Banana Carrot Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.
I did it.
I put a vegetable in a cupcake. And I didn’t do it alone.
Remember when I made these breakfast cookies? I love those things. Anyhoo, I made them with facebaby’s sister (my best friend’s kids… no, no relation) who is pretty much my favoritest little person in the universe. If you click on that cookie link, you can see how much older she looks here. I sort of hate it. Every time I see her I just want to scream STOP GROWING!!
I’m so maternal.
And ever since we made those cookies, she has been asking her mom when we were going to do it again. If we are being honest here… things like this aren’t just for her. I mean, did you know I might not be the most patient person in the world? Yeah. It sure does benefit, well… everyone around me when I spend a good chunk of time with a four year old. Oh the things I learn.
I also encourage them to do this. I sense I may regret it one day. Never mind that when my husband is around, I don’t exist. She loooooooves him.
So – the cupcakes with vegetables. Yes. I feel like carrot cake can be a cult favorite or get no love at all. I am pretty apathetic on the whole situation – it’s not the first cupcake I’d ever choose and I’d possibly even turn down a big slice, but the cream cheese frosting is what draws me in most. AND you guys know how obsessed I am with bananas these days… I just felt like adding some in would be the best choice in the world.
It was.
Oh… and we also made these cupcakes with coconut oil! No butter. Isn’t that crazy talk? I love it.
By now, you know I’m a bit on the lazy side and prefer mixing my cupcakes by hand. Sometimes you guys ask me why I do this in hopes for some special scientific baking answer, but the truth is that I just don’t want to drag my mixer out constantly. Plus, this way things were a bit easier and hands-on for my little friend. It results in a slightly denser cupcake – almost muffin like – but the banana and coconut oil contribute to the texture as well.
We left shredded coconut out of the cupcake itself, mostly because not everyone we were spending time with loooooves coconut like I do. How rude. If you’d like, you can throw a big old handful inside the batter, no other substitutions necessary. The frosting itself is flavored with coconut extract, but in my attempts to be crafty and entertain a small child, we put little nests on top with toasted coconut and Cadbury mini eggs.
Ugh. These stupid eggs. They are killing me. I thought I could be the cool, festive, domestic person that has a bowl of mini eggs sitting in their living room for hungry guests to snack on, but ummm…. no. I ate them all myself. Major fail.
Worth it though. This was so.much.fun.
Banana Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, measured solid then melted and cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 bananas, mashed
- 2 cups freshly grated carrots
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
frosting
- 1 1/2 (8 ounce) blocks of cold cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- toasted unsweetened flaked coconut
- cadbury mini eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs. Whisk in coconut oil, then once combined, stir in bananas, carrots and vanilla extract. Once mixed, add in half of the dry ingredients. Mix with a large spoon until incorporated, then add in the buttermilk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir until batter is somewhat smooth and not many lumps remain. Using a 1/4 cup measure or an ice cream scoop, fill lines 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are set in the centers. Set aside to cool completely.
frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add in powdered sugar with the mixer on low speed, increasing the speed once all of the sugar is added. Add in vanilla and coconut extracts, then beat on medium to medium-high speed for a good 2-3 minutes until creamy, scraping down the sides if needed. If you find the frosting it a bit too thick, add in some milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add additional powdered sugar gradually. Frost cupcakes once cooled. Roll the edges in toasted coconut and top with cadbury mini eggs if desired.
Notes
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I appreciate you so much!
Ooooh and that neon pink headband? Yeah. Just guess who bought her that.
112 Comments on “Banana Carrot Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.”
You and facebaby’s sister make the perfect team! These cupcakes sound delish, will be the perfect treat to bring to Easter!
The cupcakes look delicious!! Face baby’ sister is adorable!!!!!!!
Haha I love the headband comment!! These are absolutely adorable (and I hope they blow up Pinterest!!) I especially love that you used coconut extract in the frosting and not the actual stuff. While my taste for coconut is slowly developing, I still don’t like that dry flake texture. Maybe one day I’ll get there, but for now, extract it is! PS Have you ever tried making a frosting with coconut milk? Think it would work?
I’m pretty sure this is the cutest little girl I’ve seen since 1995 when my sister was this small. I would let her explode milk bubbles everywhere, too.
I have zero self control with the Cadbury mini eggs. What do they put in those things?!
Your little baking buddy is just the cutest! She must have had so much fun. Great recipe and great cupcakes!
Your neice is an absolute doll and I know a few little kiddos that would go crazy for these cupcakes, including me!
she is such a doll!!! what a gorgeous girl :) i wish i had nieces near me so i could cook with them too :( maybe i should grab some neighborhood kiddies & have them come over to cook with me? yeah, that might be creepy. haha
Aww yeah! What an awesome idea! So cute too :)
She has grown so much!!! I feel the same way about my daughter…i wish I could press STOP on the clock sometimes.
And the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting – no words. I could just have that forever on everything!
Those cupcakes look sooo cute and I bet they taste delicious! I’m not a big coconut-lover but I’ll give it a chance this time, since these cupcakes would make for a great Easter dessert!
xo, Elisa
I love these! And so funny because I also posted cupcakes with coconut egg nests today! :)
I love carrot cake, and the addition of coconut oil sounds wonderful. What a cute help you had!
Those cupcakes look delicious and I love the eggs on top. You’ve got a darling little helper in the kitchen too – she’s so cute! Love it!
ah! so cute! and I love her headband!
as a girl looking to be aunt-of-the-century and as a former preschool teacher, mess making should sometimes just be encouraged…especially if it involves straws and milk bubbles! I like your style, girl.
She is sooo cute! I love the headband and OMG her blue eyes are just so pretty! These cupcakes look awesome! Love this post, so much fun!
These are all kinds of amazing and will be made in the near future!
Yummm! These look great. Love how festive they are, and believe me, I think I might possibly be even MORE impatient than you (even though, you know, I’ve never met you–I feel pretty confident in my impatience-ness to say that). Love the headband!
These are really just too adorable — both the cupcakes and that cutie! My mom is a huge fan of carrot cake, and her birthday is coming up . . . hmm. Maybe I can sneak these into the day’s festivities and see if anyone notices the veggies! :)
These look great!
And, I need to know where your assistant got her awesome Disney princess apron!
She is ADORABLE!!! And makes some great faces herself! Looks so much like her little brother. What a cuuutie pie. I adore carrot cake. I love how dense it is. I feel like I’m getting to eat extra cake when I eat carrot cake and it’s also never dry….unless you over bake it by like an hour. Although, if you put pineapple [which I love] in carrot cake, I will stay far far away. The idea of banana carrot cake is perfection!
Those cupcakes would be what we call “muffcakes” in my little world. A dense, muffin like cake with frosting = muffcake. And OMG I need to make these for Easter, they look AMAZING!
You are just a playful person at heart, which is why i love coming here, not to mention the good recipes! my mom and grandma were both playful in the kitchen, and i grew up having fun in the kitchen and lots of food fights. i have 2 fondest memories of playtime in the kitchen. Stay young, playful and lovely just the way you are.
1 – Standing around a large bowl with the making of biscuit dough. Gramm’s take a big handful in each hand, covering her hand to the knuckles, and swiped the dough right down the faces of 2 of my aunts who were helping here! ROFL, i will never forget my grandpa’s face when he came in the kitchen and saw 5 women in a dough fight!
2 – I was staying at my aunt’s house when my Grandparents came for the weekend. we decided to do a BBQ, and everyone was gathered around the table for fun. i accidentally got mustard on my Grandpa’s arm, he accidentally got ketchup on my head, and the fight was on!!
If you are replacing butter with coconut oil in other sweet treats (cookies, cakes, etc) what is the conversion ration?
i truly have no idea – it’s all trial and error for me! the recipe we adapted these from called for vegetable oil, so I just used the same amount when measured solid. i’m not enough of a baker to know anything about ratios, haha.
Jessica, I’m seriously addicted to those mini Cadbury eggs! How did you manage to save any for the cupcakes?! If I can handle it, I’m definitely going to try making these cupcakes. They look delicious! I don’t have such an adorable helper, though…I don’t think my cat counts. Gross. :)
these look delicious!!
I love that you share my coconut obsession, I really don’t get ppl who don’t! Also, I’m one of the few who really dig carrot cake, so this really gives me the best of both worlds!!
I want to stick her in a cupcake.
SO adorable! Both her and the cupcakes!
These are gorgeous! I love that you incorporated banana and toasted coconut AND Cadbury mini egg into this cupcake! I love those mini eggs! I’m going to have to make these, it’s a great twist on carrot cake!
These look so beautiful!!! =)
I won’t be the only one saying this, but she is freaking adorable.
mmm coconut cream cheese frosting is the best! and i love how cute these cupcakes are.
These look gorgeous,like they should be sold in a store for Easter. And I can`t wait to try coconut cream cheese frosting, too!
Some Snapshots Blog
Jess
The coconut cream cheese frosting on these looks just amazing! I am keeping this one for sure! She is adorable!
So cute :) Both the amazing cupcakes and the little helper!
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
Yes, please STOP GROWING!!! I can’t even take it. And only you could take pictures that actually do justice to her heart-breaker-status adorableness (that’s totally a real word, bee-tee-dubs)
PS my two weeks in the dark ages have come to a close. I finally got some of them internets installed at my new place and can once again bask in the glory that is How Sweet It Is.
I just got way too excited reading the title to these cupcakes…and seeing the cadbury eggs on there. Easter Dessert for sure!!!!!
And that little girl is ADORABLE!!
lol – I love that you ate them all yourself. Such a fun way to decorate the tops!
Looks too good with a lot of sweatness. Do you think you could send one to Uncle Ray?
She is literally the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!
These are so adorable. I love the eggs in a nest look :)
Those are the cutest cupcakes ever!
Hey Jessica! I read your blog daily and ALWAYS admire your amazing photography and i love your hilarious writing style. I can never take my eyes off of how you do your frosting on cupcakes. It always looks so effortless but chic! If you would ever consider making a video tutorial on it, i would love you forever (kinda already do though). I know making videos may seem freaky and what not..but pleeeeasssee!
How cute!!! Love these!
Oh wow. Yeah.
I love the smiles!
Just wondering if there is a typo in the directions. You say: Mix with a large spoon until incorporated, then add in the butter. But there is no butter listed in the ingredients. Could this be an error? Just wondering as these look yummy and I wanted to make them this weekend.
looks absolutely amazing!! i love banana and coconut together.
A combo of banana and carrot sounds amazing . I need to get to the store for coconut oil ASAP. I have never used it ! The little girl is adorable !!!
That little girl is darling!
She is sooo freaking cute. And I love the headband. I’m totally not into neons myself, but I walked past an eye-boggling display of neon gear for little girls are Target the other day and had to literally tear myself away from buying EVERYthing for my niece. How does Target know ALL my weaknesses?!
I LOVE that headband. I own a pair of neon yellow pants that I’m pretty sure my daycare mom is sick of seeing – she laughs at me and calls them “highlighter pants”… I would never take them off if I could get away with it!