Carrot Cake

This Carrot Cake is perfectly moist, sweet and loaded with carrots, raisins, walnuts and pineapple, then topped with a delicious, delicate and easy to make cream cheese frosting. 

The Best Carrot Cake Recipe

This is my go to carrot cake recipe that I’ve been making for years and I think it’s finally perfect after a few tweaks here and there with the ingredients. The perfect carrot cake has to be sweet, delicate, moist and beautiful, loaded with fluffy cream cheese frosting.

For me carrot cake is a must for pretty much all holidays, but it doesn’t have to be served just during the holidays. It’s really perfect for any time of the year. Did you know carrot cake has been around for a very long time but it became popular during the second World War because of rationing?

Carrot cakes are loaded with fruits. For my cake, I not only used carrots, walnuts and raisins which are pretty standard when it comes to carrot cakes, but I added pineapple. The pineapple just makes the cake more moist, because many times they can be quite dry. It also acts as a tenderizer, meaning it breaks down proteins which results in a more moist cake.

The pineapple also adds a bit more sweetness to the cake. Don’t knock it till you try it. It really does make it more special.

• Flour – You only need regular all-purpose flour.
• Baking soda – It’s a leavening agent and causes the cake batter to rise when baking.
• Salt – You need salt to bring out the flavors of everything else.
• Cinnamon – You can add other spices as well such as nutmeg or cloves.
• Sugar – I used only white granulated sugar, but you can sub some with brown sugar if you want.
• Eggs – You’ll need a couple large eggs to bind everything together and help the cake rise.
• Oil – I used vegetable oil, but any mild vegetable oil like canola will do. Coconut oil is a great substitution.
• Fruits and nuts – I loaded this cake up with walnuts, raisins and crushed pineapple. Don’t skip the pineapple, it gives the cake extra sweetness and moistness. You can also replace the walnuts with pecans. Use a food processor to easily chop them.
• Carrots – The most important ingredient. I find it easier to use a box grater to freshly grate my carrots, don’t buy the already shredded kind, shred your own carrots.

First of all though, this cake is really easy to make. If you don’t want to make a layered cake you could easily do this in a 9×13 inch pan. Just ice it with the cream cheese frosting and serve it right out of the pan. I’ve done it both ways many times.

I load my carrot cake with other great ingredients such as raisins, walnuts, pineapple and of course, loads of grated carrots. Carrot cake is perfect for those times when you want to clean out your pantry and use up those leftover raisins and walnuts from Christmas.

1. Preheat your oven and prepare your baking pans. I used two 8 inch cake pans which I lined with parchment paper circles. This will make it easier to take the cake out of the pans.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together. This includes the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients together. This includes the sugar, eggs and vegetable oil. Yes, sugar is part of the wet ingredients because it dissolves as you mix it in with the oil and eggs.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Do not over mix. Mix only until there’s no more flour visible in the batter.
5. Add the carrots, nuts and fruits. Stir in the carrots, walnuts, raisins and pineapple.
6. Bake. Pour the batter in the prepared baking pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The baking time could vary based on your oven, so I would start checking after 30 minutes.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting

Just like in a Red Velvet Cake or Hummingbird Cake, this frosting is also super easy to make. All you need are 4 simple ingredients; cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Whip them all up and that’s all it takes.

Assemble The Cake

To assemble the cake, start by placing 1 cake layer onto your serving cake platter, then spread some of the cream cheese frosting, about 1 1/2 cups, evenly over the cake layer. Add the other cake layer. Using a spatula, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the top of the cake and up the sides.

Don’t be shy when spreading the frosting over the cake, use up all that frosting.

But then where would carrot cake be without that cream cheese frosting? Nowhere, I say, because I think it’s the frosting that makes the cake and the more frosting the better.

How Do I Know When My Cake Is Done Baking?

Use a toothpick and insert it all of the way through the carrot cake. Once it comes out clean, your cake is all done. Let the cake cool in the pans for about 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack or a cutting board and cool completely.

Can I Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes From This Recipe?

Yes, of course. They will take a lot less time to bake, probably about 15 to 18 minutes. This recipe should make about 24 cupcakes. Make sure to let them cool completely before frosting them. You can also make Carrot Cake Muffins, using my recipe here.

Storing Leftover Carrot Cake

Keep the cake in a closed cake container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

You can freeze carrot cake slices in airtight containers for several months. Wrapping carrot cake slices individually allows you to thaw slices one at a time, as needed.

What People Are Saying About This Carrot Cake

You don’t have to take my word for it, many readers have made this cake and love it! Check out what some people are saying:

My husband just loves carrot cake so I thought I’d try this recipe. OMG!, This is the most delicious cake ever. It’s so moist and full of flavour, and of course, the cream cheese icing was scrumptious. This is my new FAVORITE recipe for carrot cake. I had to substitute the vegetable oil for grape seed oil because that’s what I had, worked out perfect! ~Nancy

The cake turned out AMAZING. It was surprisingly fluffy and moist plus the sweetness was just right. Definitely my go to carrot cake recipe from now on. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe, Jo! I am already an instant fan of yours and I cannot wait to try your other recipes! ~Janela

I am a CARROT CAKE SNOB (CCS), and now I have found the carrot cake of my dreams! Seriously, I would bake one once a week if I had any self control over how much I would eat. It is hard to believe that such a decadent cake is so easy to make. ~Teresa

Looking for More Delicious Cake Recipes? Try These:

• Cheesecake Recipe
• German Chocolate Cake
• Best Ever Pumpkin Roll
• Apple Pie Cake
• Carrot Cake Muffins
• Hummingbird Cake
• Tomato Soup Cake

Recipe originally shared Aug 7, 2012