Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies: A Beautiful Sweet Treat

⏱️ Prep: 20 mins | 🔥 Cook: 12 mins | 🍰 Servings: 7 | ✅ Difficulty: Easy | 💨 Method: Oven/Air Fryer

Now, it’s time for a beautiful sweet treat! called Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies I’m going to take two things that I absolutely love: the American whoopie pie, and good old English carrot cake. We are going to splice them together with love and care, and let me tell you, this recipe is just great.

And if you’re as obsessed with that cosy carrot cake vibe as I am, you’ll also love my Carrot Cake loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting for those days when you want a proper slice instead of a handheld treat.

You can put these together pretty quickly, and then you can have them in the fridge or the freezer, just waiting for a rainy day when you want something delicious. You can cook them in the oven and do all of them at once, or even better—nice and quick—cook them to order in an air fryer.

It’s a really nice little recipe, so let’s kick it off!

Why You’ll Love This

• The Best of Both Worlds: It’s that perfect middle ground—not quite a cookie, not quite a cake, but soft, handheld, and packed with spice.
• Sneaky Veggies: Even though this is a sweet treat, this might be the only way you can get carrots into your kids . Any tactic works!
• Make-Ahead Magic: You can freeze the raw dough balls and bake them fresh whenever you want a treat.

If you’re more in the mood for chilled desserts, definitely check out my The Easiest, Creamiest, And Mintiest No Bake Mint Aero Cheesecake or these super cute Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries—they’re both no-fuss and perfect for when you don’t feel like turning the oven on.

What You’ll Need

Special Equipment:

• Microplane or fine grater
• Small saucepan
• Heatproof bowl (for bain-marie)
• Pestle and mortar (optional, for nuts)
• Air fryer OR baking sheet with parchment paper

The Batter:

• 85 g unsalted butter
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 100 g stem ginger in syrup (drained weight), finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger syrup (from the jar)
• 200 g self-raising flour
• 1 pinch salt (for the flour)
• 1 medium egg (free-range)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (level tsp)
• 100 g golden caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 orange (zest only)
• 200 g carrots, peeled and finely grated
• 50 g pistachios (shelled), roughly chopped or crushed
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

The Filling:

• 100 g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1/2 orange (zest only)
• 160 g cream cheese

For Cooking:

• Olive oil spray (if using air fryer)

Let’s Get Baking!

1. Getting the Base Sorted

Start with 85 grams of unsalted butter in a little pan on low heat. You don’t want to get it hot; you just want to melt it. Pop a little pinch of salt in there too.

While that’s melting, we’re going in with a beautiful little condiment you can get in all the supermarkets: ginger in syrup. It is really, really amazing whether you’re doing sweets or savory dishes. I love it. You need a tablespoon of the syrup, and then take just a couple of the chunks—about 100 grams worth. That’s going to give you the most amazing, sweet, warming, spicy flavor. Finely chop those chunks and whack them into a large mixing bowl with the syrup.

Next, go in with 200 grams of self-raising flour and a pinch of salt to season it. Crack in one medium-sized egg—free-range, of course—and then spice it up. I’m talking a level teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of ground cardamom for that lovely fragrance. Add 100 grams of golden caster sugar, and you’re well on your way.

2. The Fresh Flavors

Now for the orange zest. Use the fine side of the grater; you only want the orange part which is oily and delicious, not the bitter white pith. You only need half an orange, but it makes all the difference.

Then, the star of the show: 200 grams of carrots. Wash them, peel them, and grate them on the fine side. This makes the whoopie pies really moist and brings a beautiful natural sweetness.

Pro tip: You can swap carrots for beetroot if you want something purple and earthy!

For a bit of crunch, use pistachios. I love its color and flavor. You can run a knife through them or crack them in a pestle and mortar. Finally, add a little security blanket of bicarbonate of soda—half a teaspoon—just to give it that extra lift.

Pour in your melted butter and mix it all up. You want the dough to be moist but firm.

3. Shape the Dough

Line a tray (or plate) with greaseproof paper. Scoop up golf ball-sized pieces of the mixture and roll them into balls. You should get roughly 12 to 14 balls.

At this stage, you can freeze the dough balls on the tray until solid, then transfer them to a bag or container for baking straight from frozen later.

4. Bake (Choose Your Method)

Oven Method: Preheat to 170°C (325°F). Place balls on a lined baking sheet, spaced apart. Bake for about 12 minutes until they are lightly golden and springy to the touch.

Air Fryer Method: Place 4–6 balls in the basket (don’t overcrowd). Give them a little spritz of olive oil spray first just to keep them lovely. Bake at 170°C (325°F) for about 12 minutes.

Note: If baking from frozen dough balls, increase time to about 15 minutes.

Let them cool completely before you sandwich them so the filling doesn’t melt out.

5. The Dreamy Filling

You can’t have a whoopie pie without the filling! Use 100 grams of white chocolate. Melt it in a heatproof bowl sitting over a pan of barely simmering water—keep it gentle so the chocolate doesn’t split.

Once melted, remove from heat. Add the zest from the other half of your orange. It lifts the flavor beautifully. Then, mix in 160 grams of cream cheese. Stir it until smooth, then pop it in the fridge to firm up while the cakes bake and cool.

6. Assemble

Once the cakes are cool, grab a little spoon and sandwich two cakes together with that lovely cream cheese filling. And there you have it—a thing of beauty!

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FAQs

And if you love fun, playful bakes like this, you have to try my A Super Fun St. Patrick’s Day Velvet Cake! next—it looks amazing on the table alongside these little whoopie pies.

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Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Recipe by Sana ReiCourse: Dessert, SnacksCuisine: British, American FusionDifficulty: Easy

Servings

7

(makes 14 halves / 7 assembled pies)

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

Calories (approx per assembled pie)

320

kcal

Chill Time

20

minutes

Total time

52

minutes

A delicious cross between a soft cookie and a cake, spiced with ginger and cardamom, and filled with a zesty white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Perfect for baking in the oven or air fryer.

Ingredients

• Equipment Needed:

• Fine grater

• Mixing bowls

• Saucepan

• Air fryer or oven

• Parchment paper

• Ingredients
• For the whoopie pies:

• 85 g unsalted butter

• Pinch of sea salt

• 100 g stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped (drained weight)

• 1 tbsp ginger syrup (from the jar)

• 200 g self-raising flour

• 1 large egg (free-range)

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 100 g golden caster sugar

• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

• Zest of 1 orange (use half for batter, half for filling)

• 200 g carrots, peeled and finely grated

• 50 g pistachios, shelled and crushed

• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• For the filling:

• 100 g white chocolate

• Remaining orange zest (from above)

• 160 g cream cheese

• For baking:

• Olive oil spray (optional, for air fryer)

Directions

• Melt the butter: Add 85 g unsalted butter and a pinch of sea salt to a small pan. Melt gently over low heat until just melted, then set aside to cool slightly.
• Mix the base ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the finely chopped stem ginger and 1 tbsp of the ginger syrup. Tip in 200 g self-raising flour, 100 g golden caster sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, and crack in the egg. Give everything a quick mix to start bringing it together.
• Add orange, carrot, nuts, and bicarb: Finely grate the zest from half the orange into the bowl (save the other half for the filling). Add 200 g finely grated carrot, 50 g crushed pistachios, and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda. Stir until everything is evenly distributed.
• Combine with butter: Pour in the melted butter. Mix until you have a moist but fairly firm dough that holds together when rolled into a ball. If it feels too sticky to handle, let it sit for 5–10 minutes to firm up.
• Shape the dough balls: Line a tray or plate with parchment. Roll the mixture into 12–14 golf ball-sized spheres and place them on the tray. At this stage, you can freeze them on the tray until solid and then transfer to a bag or container if you want to bake from frozen later.
• Bake – oven method: Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange the dough balls with space between them. Bake for about 12 minutes, until lightly golden and just springy at the edges. Allow to cool completely on a rack.
• Bake – air fryer method: Preheat the air fryer to 170°C (325°F) if your model needs it. Lightly spritz the basket with olive oil spray. Place 4–6 dough balls in the basket with space between them and give them a light spritz of oil. Air fry for about 12 minutes until risen and lightly golden. Cool completely before filling. If baking from frozen, cook for about 15 minutes.
• Make the filling: Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Stir until just melted and smooth, then remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining orange zest, then add the cream cheese and mix until completely smooth and thick. Chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes so it firms up to a spreadable consistency.
• Assemble the whoopie pies: Once the cakes are completely cool, pair them up by size. Spoon or pipe a generous layer of the chilled cream cheese filling onto the flat side of one half, then gently press the second half on top to create a sandwich.
• Serve or chill: Enjoy straight away, or chill them in the fridge to firm up the filling even more before serving.

Notes

• Storage: Because of the cream cheese, keep these in an airtight container in the fridge. They’re best within 2–3 days.
• Freezing: You can freeze the raw dough balls for 1–2 months. Bake from frozen at the same temperature, adding a few extra minutes until they are baked through. You can also freeze assembled pies individually wrapped.
• Swaps: Try walnuts or hazelnuts instead of pistachios. You can even swap carrots for beetroot for a funky purple version!
• Texture: These are meant to be soft—somewhere between a cake and a cookie—so don’t overbake them.