Best Carrot Cake Recipe

The BEST Carrot Cake you’ll ever eat!! Made with an abundance of fresh carrots, sweet spices, and a rich cream cheese frosting.

Carrot cake has long been my favorite cake and this is the only carrot cake recipe I ever use!

Carrot Cake Perfect for Any Celebration

This recipe will forever change your opinion on what carrot cake is supposed to be. All the best things in one utterly divine slice of cake:

• Tender softness. A melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Moist crumb. No dryness in the slightest here.
• Plenty of finely shredded carrots (they add light flavor, and nice moisture and give it such a pretty natural color too).
• Perfect level of sweetness.
• Great blend of spices and vanilla for a boost of flavor.
• Fluffy yet stable.
• Finished with a decadent frosting. Cream cheese frosting is the only way to go here.

I’ve made this cake probably close to 100 times. I’m always looking for an excuse to make it and will continue to do so. When I’m throwing out options for someone on their birthday this always has a way of being the top idea on the list :).

And of course, it’s the best cake to serve for a spring celebration or Easter. This year I’ll be making half the recipe and doing one layer (which can be done in a 9-inch round or 8 by 8 pan) for our small family of four.

And if you’ll be celebrating the holiday eating on your own or just two of you, you could always make cupcakes and freeze some for later.

Sending love to each of you. I hope you are finding some joy in cooking and baking these days.

I’m thinking of you, and praying for all of you in these trying times. Holding on to hope for a better tomorrow. This too shall pass in time.

In the meantime let’s be there for each other, from a distance.

Watch the Video!

 

 

Carrot Cake Ingredients

For the cake portion you’ll need:

• Eggs: This cake has quite a few eggs, they really help bind and build up the structure of the cake.
• Vegetable oil: Canola oil will work great too.
• Unsweetened applesauce: Another 1/2 cup of vegetable oil can be substituted if needed.
• Granulated sugar and brown sugar: Stick with the blend of both. If you don’t have brown sugar you can mix 2 tsp molasses to 1 3/4 cups total white sugar.
• Vanilla extract: This just adds a light background flavor. Vanilla bean paste works well too.
• All-purpose flour: Bleached or unbleached flour may be used.
• Baking powder and baking soda: Stick with the blend for a good rise.
• Salt: Standard table salt or sea salt works great here.
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger: I’ve found this is my favorite blend of spices to use here. If you love that spice flavor you can double the nutmeg and ginger.
• Carrots: I shred these by hand but you could also do it in a food processor fitted with a shredder attachment.
• Pecans (optional): These are optional based on personal preference but I always think of them as a must. I don’t like them in the cake taking away from that soft texture but I love adding them to the outside of the cake (usually coating the whole circumference around the cake).

Scroll down for ingredient amounts and directions.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

For the frosting, you’ll also need:

• Unsalted butter
• Cream cheese
• Powdered sugar

To make the cream cheese frosting follow link here for step by step tutorial.

How to Make Carrot Cake from Scratch

Here’s a quick overview of the steps:

1. Preheat oven, and prepare two 9-inch cake pans.
2. Whisk dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer, hand mixer, or stand mixer, blend sugars and wet ingredients with a paddle attachment.
4. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix just to combine.
5. Add carrots and stir briskly just to distribute through the batter.
6. Pour batter among two prepared pans and bake until cooked through.
7. Cool completely then frost.

How to Store

Carrot cake should be stored in the fridge. I like to store it in a cake carrier so it doesn’t dry out. Then let rest at room temperature a while before you serve it – unless of course, you prefer it cold (it’s tasty this way too).

How Long Does Carrot Cake Last?

Frosted carrot cake should be kept for about 5 days in the refrigerator (unfrosted layers can be kept at room temperature for 2 days).

Can It Be Frozen?

Yes. Carrot cake can be frozen as unfrosted layers, wrapped separately in foil or plastic wrap, and stored in an airtight container. Individual slices that are frosted can be frozen.

Is Carrot Cake Healthy?

No. You could find healthier versions of carrot cake online but this recipe is not healthy. All things in moderation.

Tips for the Best Carrot Cake Recipe

• Finely shred carrots. This offers a perfectly uniform texture, cleaner slices, and no large visible chunks of carrots.
• Use the freshest carrots if possible for the best flavor.
• Precisely measure ingredients (no guessing here and don’t adjust amounts listed). If you have a kitchen scale use that for the most accuracy.
• Don’t over-mix the carrot cake batter after adding in flour and after adding in carrots. Otherwise, the cake can be spongy and may not rise as high.
• Properly prepare cake pans. Don’t forget to grease the pan, line it with parchment (or foil), and dust it with flour. No risk of the cake sticking and falling apart.
• Use cake strips to wrap around cake pans if you have them for more even layers and a higher rise for the sides of the cake. Be sure to soak in water for a while before using.
• Bake just until cooked through. Under-cooked and cake will collapse, over-cooked and cake will be dry. I like to move my cakes to the cooling rack within 5 minutes of removing them from the oven.

Possible Variations

You can adjust this recipe to make the cake taste however you prefer. To the batter try adding:

• 1 cup shredded coconut.
• 1 cup chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts.
• 1 cup raisins.
• 1 cup drained crushed pineapple (reduce carrots to 2 1/2 cups).
• Replace half the carrots with shredded zucchini.
• Use all brown sugar for a more caramel-like flavor.
• Add other spices like a little allspice, cloves or anise.

More Delicious Carrot Cake Inspired Recipes to Try

• Carrot Sheet Cake – made on a rimmed baking sheet, perfect for a bigger crowd.
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes – easy and fun to decorate.
• Carrot Cake Cheesecake – two of the best desserts in one!
• Carrot Cake Cookies – I actually have a second version here that’s made into cookie sandwiches.
• Carrot Cake Pancakes – a dessert turned into a breakfast treat!

How to Decorate Carrot Cake

There are many different ways you can decorate carrot cake.

• I like to add a swirled frosting finish done by hand using an offset spatula and adding a border of chopped pecans covering the entire outside edge. It’s helpful to use a cake turntable when decorating.
• Then many times I like to tint some of the frosting green and some orange. Then I do a grid-like decoration of oranges rows on the top of the cake, followed by piping a green life-like border around the top edge (refer to image below).
• Another option is to decorate with marzipan or fondant carrots like I did here.

Recipe first shared January 1, 2012. Photos have been updated and recipe modified just lightly to reduce sugar by 1/4 cup and include brown sugar in place of 3/4 cup of the white sugar.