Sourdough Carrot Cupcakes

4.88 from 8 votes

Using discard sourdough starter, these carrot cupcakes are sweet and moist, topped with a delicious and simple cream cheese frosting. No sourdough taste!

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: sourdough cake recipe, sourdough carrot cupcakes, sourdough discard recipe, Spring

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 364kcal

Author: Katie

Equipment

12-cup Cupcake pans
Cupcake liners
Mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer)
Large mixing bowl
Wire rack

Ingredients

Carrot Cake

1 ½ cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
1 cup sourdough starter (discard/ unfed)
3 eggs
1 cup canned crushed pineapple (drained, about 8 oz)
2 cups carrots (grated, about 4 medium carrots)
½ cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
12 ounces butter (melted)
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch salt (if using unsalted butter)
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk or cream (if icing is too thick)

Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line the muffin pans with cupcake liners. This recipe yields 24 very full cupcakes or 26 smaller ones.
Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the vegetable oil and white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then, beat well until fully combined and creamy. Next, add the sourdough starter discard and gently mix it into the batter. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Add the carrots, pineapple, and raisins. Reduce your mixer speed to low and gently fold in the grated carrots, drained pineapple, and golden raisins until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Prepare the dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time, mixing gently after each addition until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Fill to about ⅔ full. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly bouncy when pressed.
Cool the cupcakes. Cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the cream cheese and butter. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the room temperature cream cheese and melted butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. It may appear lumpy at first, but continue beating until fully combined.
Add the vanilla and salt. Mix in the vanilla extract. If you're using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt. Otherwise, skip the salt.
Add the powdered sugar. Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, starting on low speed to prevent a sugar cloud, then increasing the speed until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Adjust the consistency. If the frosting is too thick, add milk or cream, one teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. If it becomes too thin, refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes before using.
Frost the cupcakes: Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, generously frost them using a piping bag or a spatula.

Video

Notes

To make a cake instead, mix evenly into two 8-inch cake pans and bake for about 45 minutes, checking with a cake tester to make sure it’s done.

Nutrition