Garden Carrot Cupcakes are made with homemade cupcakes, homemade buttercream frosting and decorated to look like carrots planted and growing in a garden.

Garden Carrot Cupcakes

If you are looking for a super cute spring cupcake these carrot garden cupcakes are perfect! Since gardening is a fun spring activity to do with the kids I thought it would be a ton of fun to make some super cute cupcakes to go along with our gardening fun. If you are looking for an easy Easter cupcake these are perfect as an Easter dessert too!

Looking for more Easter fun? Check these out!

Best Cupcakes to Use for this Recipe

I used chocolate cupcakes so that it looked like garden dirt, however you can use vanilla cupcakes instead if you want to.

For the Frosting I used vanilla buttercream so I only had to make 1 batch of frosting. However if you would like to use chocolate buttercream for the tops of the cupcakes and then vanilla buttercream or marshmallow buttercream to make the carrots you can do that too.

Garden Carrot Cupcake Supply List

Garden Carrot Cupcake Ingredients

24 chocolate cupcakes
vanilla buttercream
36 Oreo cookies
orange food coloring
green licorice laces

Chocolate cupcakes Ingredients

1.5 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1.5 cups hot brewed coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
3 large eggs

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients

1.5 cups Butter
1.5 cups Shortening
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3 pounds Confectioners sugar
2 1/4 tablespoons hot water

How to Make Garden Carrot Cupcake

Chocolate Cupcakes Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.

Put paper cupcake liners in your cupcake pans or you can use silicone, which ever ones you prefer.

In a medium bowl whisk together the hot brewed coffee and cocoa, until dissolved and set aside.

In the bowl for your stand mixer, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Then add the butter and sugars.

Beat on medium-high speed of your mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the coffee-cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Mix each addition just until incorporated, being careful not to over mix.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds of the way full.

Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans briefly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Directions

Bring the butter to room temperature. Do NOT put it in the microwave to soften, put it on the kitchen counter and soften.

Add the butter and the shortening to the bowl of the stand mixer bowl. Using the paddle handle on the mixer to combine the two on medium speed.

Once butter and shortening are combined slowly add in the confectioners sugar and mix it little bit little until the sugar is incorporated into the butter/shortening mixture then add in the Vanilla Extract and let the mixer whip the frosting for 10 minutes to bring it to fluffy frosting.

If the frosting is thick add a little water a little bit at a time until you get to the consistency you are wanting.

How to Assemble Carrot Garden Cupcakes

In a medium mixing bowl add 2 cups of buttercream with some orange food coloring and stir until well combined. Transfer the buttercream to your piping bag that is fitted with a straight piping tip.

In another bowl add the rest of the buttercream frosting and leave white.

Place your Oreos into the bowl of your food processor. Grind them until they make a nice soil consistency. Pour the Oreos into a large bowl.

Pipe an even layer of buttercream onto the top of each cupcake.

Dip the cupcakes into the ground Oreos making sure you keep a nice domed shape to each cupcake.

Hold the piping bag filled with orange buttercream frosting straight above a cupcake and slowly press the buttercream into a small top of the carrot shape repeat this so you end up with three carrot tops on each cupcake.

Cut your licorice into small pieces ranging from about half an inch to an inch long. Stick three licorice pieces into each carrot center.

Carrot Garden Cupcakes

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Servings

Author Stephanie