Bird’s Nest Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Celebrate Easter with these festive Bird’s Nest Carrot Cake Cupcakes that are super moist, naturally sweetened with maple syrup and applesauce, all topped with cream cheese frosting, toasted coconut, and chocolate candy!

Easter is just around the corner and these carrot cake cupcakes make the perfect party treat! A cute little dessert that is not only delicious, but also a great addition to your holiday table. These carrot cake cupcakes are made healthier with whole wheat cake flour, grated carrots, coconut oil instead of butter and are naturally sweetened with maple syrup and applesauce. The cupcakes are topped with delicious cream cheese and toasted coconut which makes for adorable “bird’s nests” with egg-shaped chocolate candies.

For these bird’s nest cupcakes, I like to use carrot cake to keep with a fun Easter theme, but of course you can make any type of cupcake or frosting you like! But I highly recommend making these deliciously moist carrot cake cupcakes because I KNOW you won’t be disappointed! My 2 year old kept calling them “baby bird treats” and loved them.

Materials You Need

• Whole wheat cake flour – I like to bake with whole wheat cake flour because it has all the nutritional benefits of whole wheat flour while giving these cupcakes a light and fluffy texture. I highly recommend using this, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can use plain white whole wheat flour or plain all-purpose flour.
• Baking soda + baking powder – it acts as a leavening agent to help the cake rise
• Carrot – You will need to grate about 2 medium carrots to get a heaping cup for this recipe, the grated carrots also help keep these cupcakes moist
• applesauce – just a little unsweetened applesauce in these cupcakes helps reduce the amount of oil we need to use and also adds a little extra sweetness. You can also use mashed bananas
• Coconut oil – it replaces butter in these cupcakes and helps keep them moist and fluffy!
• Egg – gives these muffins structure and height
• Sweetener – I used a combination of coconut sugar along with maple syrup to sweeten these cupcakes naturally without using refined sugar
• Herbs and spices – a delicious combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt
• Vanilla – enhances the flavors in these cupcakes and they taste really good with warm spices
• Grated coconut – this is what we will use to make the little “nests” on top of the cupcakes and be sure to use grated unsweetened coconut which has longer strands, not coconut flakes which look more like chips
• Cream cheese – this is needed to make the frosting! I like to set it about an hour before use so it softens and beats easier

How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes OR you can make 24 mini carrot cake muffins! You will make the dough in exactly the same way, you just need to adjust the cooking time for smaller muffins. Here’s how to make it!

1. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, coconut sugar, salt and spices and set aside.
2. Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the grated carrots, eggs, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla until well blended. Then mix in the coconut oil, make sure the coconut oil is melted first and let it cool before mixing with the other ingredients.
3. Make the dough. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups covered with cupcake coating (or you can spray them with non-stick cooking spray), making sure to fill each cup about 2/3 full. You can also make 24 mini muffins!
4. BAKE! Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean then let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. If baking mini muffins, bake at 350 for about 10 to 13 minutes. Next I show you how to make cream cheese frosting and assemble your bird’s nest!

How to Make a Bird’s Nest

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can toast the coconut and make the cream cheese frosting!

1. Coconut roast. Roasting the coconut adds a strong, nutty flavor to plain coconut and gives these cupcakes a great texture! Start by adding the grated coconut to a large dry skillet (no oil needed!) and cook over moderate heat, making sure the coconut is in an even layer in the pan. Keep tossing the coconut in the pan until golden brown and fragrant, being careful not to burn the coconut.
2. Make frosting. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer), combine softened cream cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat on high speed until smooth.
3. Craft a bird’s nest! Once your cupcakes have cooled completely, frost each cupcake using a knife or spatula (no need to use a pastry bag to make it look pretty as we’ll be coating them with coconut!) then sprinkle toasted coconut over each cupcake, pressing down slightly so the coconut sticks to the frosting. Then place a small amount of frosting on the bottom of each egg-shaped candy and press it into the center of each cupcake. You will need 3 candies per cupcake.

How to Store Bird’s Nest Cupcakes

The great thing about these cupcakes is that they taste even better the next day! Just be sure to store them in a sealed, airtight container and they will last about a day on the counter then transfer to your fridge until 4 to 5 days. If you’re making this for Easter or Mother’s Day, you can totally make it ahead of time!

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Hope you all enjoy these adorable Bird’s Nest Carrot Cake Cupcakes and if you love this recipe as much as we do, please rate me a five star below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love looking at all your delicious recreations!