Candied carrots make a really whimsical garnish for your carrot cake or cupcakes while adding the perfect crispy texture to your dessert! This unique crunchy topping is sure to impress even your most sophisticated guests!
Candied carrots are as much fun to make as they are to eat! These candied carrot curls make a beautiful decoration that will take your baking to a whole new level!
Because the carrots have a mild flavor, they could be used to embellish almost any cake, cupcake, muffin, or sweet bread.
How to make candied carrots
Using a vegetable peeler, and peeling away from yourself, shave long strips from 2 carrots. You should be able to get about 10 strips from each carrot, for a total of 20.
The wider the strips, the wider the carrot curls will be, and the more narrow the strips, the more narrow the carrot curls will be. I like to have a variety of sizes for decorating, however, sometimes the thinner strips will break easily.
Pro Tip: Make more candied carrot curls than you think you will need because some of them are sure to break apart.
Make a simple syrup by bringing 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Add the carrot strips. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Watch them closely so that the simple syrup doesn’t burn. Drain the carrots and allow them to cool for 5 minutes.
On a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking oil, lay out the carrot strips in a single layer, making sure they don’t touch or they will stick together. Bake at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
Turn off the oven and one at a time, remove the carrot strips and wrap each one around the handle of a wooden spoon. Slide it off onto a separate baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with sugar.
If the carrots start to stick to the handle of the spoon, spray it with cooking spray. You will need to work quickly or the carrot strips will dry out and they won’t be pliable.
By removing them one at a time from the oven, it buys some time before they all dry out. Allow them to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
STORAGE
Layer your candied carrots between wax paper and store them in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Use these adorable decorations to elevate the presentation of your next dessert!
If you like this recipe, you might like: Carrot Cake Cupcakes
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Use the slider over the number of servings on the recipe card to adjust the recipe for more or less candied carrot curls.
Candied Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large carrots outer skin removed
- parchment paper
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil
- With a vegetable peeler, remove 15-20 long strips from the carrots
- Bring water and sugar to a boil
- Add carrot strips, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, watching closely so that the water and sugar mixture doesn't burn
- Drain carrot strips and allow to cool for 5 minutes
- Lay strips out in a single layer on the baking sheet, making sure they don't touch or they will stick together
- Bake for 20 minutes
- Remove carrot strips from oven
- Working quickly, wind each carrot strip around the handle of a wooden spoon, slide off, and sprinkle with sugar
- Allow carrot curls to cool for 30 minutes
- Layer between wax paper and store at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 5 days
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28 Responses
Cool idea and easy to follow recipe! I left my pan in the oven while I was wrapping, did the trick and I didn’t have to rush.
Thanks for the recipe, I never knew fancy candied garnishes could be this fun to make!
Made these as a topper for my carrot cake. Outstanding!
I made a roasted carrot hummus, certainly not a dessert, but a few of these sticking out of it made the party goers say ‘hmmmm’ and positive reviews were had. Thank you!
Roasted carrot hummus sounds delicious!
Thanks for info but how to keep these candies for a year
Unfortunately, they will only last about 5 days.
These look really, really interesting. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to make them with a twist, I think. Once out of the oven, I will sprinkle them with a little kosher salt and red chili flake. I’m going to use these as a crispy, sweet, salty, spicy presentation/accent to a pork chop dish I’ll be making tonight. A fun experiment.
Great idea!
Yum! And so fun. Should these be crunchy or chewy once finished? Mine never got crunchy but still hold shape and taste yummy. On a cake, how long will they last in the fridge before getting soft?
Thanks!
Hi Angela!
They should be crispy, however the humidity could play a factor in the texture. At room temperature they will stay crunchy about 5 days. In the refrigerator they’ll begin to soften in just a day or so but, they should still taste great.
Hi, mine initially didn’t get crunchy even after letting them dry on the counter after curling on a wooden spoon. I popped them back into a 225 degree oven for 15-20 more minutes and they crisped up. I was worried the “curl” would collapse but they didn’t lose their shape. They looked beautiful on top of my carrot cake!
Hi there, Angela! I’m sorry to hear they didn’t harden for you. Was it a humid day? Way to be resourceful though. I’m glad they worked out for you.
Hi,
How long can you preserve them?
X
That’s a great question! Put them in a single layer between pieces of wax paper in an air tight container and they should last about 5 days. The longer they are stored, the less crunchy they tend to become.
Thank you so much for your answer. I’m going to try it out today, as an eye candy for my carrot cheese cake 😀
These were great! They get cold and brittle very fast so I left the pan in the oven with the door open and took them off one my one from there. When I laid them on the baking sheet I didn’t realize that 2 of them were touching, but I was able to make one really long twist. I may do it on purpose next time.
Hello Niki.Would it get soggy, if it’s placed on cream cheese frosting?
I always use them on cream cheese or buttercream frosting and they have never become soggy.
Have you ever made this with shredded carrots I’m thinking of trying it to make it like carrot brittle ?
Great question! I haven’t tried that, but I think it would work. I would love to know how it turns out. Good luck!
Would it be better to sprinkle these with granulated sugar or powdered sugar at the final stage?
Great question, Maighan! I prefer the texture and appearance of granulated sugar, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t use powdered sugar.
🥕 🎂 I am trying this for the first time wish me luck!
I am horrible at baking but wanted to do extra to a pepped up box carrot cake!🥕 🎂
Good luck, Peggy! Be sure to work quickly and spray your wooden spoon with cooking spray often. I’m sure it will turn out great!
These were great! I found wrapping them around a metal straw worked way better than the wooden spoon.
Thanks for taking time to comment. The metal straw is a great idea!
Hi is it 225 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius? I’m guessing F but just wanna be sure!
You are correct, Fahrenheit!