Carrot Cake Crumb Muffins (Soft & Moist!)

These crumb-top carrot cake muffins are highly rated by Frosting & Fettuccine readers, and it’s easy to see why! Incredibly moist and tender, they’re also super easy to make and look bakery worthy. The cinnamon-sugar crumb topping delivers a great crunch with every bite. Finish with a silky, homemade cream cheese glaze (optional). Recipe yields 12 muffins.

This recipe has a 5 star rating and its easy to see why! People love that these muffins are moist and not too much on the sweet side. As a trained pastry chef, its important for me to make recipes that are well balanced so that you love them as much as I do!

The muffin texture is soft and moist and full of cinnamon flavor. Combined with a crunchy bite from cinnamon streusel, these carrot cake muffins totally hit the spot! I used this recipe as inspiration to make these carrot pineapple muffins too!

Muffins are one of my favorite sweets to bake because the mixing method is simple and always the same no matter what flavor you are making.

All you have to do is combine the wet ingredients in one bowl, and the dry ingredients into the other. Then pour the dry into the wet and mix until its just combined. Tada! All thats left is to pour the batter and bake. So easy!

This same mixing method is how I make these coffee cake muffins, these 5 star rated banana chocolate chip muffins, and my base plain muffin recipe that you can adapt to so many flavors.

Why you should make these

• They are easy to make, even with kids!
• The flavor is perfectly balanced.
• Enjoy these moist muffins for breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients Needed

For the crumb topping:

• Flour– Flour is the base of the topping.
• Brown sugar– The molasses in the sugar helps to bind the crumbs.
• Granulated sugar– Adds sweetness.
• Cinnamon– Adds warm flavor and spice.
• Cold Unsalted Butter – You must use cold butter. Cold butter helps bind the crumb topping and creates crispy chunks.

For the muffins:

• 3 medium or 2 large carrots- You’ll need to shred the carrots. Don’t buy pre-shredded they are still too chunky.
• Flour– A base for the muffins.
• Brown Sugar– Adds a deep flavor.
• Baking Powder– Helps the muffins rise.
• Baking Soda– Reacts with the brown sugar to rise.
• Cinnamon– Adds spice.
• Kosher Salt– Enhances the flavor of the muffin.
• Eggs– Eggs are a binding agent and help build structure.
• Vegetable Oil– This type of fat in muffins creates a tender crumb.
• Milk – Helps with keeping the muffins moist.

Don’t use pre shredded carrots

I don’t recommend using pre shredded carrots for this recipe because they are still too thick to “melt” into the batter they way shredding your own carrots do. The best way to do it is by using a food processor or shredding my hand.

I hate washing my food processor so I only whip it out for big cooking days. I’d rather use a box grater, which is what I used here!

If you do decide to use them just remember that the texture could be different because you will get the bite from the carrots.

How to make carrot crumb muffins

Make the crumb topping– 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 freezer until you are ready to use.

Prepare for baking– Preheat your oven to 425° F and line a muffin tray with muffin liners and set aside. In a food processor, or using a box grater with the largest holes, grate the carrots until they are in tiny pieces. Set aside in a medium sized bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients- In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.

Combine the wet ingredients- In the bowl with the carrots add the eggs, oil, and milk and whisk to combine well.

Mix– Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix ONLY until it is just combined. Do not over mix or your muffins will come out tough. The batter will be lumpy, thats ok!

Fill and Bake- 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 7 minutes on 425° and then without opening the oven, reduce the  temperature to 350° and bake for another 13-15 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown in color.

Glaze– When the muffins are cool make the cream cheese glaze in a small bowl.

How to get super tall muffins

The way to get a domed top on muffins and make them seem like they just came from a bakery is to bake them at a high temperature first for a few minutes, and then reduce it to a lower temperature for the rest of the baking time.

The high heat helps cook the outside of the muffins first creating that domed top and then bakes from the inside with the lower temperature.

Some other things you can do to have high rounded tops are resting the batter for 15-30 minutes before scooping, and filling the muffin tin all the way to the top so that they bake over the muffin tin.

Yield

This recipes makes 12 regular sized muffins. You can also make 8-10 jumbo muffins but you will have to adjust the baking time for another 8 -10minutes.

Recipe Tips

• Mix the batter only until it’s combined, its ok if there are lumps. If you over mix then the muffins can get tough.
• Add in spices like nutmeg and cloves if you like the flavor. I dont so I skip them.
• Make sure to glaze the muffins when they are cool. Otherwise the glaze can melt.

Storage and freezing

Storing- Store the muffins in an airtight container or a zip top back for 5 days for maximum freshness. They do not need to be stored in the fridge.

Freezing- To freeze, line cooled muffins in a zip top freezer safe bag and squeeze out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months.

I love when you share my recipes!!