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Moist Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins (Cream Cheese Frosting) +Video

These easy sourdough carrot cake muffins are perfectly moist, full of warm spices and sweet shredded carrots. Topped with a velvety cream cheese frosting, these carrot muffins make a sweet breakfast, an easy meal-prep snack, or a festive Easter treat.

A batch of sourdough carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting and garnished with shredded carrot and gold sprinkles.

I love how versatile these sourdough carrot cake muffins are. Not all muffins can be served as a regular breakfast or snack-time bite, and also shine alongside the most decadent Easter desserts. But these little carrot-packed puffs take the cake… the carrot cake.

Okay, I promise I’ll never use that cake idiom again, but truly, these carrot muffins are a crowd-pleaser that can be served plain or loaded with a tangy cream cheese frosting. Whether you need a quick breakfast or a special carrot-inspired dessert, these muffins can easily adapt to suit your fancy.

A batch of sourdough carrot cake muffins in golden cupcake liners topped with cream cheese frosting and shredded carrots.

Sourdough discard adds a uniquely delicious flavor to baked goods and blends especially well with the warm spices in these tangy muffins. Cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg come together, making each bite flavor-packed. Get your meal-prep on and tackle those busy mornings with these oh-so-moist sourdough discard carrot cake muffins.

Are you a fan of the warm spices in this recipe? For more cinnamony spice and everything nice, see my sourdough pumpkin cookies or these popular sourdough oatmeal cookies. Or check out some of our favorite sourdough breakfast recipes.

Keys for Success

When adapting recipes to incorporate sourdough discard, a key step is reducing a bit of the liquid component in the recipe. This is because discard is made of flour and water. Since we are adding water to the recipe, we’ve got to take some liquid out.

A sneaky way to do this is by squeezing the moisture out of the carrots. If you’ve ever made sauerkraut, you’ll know just how much liquid can be hiding inside of veggies. Carrots are no exception, and by salting, massaging, and then squeezing the shredded carrots in a cheesecloth, we can extract almost 1/3 cup of carrot juice!

See the notes section of the recipe card for more detailed instructions.

Recipe Box Repertorire

Reasons why this recipe is worth adding to your recipe collection.

  • Sourdough bakers always need a few sourdough discard recipes up their sleeves for times when that excess discard accumulates. This recipe is perfect for such occasions.
  • Wholesome ingredients like shredded carrots and optional walnuts make these sourdough snacks both satisfying and nutritious.
  • The flavor of these muffins rivals those of the best carrot cake; even sweeter, they come in handy muffin form. Perfectly portioned and portable! Eat them on-the-go or pack them in your kids’ lunch boxes.

Ingredients to Have On-Hand

All the ingredients to make sourdough carrot muffins.
  • Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt make up the base of the dry ingredients. The spices include cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
  • Sourdough starter discard: Discard enhances the flavor of these muffins and increases the acidity, helping them rise.
  • Eggs: Room-temperature eggs make the batter nice and fluffy.
  • Avocado oil (or your preferred vegetable oil): Oil gives these sourdough carrot muffins a moist crumb. You could also use melted butter.
  • Vanilla extract: Not to be missed, vanilla adds warmth and flavor to practically every sort of muffin.
  • Brown and white sugar: A combo of brown and white sugar adds a subtle and sweet molasses touch.
  • Buttermilk: Room-temperature buttermilk can be made by combining a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice with regular whole milk. If you’ve got the real stuff, even better.

Quick-Guide How-To Make

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line muffin pan with greased liners.
  2. Lay a cheesecloth in a small bowl and toss in the carrots with salt. Massage salt into carrots and let sit for 20 minutes. Twist and squeeze the liquid out of the carrots, then brush the carrots into the bowl and set aside.
  3. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.)
  4. Combine toom temperature wet ingredients in a large bowl (starter, eggs, oil, vanilla, sugars, and buttermilk.)
  5. Add the dry to the wet and gently mix until just combined, then fold in the carrots and optional chopped nuts.
  6. Spoon batter into liners, filling 2/3rds full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely on a rack, then frost.

Photos of the Process

Using room temperature ingredients helps the batter come together smoothly with an even distribution of air pockets. This step makes for fluffier muffins with a light texture.

A large glass bowl of sourdough carrot cake muffin batter.

The shredded carrots should feel fairly dry once you’ve squeezed them with the cheesecloth. Fold them gently into the batter.

Shredded carrots in a woman's hand next to a bowl of sourdough carrot muffin batter with more shredded carrots on top.

A cookie scoop works nicely for getting an even amount of batter into each muffin liner. I usually do about two cookie scoops full.

A cookie scoop filled with sourdough carrot cake batter being used to fill a muffin tin.

Fill the muffin liners almost to the top. About 2/3rds of the way full, leaving a scant quarter of an inch of space at the top for rising.

A muffin tin filled with liners that are full of sourdough carrot cake batter.

Once the muffins have cooled completely, use a piping bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the cream cheese frosting onto each muffin. For a simple rose design, start in the center and spiral outwards.

A blue piping tip piping cream cheese frosting onto a sourdough carrot muffin.

Baking Tips

Bring all the wet ingredients to room temperature before mixing up the batter. (The starter, eggs, and buttermilk.)

Be careful not to overmix the batter. Less is more, and I like to stop when just a bit of the flour can still be seen, but most of it is incorporated.

Scoop and level, ladies and gents! When measuring the flour, it’s best to scoop and level the flour or go by weight, 300 grams in this case. If too much flour is added to the batter, the results can be dismally dense.

Garnish muffins with gold sanding sugar and a few bits of shredded carrot for a festive-looking finish.

FAQ

What to serve with sourdough carrot cake muffins?

If serving these up for breakfast, a warm mug of coffee, tea, or a glass of creamy milk washes them down nicely.

Can I mix up the variations of add-ins and toppings?

There are lots of ways to spin these muffins. Shoot for 1/2 cup of add-ins. You could add dried fruit like raisins, craisins, or chopped apricots when folding in the carrots.

Drained pineapple is also an excellent addition. Use a cheesecloth to squeeze the juice out of the pineapple before folding it into the batter.

Of course, chopped nuts pair beautifully with the warm spices in these sourdough carrot muffins. Pecans or walnuts are a lovely addition.

If you’re a chocolate lover, toss in some mini chocolate chips!

Is there an easy way to shred the carrots?

The food processor with a shredding attachment helps make this job a breeze, but you can also use a hand-held grater like my box grater. I used about three large carrots.

How To Store

Make-ahead or leftover frosted muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Unfrosted muffins will keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Freezing Instructions

These also freeze great. You can freeze them frosted or unfrosted. When you are ready to enjoy them, pop them in the refrigerator overnight to thaw or set them out on the counter to thaw at room temperature for an hour or two.

A sourdough carrot cake muffin with a bite taken out of it and frosted with cream cheese frosting and garnished with shredded carrot.

More favorite recipes from Rooted Deep Home:

If you’ve tried this Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins recipe, remember to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you, and it helps me so much! — Thank you.

A sourdough carrot cake muffin with cream cheese frosting topped with shredded carrots for garnish and golden sprinkles.

Moist Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins (Cream Cheese Frosting)

Alicia Pyle
These easy sourdough carrot cake muffins are perfectly moist, full of warm spices and sweet shredded carrots. Topped with a velvety cream cheese frosting, these carrot muffins make a sweet breakfast, a delightful grab-and-go snack, or a festive Easter treat.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 58 minutes
Servings 18
Calories 277 kcal

Equipment

  • Muffin pan
  • Mixing bowls
  • Cheesecloth
  • Muffin liners optional
  • Cookie scoop optional for scooping batter into liners

Ingredients
  

For the Carrot Cake Muffins:

  • 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 300g
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter 100g discard or fed (room temperature)
  • 2 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1/3 cup avocado oil (or preferred vegetable oil)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar light or dark
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
  • 1 and 1/2 cups carrots, grated and squeezed see notes

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened brick-style
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar 500g

Instructions
 

For the Carrot Muffins:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 18 paper liners. Spray liners with non-stick spray or coat with a thin layer of butter.
  • Lay a cheesecloth or tea towel in a small bowl and toss the shredded carrots in. Sprinkle the 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the shredded carrots and massage it into the carrots. Cover and leave it to rest for about 20 minutes. After resting, twist and squeeze the towel with the carrots in it, getting as much juice as you can out of the carrots. Then, brush the carrots off the towel and into the bowl and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, and whisk together.
  • In another large bowl, combine sourdough starter, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and buttermilk* and mix well.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, gently mixing until most of the flour is combined. Use a spatula to fold in the grated and squeezed carrots. Optional at this point, you may fold in 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts.
  • Spoon enough batter into each liner, filling about 2/3rds full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are springy and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • In a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds until creamy. Add the softened cream cheese, vanilla, and salt. Beat together on medium speed for about about 3 minutes until very well combined.
  • With the mixer on low, add 4 cups of confectioners' sugar a cup at a time. Mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again on medium speed for 1 minute or until nice and fluffy.
  • Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip and pipe over cooled muffins.
  • Optional: garnish each frosted muffin with sprinkles and a few bits of grated carrot.

Video

Notes

For the shredded carrots: This recipe works best when reducing some of the liquid.
  1. Lay a cheesecloth or tea towel in a small bowl and toss the shredded carrots in. Sprinkle the 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the shredded carrots and massage it into the carrots. Cover and leave it to rest for about 20 minutes. The salt will draw the moisture out of the carrots, just like making sauerkraut.
  2. After resting, twist and squeeze the towel with the carrots in it, getting as much juice as you can out of the carrots. Then, brush the carrots off the towel and into the bowl.
*No Buttermilk? Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the measuring cup, and then add regular milk until you have 3/4 a cup of liquid. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes. Proceed with the recipe.
Storage: Store cooled and frosted carrot cake muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freezing: Unfrosted muffins and frosting can be frozen separately in a freezer-safe container, or freeze fully cooled and frosted muffins for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for 1 hour, or until thawed through.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 4gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 263mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 1842IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 1mg
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One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    We love these sourdough carrot muffins for fun Easter desserts, but they are also great for breakfast if you leave the frosting off. If you have any questions be sure to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you ASAP!

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