Skip to Content

Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Delightfully tasty gourmet carrot cake cupcakes, topped with a light and yummy cream cheese frosting.

Gourmet Carrot Cupcakes

Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes

My husband and I were both in the Air Force and we were stationed at Travis AFB in California. The base is situated in a really good place between San Francisco, Sacramento, and a short 30 minute drive to Napa Valley and Sonoma.

So lots of awesome places to visit, yummy wine to drink and good food to consume. Neither my husband or myself are very big spenders and we don’t tend to do lavish dates or anything beyond a nice hike or the Olive Garden.

But right at the end of our enlistment period we wanted to go somewhere really nice that would help us remember California. We heard about Ad Hoc which is a fantastic restaurant in Napa Valley run by Chef Thomas Keller. We decided to check it out.

We were not disappointed! The food was absolutely incredible!  Four courses of pure bliss being served one after the other! My husband and I often reminisce about that amazing restaurant and the wonderful food. It was a really nice memory to have before leaving California.Gourmet Carrot Cupcakes Recipe By Ad Hoc Chef Thomas Keller Http://Homemadefoodjunkie.com

I asked my husband which kind of cupcakes I should make this Friday and he immediately said carrot cake. So I went searching for a good carrot cake recipe. Low and behold! I found Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc carrot cake cupcakes recipe.

We were so excited! They are a bit daunting to make and definitely a bit of a marathon in the kitchen. But it was worth it to be able to bring a little Ad Hoc baking back into our world. Nostalgic and delicious!

Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes. A Delicious Recipe By Ad Hoc's Chef Thomas Keller!

Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I’m sharing this recipe with you for a special occasion treat. Your special carrot cake lover would SO appreciate these for a gift.

I loaded up my batch and went visiting. These little beauties were consumed eagerly. They kept coming back for more until my cupcake tray was empty.

Saying these are a famous Chef’s gourmet carrot cupcakes recipe definitely peaked interest. Even my family and friends that are not especially big on carrot cake wanted to try them.

They gave a huge thumbs up for this recipe! These Thomas Keller cupcakes are the bomb!

Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe:

For the Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and set bowl aside.
  • Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla until the consistency is smooth.
  • Next add in the oil
  • Slowly add in the flour mixture until it is thoroughly blended in.
  • Add in the carrots and the walnuts and stir into the batter.
  • Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter
  • Place in cupcake lined tin
  • Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
  • Make sure that a toothpick comes out cleanly when inserted
    Frosting:
  • Combine the flour, sugars, cornstarch, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
  • Slowly whisk in the milk.
  • When it is combined run through a meh strainer into a sauce pan.
  • Place the mixture on the stove in the sauce pan on medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick.
  • Remove from the stove and place it into another bowl.
  • Set aside to cool to room temperature for around 2 hours.
  • Once the mixture is cool, beat it for a minute or two with a mixer.
  • Slowly add in the pieces of cream cheese and butter, mixing between additions.
  • Add in the vanilla extract and beat it until the entire mixture is light and fluffy.

Decoration Note:

  • To decorate place in a piping bag with a circle tip.
  • I don’t recommend getting too crazy with the decorating, this frosting is meant for taste and not extreme decorating.
Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes A Delicious Recipe By Ad Hoc's Tomas Keller! Http://Homemadefoodjunkie.com

Yummy Gourmet carrot cake cupcakes with a light cream cheese frosting

Gourmet Carrot Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Gourmet Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Delightfully tasty gourmet carrot cake cupcakes, topped with a light and yummy cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil (I used coconut oil and it worked just fine)
  • 3 cups finely shredded carrots
  • 1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts (make sure they are chopped finely! I used regular chopped and they were a bit bulky in the cupcake)
  • Frosting:
  • 1-½ cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1-½ cups milk
  • 1-½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

Cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and set bowl aside.
  3. Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla until the consistency is smooth.
  4. Next add in the oil
  5. Slowly add in the flour mixture until it is thoroughly blended in.
  6. Add in the carrots and the walnuts and stir into the batter.
  7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter
  8. Place in cupcake lined tin
  9. Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
  10. Make sure that a toothpick comes out cleanly when inserted

Frosting:

  1. Combine the flour, sugars, cornstarch, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
  2. Slowly whisk in the milk.
  3. When it is combined run through a meh strainer into a sauce pan.
  4. Place the mixture on the stove in the sauce pan on medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick.
  5. Remove from the stove and place it into another bowl.
  6. Set aside to cool to room temperature for around 2 hours.
  7. Once the mixture is cool, beat it for a minute or two with a mixer.
  8. Slowly add in the pieces of cream cheese and butter, mixing between additions.
  9. Add in the vanilla extract and beat it until the entire mixture is light and fluffy.
  10. To decorate place in a piping bag with a circle tip.
  11. I don't recommend getting too crazy with the decorating, this frosting is meant for taste and not extreme decorating.

Nutrition Information

Yield

24

Serving Size

1 Frosted Cupcakes

Amount Per Serving Calories 403Total Fat 25gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 62mgSodium 185mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 1gSugar 29gProtein 4g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

 

Pin it:

Gourmet Carrot Cupcakes By Ad Hoc's Chef Thomas Keller Http://Homemadefoodjunkie.com

Adapted from Treats – SF.com

Recipe by Thomas Keller

Kayti Lavergne

Monday 20th of April 2015

Thank you Lexi!! I hope you do try them out! They are so worth it!!

mealplanmaven

Wednesday 15th of April 2015

I don't indulge in sweets very often, but I sure could go for one of these gorgeous cupcakes!

homemadefoodjunkie

Thursday 16th of April 2015

Hi Linda! These gourmet carrot cake cupcakes are worth the indulgence. To die for!

Kayti Lavergne

Wednesday 15th of April 2015

Thank you Debi! These are really yummy! I hope you do try them out, my family absolutely loved them!

debi

Wednesday 15th of April 2015

Carrot Cake is pretty much my favorite all time cake! No, not pretty much, it is my favorite!!! Yum! These look so good! Can't wait to try them.

April J Harris (@apriljharris)

Sunday 12th of April 2015

Your cupcakes look scrumptious! Love the recipe with all the yummy spices. And the frosting looks amazing too!

Kayti Lavergne

Sunday 12th of April 2015

Thank so much for the wonderful compliment on the cupcakes April!

Skip to Recipe