If you love carrot cake, you will LOVE these Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Muffins! Stuffed with a creamy cheesecake center, these muffins are delicious! A moist, perfectly spiced muffin with a sweetened cream cheese center, what’s not to love?! Melt in your mouth and the perfect choice for breakfast, snacks, desserts, and gatherings!
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Carrot Cake Muffins
Are you a fan of Carrot Cake? Well, if so, this is the recipe for you! Since technically you shouldn’t have a slice of carrot cake for breakfast (I won’t judge if you do), now you get to enjoy these muffins in the morning and have the cake for dessert that evening. I call that a win!
Over the years I have made several cream-cheese filled muffins from banana, to blueberry, and even pumpkin! These may just go down as my favorite though because they are perfectly spiced thanks to the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves! The sweetened cream cheese filling is similar to a cheesecake and add just the perfect amount of sweet to accompany the spice. Whether served as a breakfast treat, served at a potluck, or brunch, these Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling are bound to be a favorite with everyone!
Ingredients Needed for Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Muffins
See printable recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and step-by-step instructions.
Muffins
- Flour- all purpose
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Baking Powder/Soda- ensure these are fresh for the best results
- Salt
- Ginger/Nutmeg/Cloves
- Vegetable Oil- you may also use coconut oil if desired
- Brown Sugar
- Buttermilk- see substitution trick below
- Eggs- large, at room temperature
- Vanilla- pure is best
- Carrots- grated, grate your own for best flavors rather than buying the pre-shredded
Cream Cheese Filling
- Cream Cheese- room temperature
- Sugar
- Vanilla- pure is best
How to make Carrot Cake Muffins
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, white sugar, cinnamon, baking powder/soda, salt, and spices.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Combine flour mixture with the liquid mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots.
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
- Prepare a muffin pan with liners and fill each muffin cup about ½ full.
- Add a scoop of the cream cheese mixture and top with more batter to cover.
- Place muffin pan into preheated oven, 400 degrees, and bake until golden! Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before enjoying!
FAQ’s
Do these muffins need to be refrigerated? Due to the cream cheese mixture, I recommend refrigerating these and popping them into the microwave when ready to enjoy. However, you technically CAN keep these at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Can I add in raisins? Absolutely! In fact, if you love raisins, they make the perfect addition to these flavorful muffins! Simply add them to the batter when you fold in the grated carrots.
Can I use gluten-free flour? Yep! Simply omit all-purpose flour and use gluten-free in place! Same ratio and works great!
Will these muffins freeze well? Definitely! Allow to fully cool and place them in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw before ready to eat.
Buttermilk Substitution
To make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add milk to the 1-cup line and stir. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes. In this recipe, you will use ⅓ cup of this mixture.
How to store
- Room Temperature- you can keep these in an airtight container or bag and store up to 2 days at room temperature.
- Refrigerator- place cooled muffins in an airtight container/bag and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
- Freezer- allow them to fully cool before placing them in a freezer safe container/bag for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Tips for the BEST Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Muffins
- Don’t buy the pre-shredded carrots from the store. Grate your own as the pre-shredded ones don’t have the same amount of moisture in them and won’t make the muffins as fluffy and delicious.
- Adjust the amount of cream cheese mixture to fit desired tastes. Want more? Add less muffin batter and scoop more cream cheese filling. Want less? Add more muffin batter and use less of the filling.
- Sprinkle a bit of Turbinado sugar on top of the unbaked muffins before putting them into the oven for an added sweetness.
- Be sure not to over-mix the batter as the texture will become dense and not as fluffy.
- Feel free to add a streusel or sprinkle of brown sugar/cinnamon to the top of the muffins before baking.
- Raisins and chopped nuts are both great options to add to the muffins.
More Muffin Recipes to try
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Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 ½ cup flour all purpose
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups carrots grated, fresh
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a muffin pan with liners (or grease).
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, white sugar, cinnamon, baking powder/soda, salt, and spices.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir until just combined.
- Combine the flour mixture with the wet mixture and stir. Fold in the carrots.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Combine all ingredients using a hand mixer until smooth.
Assemble
- Pour muffin batter into each prepared muffin tin about ½ filled.
- Add a scoop of cream cheese mixture followed by additional batter to fill the cup.
- Continue until all 12 muffins are filled.
- Place pan into oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly before eating!
Nutrition
Tess says
I would add some zest of organic orange or tangerine to the cream cheese mixture before including it in the muffin. A bit of added flavor to an already great muffin!!
Kristin says
Great idea too! Yum!!