cupcakes themselves were really good.
★★★★★
Glad they turned out great! I love carrot cake too.
Love these! they came out great!
★★★★★
Thanks! Glad to hear
These are the cutest cupcakes ever!!
★★★★★
Thanks!!
Moist and delicious. I was too lazy to decorate strawberries so put two on the side. lol
★★★★★
That works too! 🙂 thank you
Love these mini cakes. Delicious.
★★★★★
Thanks! 🙂
I love how moist these turned out.
★★★★★
Thanks so much
Love the recipe for the cupcakes. I made a coconut butter frosting for mine. Turned out amazing.
Plan to try you matcha with the cute strawberry carrots another time. They are adorable.
★★★★★
Thanks so much. Your version sounds great too 🙂
This carrot cake recipe turned out so awesomely delicious. I did not get fancy with the strawberries. Will try another time and looks fun and cute.
Thank you Catherine, that’s great to hear 🙂