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Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Carrot Cake Muffins. Better than you could get at any coffee shop, these muffins melt in your mouth. Soft carrot cake made with shredded carrots, sweetened with maple syrup, swirled with cream cheese, topped with sweet cinnamon sugar, and served warm. Enjoy these just as they are, or serve with a smear of sweet butter and sea salt. Perfect for all of the spring weekends, especially Easter Sunday!
I probably have well over a dozen cookie recipes, multiple pumpkin muffins, many types of banana breads, and far too many blueberry muffins. But carrot cake? I think I have 2 or 3 variations of carrot cake.
I’m sure I’ve shared this before, but I didn’t grow up with carrot cake. Everything sweet in my house was chocolate-focused. Well, other than my dad’s cinnamon toast that he’d often make us for breakfast.
Everything was CHOCOLATE.
Zero complaints, of course, but this means I missed out on every other type of sweet. We definitely did not venture over to carrot cake territory.
In the 10+ years of creating new recipes daily (that’s not too many, right?) I’ve occasionally strayed away from chocolate treats. I certainly have a decent amount of fruit-based desserts. But still, I haven’t really gotten into carrot cake.
So when I had this idea for a carrot cake muffin, I was excited to test it out. Especially after my cousin Abby confirmed she’d definitely be into a carrot cake muffin.
I am so glad I made these!! We’ve been loving them, and they’ll be great for upcoming spring gatherings, and then, of course, Easter!
Here are the details
This is all made in one bowl. Simply mix the wet ingredients with the dry and that’s it. Use avocado oil or melted coconut oil, then mix in maple syrup as the sweetener. Mostly because I LOVE the warming flavor that the maple syrup adds to baked goods. Now mix in the eggs and lots of vanilla.
And then the carrots! I used a good amount of freshly shredded carrots, which keep the muffins sweet and moist.
For the dry ingredients, you’ll need whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and then the spices. Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg for a touch of cozy flavors.
Mix everything together, then divide the batter between muffin cups. Add a cube of cream cheese to each muffin. If you don’t love cream cheese, you can omit it, but I think it works well with the flavors in the carrot cake.
And then, the secret to these muffins, a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar over each unbaked muffin.
As the muffins bake, oh my gosh, your kitchen will smell incredible. It’s the cinnamon that always does it. Just like your favorite bakery. A little butter and sea salt on top is the perfect way to enjoy these muffins. It melts deliciously into every nook and cranny.
Of course, it’s not needed, but it sure makes every warm bite just that more delicious.
Looking for other sweet recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Blender Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Giant Double Blueberry Muffin Cookies
Bakery Blueberry Vanilla Crunch Muffins
Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake Muffins
Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Lastly, if you make these Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Carrot Cake Muffins be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Carrot Cake Muffins
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories Per Serving: 255 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 cubes
- 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.2. In a large bowl, stir together the oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Stir in the shredded carrots. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until just combined. 3. Divide the batter among the prepared pan. Push 1 cube of cream cheese into each muffin, using a spoon to cover the cube. It's OK if not all the cream cheese is covered. Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over each muffin. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until just set. Serve with butter and sea salt (if desired) on top.
I made these and really – they are fabulous. I was curious if they would freeze well – if you know.
Hey Sandy,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! Totally, you could definitely freeze these! Have a great Wednesday! xx
The muffins themselves are soooo yummy! However, the cream cheese in the middle didn’t melt very much. Maybe let it sit out so it gets to room temp? I’ll probably opt to make a vanilla cream cheese frosting to put on top next time I make these. I added a little brown sugar to the tops as well. Really yummy muffins though!!
Hey Angelica,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Yes, I let my cream cheese come to room temp, but it doesn’t get super melty. I hope this helps! xx
I really like these muffins! Note- I used coconut oil, regular unbleached flour, and pumpkin pie spice to replace the other spices. I actually liked them better next day than warm for some reason. The cream cheese is a must!
Hey Lauren,
Fantastic!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I’m thrilled to hear that it turned out well for you:)
These muffins are so delicious!! Thank you for sharing. Love your website and all your awesome recipes and the beautiful photos! 😊
Hey Julie,
Thanks so much for your kind message! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you making it! xx
The carrot cake part of this muffin was awesome, but my cream cheese ended up on top like a slab of butter would look. Next time I’ll put half the batter in, then dollop in the cream cheese, then the rest of the batter. It was tricky to push down the cream cheese with a fork – didn’t quite work. Might add walnuts next time too (personal preference!)
Hey Jessica,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear the cream cheese didn’t work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe another try! xx
Wowwww!! Looks delicious and easy
Thanks so much Dolores!! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
Can you use GF flour as a substitute? Thanks!
Everything looks amazing!
Hey Cyn,
I’ve not tested this recipe with GF flour, but you could give it a try and see how it turns out! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
These were so tasty! I added two tablespoons of brown sugar, extra cinnamon and some walnuts to have more texture. I will be making the recipe again soon. Thanks Tieghan for all the great recipes and all the hard work you put into them.💕
Hey April,
Perfect! Thanks for sharing the additions you made, so glad to hear you enjoyed the muffins! xx
These were really yummy, I added extra smoke syrup, and a bit more spice and fresh ginger, next time I would sweeten the cream cheese a bit :)…great recipe!
Maple Syrup not smoke! Lol 😆
Lol I figured:)
Hey Andreja,
Amazing!! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
Love this recipe! How do you keep the top of the muffin from getting soggy with the cinnamon & sugar bakes on it?
Hi Sheryl,
Thanks so much!! You really shouldn’t have that issue, I’ve never experienced this with a crumble:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Made these this morning and they were amazing! Perfect level of sweetness.
Hey Marisa,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
I found the muffins to be lacking flavor overall. Definitely needs maybe double the maple syrup or even an addition of brown sugar. Texture was great though so definitely will make again with double the sugar.
Hey Farrah,
Thanks for giving these muffins a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear they weren’t enjoyed. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
These were ok. I highly do not recommend the cream cheese in the middle. A piped cream cheese frosting in the middle would be better. I also used a cinnamon crumble topping on the top.
I want to follow this up and say my family loved the cream cheese in the middle.
Lol good to know!! Thanks for sharing:)
Hi Jamille,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t love these! xx
These were great! I used EVOO in place of the oil called for but other than that followed recipe exactly. Flavors were perfect and cream cheese in the middle was decadent!
Hey Susan,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
The muffins are good – full disclosure I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar. We would prefer them without the cream cheese in the middle. Maybe a cream cheese frosting piped in? Or a frosting on top?
Hey Rebecca,
Thanks for making this recipe! You could totally just omit the cream cheese next time:) I hope this helps! xx