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Home » Recipe Search » Muffins

Oct 12, 2018(last updated January 10, 2022)

Carrot Cake Muffins with Crumb Topping and Cream Cheese Glaze

5 from 5 votes
BySam Adler
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These carrot cake muffins are deliciously moist and topped with a crumb topping and cream cheese glaze!

Carrot cake muffins with cream cheese glaze styled with bowls of ingredients on a cooling rack.

Tangy cream cheese glaze, crunchy cinnamon topping, and a fluffy moist muffin, these carrot cake muffins make an amazing breakfast option!

Carrot Cake Muffins

First off these muffins were not supposed to happen this weekend. It was my birthday hoorayyyy! I went away for the weekend to see family and obviously a Maroon5 concert.

Carrot cake muffins with cream cheese glaze on a cake stand with a hand picking one out.

How was it?

Amazing. Again, obviously.

Anyways, I got home on Monday and was scheduling out the rest of the week, and something came over me that said I needed to have carrot cake.

But- I was not down to make an entire cake, plus there’s been a lot of cake recently on the blog so I thought I should branch out a little.

Solution? Carrot cake muffins! Still cake but shh its fine.

At first I thought cupcakes, but then realized I wasn’t in the mood to make a cream cheese frosting that would pipe nicely.  I also wanted something more breakfasty, like these chocolate chip muffins.

Which led me to my next thought- make carrot cake muffins and a cream cheese glaze! Ooh and make a crumb topping so that when you bite into it you get a nice crunch, tangy sweetness, and fluffy “cake”.

Carrot cake muffin with cream cheese glaze styled on a gray background with a lot of negative space.

DONE AND DONE.

I whipped these babies up Tuesday night and ran them by my 6 year old who is by the way, my biggest critic. He really tells it like it is. Last time, I ran one of my lemon poppyseed cake recipes by him he told me it was “like a little bit good but not that good”. Which led me to 3 more rounds of testing.

Carrot cake muffin with cream cheese glaze styled on a gray background.

Anyways, I ran these by him and he goes, “Mommy these carrot cake muffins are amazing, they are like really really good”

Carrot cake muffin with cream cheese glaze sliced in half styled on a gray background with oats in a bowl and a knife.

PHEW.

Carrot cake muffins with cream cheese glaze styled with bowls of ingredients on a cooling rack.

Carrot Cake Muffins with Crumb Topping and Cream Cheese Glaze

These crumb topped bakery style carrot cake muffins are glazed with a sweet and tangy cream cheese glaze and make the perfect breakfast or afternoon treat! Make them today!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved! Rate
Course: muffins
Cuisine: American
Keyword: carrot cake muffin, carrot dessert recipes, muffin recipes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 18 -24 muffins
Calories: 250kcal
Author: Sam Adler

Ingredients

  • For the crumb topping:
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼-½ teaspoon cinnamon depending on preference
  • ½ cup cold butter diced small

For the carrot cake muffins:

  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup milk

For the cream cheese glaze:

  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese softened at room temperature
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions

  • Make the crumb topping first- In a small bowl combine the flour, sugars, and cinnamon. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter or pinch the butter into the mixture with your fingers gently until medium clumps form. Put in the fridge until you are ready to use.
  • Preheat your oven to 400° F and line a muffin tray with muffin liners and set aside.
  • In a food processor, process the shredded carrots until they are in tiny pieces. Set aside.
  • In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
  • In another medium sized bowl combine the eggs and oil, and whisk to combine.
  • Add in the milk, and then the shredded carrots, mixing well.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix ONLY until it is just combined. Do not overmix or your muffins will come out tough. The batter will be lumpy, thats ok.
  • Fill each muffin liner about 3/4 of the way full and top with the crumb topping mixture- sprinkle as much on as you like!
  • Bake the muffins for 5 minutes on 400° and then without opening the oven, reduce the  temperature to 350° and bake for another 18 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown in color.
  • While the muffins are cooling make the cream cheese glaze. In a small bowl, combine all the glaze ingredients and whisk until a smooth runny glaze forms.
  • Drizzle over each muffin and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe makes about 18-24 muffins depending on how big your muffin tins are.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Carrot Cake Muffins with Crumb Topping and Cream Cheese Glaze
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 250 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Polyunsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 34mg11%
Sodium 124mg5%
Carbohydrates 35g12%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 22g24%
Protein 3g6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I love when you share my recipes!!

1834 shares

Filed Under: Muffins Tagged With: Cheese, Cinnamon

About Sam Adler

Sam Adler is a Le Cordon Bleu professionally trained pastry chef, Saveur Blog Award winner, food photographer, and food blogger over on FrostingandFettuccine.com. She has been featured in numerous online and in-print publications including Taste of Home Magazine, Saveur Magazine, The Feed Feed, and Food Blogger Pro. Sam lives in Hollywood florida with her husband, two young kids, and french bulldog. When she’s not baking and dancing in her kitchen you can find her at her favorite yoga spot.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Danijela says

    October 20, 2018 at 1:43 am

    These look like a dream!

    Reply
  2. Shevi says

    January 30, 2020 at 9:28 am

    These carrot muffins are moist with the perfect amount of sweetness. The crumb topping is my favorite part! 😋

    Reply
    • Sam says

      January 31, 2020 at 11:47 am

      Thank you so much Shevi!! I am so happy you like them!!! Thanks for your sweet comment!

      Reply
  3. Amye says

    September 09, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe!! I made 12 large bakery style muffins with this recipe and they are as picture perfect as they are yummy!! Thank you for sharing this!

    Reply
    • Sam Adler says

      September 11, 2021 at 9:40 pm

      Thank you so much Amye!!! So happy you loved them and thanks for the star rating and review, yay!!

      Reply
  4. Joanna Marks says

    October 18, 2021 at 3:35 pm

    5 stars
    I didn’t want to make a whole cake either and I’ve been making / sharing Jumbo muffins with family. I really wanted carrot cake muffins. I had two recipes before me and I ended up choosing yours because the other recipe just had SO much sugar in it! I was skepical. The batter was very thick / heavy I was afraid of over mixing it and a crumb topping?! I already had leftover cream cheese frosting in the fridge so I figured I’d use that too if needed. These muffins are great. Moist, not the leat bit dense, cooked through beautifully and a great not to sweet but still sweet flavor. I’m glad I chose your recipe and I will def. make them again. Thank you! It made 8 jumbo muffins.

    Reply
    • Sam Adler says

      October 29, 2021 at 10:21 am

      AHH Joanna! YAY I am so honored you chose these to make! Thank you so much for your comment and review, I am so happy you loved them!!

      Reply
  5. Monique says

    February 26, 2022 at 2:28 am

    5 stars
    Dangerously and next level delicious! Thank you so much for your creations!!
    PS- my biggest critics are also my daughters:).

    Reply
    • Sam Adler says

      March 08, 2022 at 2:17 pm

      Wohoo yay! So glad to hear it!! Thank you so much for leaving a comment!!

      Reply
  6. Sarah says

    June 07, 2022 at 6:01 am

    5 stars
    Everything tied together perfectly. I am gluten free so I substitute gluten free flour and they were delicious. I also was missing a little of the spice thats usually in carrot cake so I added pumpkin spice seasoning to the cream cheese frosting and wow that took it too the next level. I would highly recommend adding that extra spice to the frosting the next time you try it.

    Reply
    • Sam Adler says

      June 20, 2022 at 10:09 am

      So happy to hear that Sarah! Thanks so much for the suggestion and for your rating and comment!!

      Reply

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Do you love this recipe? If so, I would be so grateful if you left a star rating with your comment! Star ratings help other people find my recipes so they can make them too. Thank you for your support!

XO, Sam

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Hi! Im Sam Adler,

I'm a professionally trained pastry chef and food photographer.
This is a place where you will find easy yet impressive looking desserts. I also share a ton of food photography resources too! What can I say, I love pretty & delicious baked goods! Learn more about me!

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Find the recipe below!

#ALDILove
Prep time: 1 hr 45 mins
Cook time: 1 min
Yield: 40 donut fries
2 pack Baker’s Corner Active Dry Yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
1/3 cup Sugar
2 Simply Nature Grade A Organic Cage Free Brown Eggs
2 tbsp Stonemill Pure Vanilla Extract
1/3 cup Carlini Pure Vegetable Oil
5-6 cups Baker’s Corner All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ cup Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar
For Dipping:
1 cup Baker’s Corner Dark or Milk Chocolate Morsels
Simply Nature Organic Raspberry Preserves
Method:
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sugar, eggs, vanilla, and oil to the bowl and mix until well combined.
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fitted with the dough attachment for 5 minutes until a soft, non-sticky dough forms. If the
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•Let the fries rest for another 15 mins. 
•Meanwhile, using a deep fryer or a large pot, heat your oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the donut
fries 30 seconds per side, then drain on a paper towel.
•Dust the donut fries with powdered sugar and set aside.
•Microwave 1 cup of dark or milk chocolate for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Scoop
jelly into another bowl. Dip the fries in the chocolate or jelly!
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1834 shares