My Favorite Carrot Cake
Tender, fluffy layers of cake filled with earthy spices and carrots, frosted with a subtly tangy cream cheese buttercream. This is my twist on my grandma’s recipe, making it lighter and more flavorful with just the right amount of sweetness and that subtle hint of cream cheese frosting. Easter cakes will never be the same!
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Everyone has their own preference when it comes to carrot cake. Lots of carrot flavor vs. almost none. Bold cinnamon flavor or hardly any spice. Some people love their carrot cake filled with different textures from things like walnuts, chunky carrots, grapes, and even pineapple. Personally, I’ll just take some toasted walnuts on top and that’s all, thanks.
So when a friend asked me to make a carrot cake for her brother’s birthday, I thought I’d take the chance to reimagine grandma’s carrot cake. It’s fine and all, but it wasn’t my ideal carrot cake.
What resulted was a cake that blew me away. Soft and tender and fluffy. Super moist yet not dense. Lovely carrot flavor that was perfectly complemented by the spices and sweetness. Plus, I used a less-tangy cream cheese frosting. Partly because I was short on cream cheese. Partly because my husband isn’t a big fan, so I wanted something he’d eat, too.
It was perfection and will be a regular in my Easter rotation.
Why this recipe works
I think the biggest key was using freshly grated carrots. In the past, I’ve used pre-shredded carrots and just chopped them up to be smaller. It saved time but also dried out the cake. So this time, I spent the extra 5 minutes to peel then grate whole carrots. The flavor, color, and texture were all greatly improved as a result. Freshly grated carrots are far more moist than the pre-shredded kind, transforming the texture of your cake.
In addition to the carrots, I love how spicy this cake is. Not overly so, but just enough to make the carrots taste delicious, not like a health food. Plus, I’ve worked to tweak the ratio of ingredients so that the cake isn’t dry or dense and also doesn’t fall apart. It’s one of my favorite textures I’ve made in a long time.
Plus, you can’t go wrong with a cream cheese frosting on carrot cake! It’s classic! Of course, you could easily sub something like my vanilla bean frosting or cinnamon vanilla bean.
Key ingredients
Flour. Be sure to spoon then level this, so you don’t pack it in, and always sift!
Baking powder and baking powder. Be sure both are fresh. The combination creates the perfect rise and fluffiness for this cake.
Salt. Sea salt is best!
Spices. I used cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. The combination was absolutely perfect.
Eggs. Be sure they are fresh and room temperature.
Brown sugar. I used mostly brown sugar to give moisture and a slightly caramelized flavor.
Sugar. A bit of regular sugar helps the cake rise well.
Vanilla. Be sure it’s pure extract for the best flavor.
Oil. I prefer avocado or grape seed oil, as they are light, tasteless, and “healthy”. However, vegetable or canola will work, too.
Carrots. Use fresh, whole carrots. Peel them first to remove the dirty exterior then finely grate them right before using.
Raisins. These are optional, and they won’t be super noticeable in the cake, but they add some great flavor and moisture.
Walnuts. Personally, I like toasting these and chopping them very finely. I also only add a small amount to avoid a super nutty cake, but you can use up to 1 cup before the cake won’t hold together well.
Applesauce. This cake is basically a health food. Not really, but the applesauce helps keep it moist without weighing it down or making it dense.
Cream cheese frosting. You can sub vanilla bean or cinnamon vanilla bean—both have a wonderfully earthy flavor that goes very well with the carrot cake. Brown sugar spice is also a great option!
How to make carrot cake
Prep mix-ins. Chop walnuts and raisins. Peel then finely grate carrots.
Sift then whisk dry ingredients. Don’t skip the sifting, as it is necessary to prevent clumps and prevent an overly mixed batter.
Beat eggs until pale and fluffy. This takes a few minutes, so don’t skimp on the beating!
Add sugar and vanilla. Beat until well-mixed.
Stream in oil. Do this with the mixer on to help emulsify the oil.
Fold in flour. Don’t worry about getting it all incorporated, as the next step will take care of that.
Fold in mix-ins. Again, do this gently so it’s not over mixed.
Bake. Rotate pans if you don’t have a convection oven.
Make cream cheese frosting. Do this once the cakes are cooled. Otherwise, you must refrigerate it while you wait, which can cause it to firm up too much and requires softening, which is annoying.
Frost cake. This is up to your heart’s desire! You can cut the cakes in half or leave them whole. It all depends on if you’re a frosting or cake fan.
Enjoy!
Tips and FAQ’s about this recipe
Grate fresh carrots
This is v important. Grating fresh carrots ensures plenty of moisture so your cake has that perfect texture. If you use dried out carrots, it will likely cause your cake to fall apart somewhat, especially as you cut and serve it.
Do I have to use nuts and raisins?
No! You can leave these out, although I do highly recommend the raisins. Chopping them means you won’t have big chunks. You may not even notice them in the baked cake, as they tend to mesh with the batter as it bakes.
The color will deepen as it bakes
This freaked me out the first time. The batter is light brown but the baked cake is a deeper golden. Just use the toothpick test to make sure you have moist crumbs and no raw batter. Check a little early so you ensure some moist crumbs. Otherwise, the cake ends up being over baked, as it does continue cooking for a bit once you remove it from the oven.
Use any frosting you like
I paired this with the classic cream cheese frosting. However, a lot of people don’t care for cream cheese frosting. I also love this cake with vanilla bean and cinnamon vanilla bean. Brown sugar spice buttercream would also be a great option, although I haven’t actually tried that one. Whatever you prefer is what’s best!
My tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making this cake. Affiliate links provided.
Mesh sieve (because sifting is KEY for a fluffy cake)
All-rubber spatula (this makes scraping the bowl easier as the batter and frosting doesn’t get all over a wooden handle!)
Silicone liners for 8” cake (or for 6” cakes)
8” aluminum cake pans or 6” aluminum cake pans (I’ve found nonstick doesn’t bake as evenly)
Offset spatula for frosting the cake
Grater and vegetable peeler (for the carrots)
My Favorite Carrot Cake
- prep time: 20-25 minutes (includes time to make the frosting)
- bake time: 25-30 minutes
- total time: 55 minutes (plus 1-2 hours cooling time)
servings: 12-16
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups (306g) flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt
- 1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (2g) ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon (1g) ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon (1g) ground allspice
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (224g) avocado or grape seed oil (can sub vegetable or canola)
- 2 packed cups (200g) freshly grated carrots
- ½ to 1 cup (75-150g) chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1 cup (159g) raisins, roughly chopped
- one batch cream cheese frosting (optional--see note for alternative options)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 325F/165C. Grease and flour two or three 8” or 9” pans or three to four 6” cake pans (or use baking spray) and line with parchment paper (or use silicone liners).
- Prep mix-ins by chopping the walnuts (you can toast them at 350F/175C for 5-10 minutes, if desired) and roughly chopping the raisin. Peel the carrots then grate using a fine to medium grater. Don’t squeeze any liquid from them.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift and whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute more. Scrape the bowl. Add the vanilla and beat on high until fully blended, about 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on medium, stream in the oil very slowly. It should take a good minute for it to mix in. Continue beating another minute to fully emulsion the oil.
- Gently fold in the flour mixture until mostly blended–there should be some dry bits of flour left. Gently fold in the carrots. Then add the walnuts and raisins and gently fold those in as well.
- Divide evenly between prepared pans. This makes a lot of batter, so I prefer using three 8” or four 6” pans. Be sure the mix-ins are evenly distributed between the pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and no longer shiny on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle of each cake layer comes out with moist crumbs but no raw batter. Check each pan individually, as one usually bakes faster than the other(s). Check early, as baking times can vary by oven and climate.
- Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack until cooled completely.
- When the cakes are fully cooled, make the cream cheese frosting. Other great options, if you don’t like cream cheese frosting or will be unable to keep the cake refrigerated, are: vanilla bean, cinnamon vanilla bean, or brown sugar spice.
- Fill and frost cake to desired thickness. If you’re a big frosting fan (I am!) you can cut each cake layer in half to get a little more frosting in there.
Enjoy!
If using cream cheese frosting, cake can be kept at room temperature for a few hours, but must be refrigerated if not eating within 2-3 hours. Take the cake out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving. Store leftovers by placing a piece of plastic wrap against the cut sides and seal it against the buttercream. Cover the entire cake with plastic wrap or place in a cake container. Leftovers will last 3-5 days.
