Candied Carrots

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! 

White plate of candied carrot curls

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.

Overhead view of carrot strips on a white plate on top of a napkin

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.

Overhead view of carrot strips boiling in simple syrup in a saucepan

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.

Candied carrots sprinkled in 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.

Print Recipe
4.61 from 43 votes

Candied Carrots

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! 
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Resting Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
20 Carrot Curls

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

Notes

You will need to work quickly after removing the carrot strips from the oven or the carrot strips can 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. 
This recipe yields 15-20 candied carrot curls.

Nutrition

Calories: 799kcal | Carbohydrates: 205g | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 202g | Vitamin A: 10190IU | Vitamin C: 3.6mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword(s): Candied Carrot Curls, Candied Carrots
Recipe Author: Niki Medlin
Did you try this recipe?Tag @artzyfoodie and hashtag it #artzyfoodie!
Candied carrots are as much fun to make as they are to eat! These super cute candied carrot curls have been boiled in sugar water, baked, and dusted with even more sugar! |artzyfoodie.com|,

28 thoughts on “Candied Carrots”

  1. 5 stars
    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!

  2. 5 stars
    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!

  3. Andre Bergeron

    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.

  4. 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!

    1. 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.

    2. 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!

      1. 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.

    1. 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.

      1. Thank you so much for your answer. I’m going to try it out today, as an eye candy for my carrot cheese cake 😀

  5. 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.

  6. 🥕 🎂 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!🥕 🎂

      1. 5 stars
        These were great! I found wrapping them around a metal straw worked way better than the wooden spoon.

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