The Best Carrot Cake Recipe
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If you’re looking for a carrot cake recipe thats perfectly moist, warmly spiced, and guaranteed to impress, you’re in the right place. My version is easy to make with pantry staples and produces consistently excellent results. Top it off with my popular cream cheese frosting for truly the best carrot cake recipe.
If I had to choose a favorite cake recipe on my blog, I think this carrot cake recipe would be it. Maybe I’m biased, but even though I’ve shared some fun and flavorful cakes like my pistachio cake, lemon blueberry cake, and tiramisu cake, this carrot cake is hands-down the classic I will reach for first every time.
There’s something about its unbelievably moist crumb, the perfect amount of warm, cozy spices, and yes, that all-time favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s sweet without being too sweet, carefully crafted with both butter and oil and just the right amount of carrots –the flavor is so good that even Zach reaches for a second piece.
I know you are going to love this one just as much as I do, so let’s dig in!
What You Need
Here are a few of the key ingredients that make this carrot cake recipe the best carrot cake:
- Flour. All-purpose flour works best here. Avoid cake flour whichi s lighter and finer and doesn’t give us the structure required for this heartier cake.
- Sugar. A blend of granulated and brown sugar is best. For the brown sugar, you can use light or dark (makes the cake a bit richer and sweeter) or use a blend of both (my preference, also what I do in my brown butter chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip cookie recipe).
- Oil AND butter. This combo is key for maximizing the flavor and texture of the cake. While oil adds moisture (and helps keep the cake soft and moist, even after refrigeration) butter adds rich depth of flavor. A blend of these two ingredients balances flavor and texture (and it’s a trick I use in many of my cakes, like my vanilla cake recipe and chocolate cake recipe!).
- Eggs. Since we’re working with room temperature ingredients (and possibly even slightly warm butter, your eggs should be room temperature to ensure a batter that combines evenly (cold eggs can “shock” the batter and make it difficult to combine properly).
- Carrots. Do not use pre-shredded or “matchstick” carrots! They are way too thick to use in this carrot cake recipe, unless you like biting into discernible chunks of carrot (I do not!). I usually need about 4 carrots for this cake, and I always peel my carrots before grating them (I do the same thing for my carrot cake cookies). You could use a box grater, but I prefer to use my food processor.
- Nuts. You can use either chopped walnuts or pecans, or you can leave them out entirely.
- Cream cheese. This is for the cream cheese frosting. Make sure you’re using brick-style cream cheese, as the tub-style can make for a frosting that’s too runny.
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Sam’s Tip
To grate your carrots in the food processor, first use the “shred” blade. Once your carrots are shredded, switch to the standard blade and briefly pulse until the carrots are fine pieces. Don’t overdo this step or you’ll end up with carrot puree (this is also why I start by using the shred blade on my processor; I’ve found that just tossing the carrots in with my standard blade quickly breaks down the carrots too much).
How to Make My Carrot Cake Recipe (Step-by-Step)
- Whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the oil and butter and mix well, until the dry ingredients (and sugar) are well-moistened (an electric mixer makes this easier). Then, add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Finally, stir in your vanilla extract.
- Fold in your carrots and nuts (if using) and make sure they are well distributed through the cake batter.
- Evenly divide the batter between two 8″ baking pans that have been greased, floured, and lined with parchment circles (key for keeping cakes from sticking!). Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cakes sit in their pans for 10 minutes after baking, then invert them onto a cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting, frost your cake, and serve!
Sam’s Tip
While a single batch of frosting will cover this cake, I typically increase the recipe by 50% (or even double it!) to allow for a thicker coating and decorative piping on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you could, I personally found this carrot cake recipe to be a bit too heavy for cupcakes, causing them to be a bit trickier to eat in hand-held form. Because of this, I developed a carrot cake cupcake recipe that I would recommend using instead. It’s still flavorful and delicious, but not so moist that it requires a fork for eating.
If you’re interested in more carrot cake variations, I also have a carrot cake cookie recipe you can try out, too.
Yes, you can. I’d recommend stirring in a heaping cup when you add the carrots and (optional) nuts. The amount is up to you, about a cup should be a good amount.
The best way to prevent a green carrot cake is to peel your carrots before shredding. If this step is skipped, the peels sometimes take on a green color after baking. This is harmless and the cake can still be enjoyed, but it’s not quite as attractive.
Some sources also claim that your cake may turn green if you accidentally use too much baking soda or if you don’t mix your dry ingredients well enough (and the baking soda isn’t evenly distributed). The baking soda in my recipe is well balanced so that is not an issue you should run into if you bake my carrot cake recipe.
More Frosting Options:
Instead of cream cheese frosting, this carrot cake recipe would also be excellent with my brown butter frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, ermine frosting, whipped cream frosting, or vanilla frosting.
More Spring Recipes to Try:
Enjoy!
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The Best Carrot Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 2 8" round cake pans (see notes for using different sized pans)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar¹, firmly packed
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (235 ml) cooking oil, use canola, avocado, or vegetable oil
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (340 g) grated carrots², peel before grating
- 1 cup (125 g) chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
Cream Cheese Frosting³
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened (brick-style, not spreadable)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8-inch pans⁴ (see note for using different sized pans) by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing and flouring the sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar¹, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon table salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Add your canola oil and melted butter and stir well (batter will be pretty stiff and thick at this point, I usually use an electric mixer or my stand mixer to combine everything nicely).1 cup (235 ml) cooking oil, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.4 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Stir in carrots and nuts (if using) until ingredients are well-combined.3 cups (340 g) grated carrots², 1 cup (125 g) chopped walnuts or pecans
- Evenly divide carrot cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake on 350F (175C) for 37-40 minutes (a toothpick inserted in center should come out mostly clean with only few moist crumbs).
- Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.
- Allow cake to cool completely before covering with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.½ cup (1 stick) (113 g) unsalted butter, 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese
- Add vanilla extract and sprinkle salt into the bowl and stir well to combine.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until ingredients are completely combined (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula).4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar
- Once your cake has cooled completely, cover with frosting.
Notes
1Brown sugar
Either light or dark brown sugar will work fine, dark brown sugar will make your cake slightly more moist and rich, but light brown sugar works perfectly if you don’t have dark on hand.²Carrots (& how to grate them)
For me, this usually requires about 4 large carrots. I always peel my carrots before grating. Make sure to use the small shred of your box grater. Another way I like to prepare my carrots is to use the “shred” setting on my food processor and then switch to the blade and briefly pulse the carrots so that you have fine pieces of carrot (don’t over-do it though, or you’ll have carrot juice!). Whatever you do, don’t use store-bought “matchstick” carrots, they’re not nearly thin enough!³Frosting
A single batch of my cream cheese frosting recipe will cover this cake, but because I like a lot of frosting and will usually pipe decoration on the top of the cake, I sometimes increase the recipe by 50% or even double it.⁴Cake pans, different sizes
The following bake times have been reported by readers who have tried making this cake in different sized pans. Keep in mind bake time will generally be longer when using a glass pan, and very dark pans may require less time. The best way to test that your cake is finished baking is to use the toothpick test: a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter) or clean.- Two 9″ pans: bake for approximately 30-33 minutes.
- 9×13″ pan: bake for approximately 45-50 minutes
- Bundt pan: bake for approximately 55 minutes.
- Four 6″ pans: bake for approximately 40 minutes
- Cupcakes: See my carrot cake cupcake recipe.
Storing
If you’re eating this cake the same day you make it or within 48 hours of making it, and you are able to store it somewhere cool and dry, you do not have to refrigerate it–though you do want to store it in an airtight container. Any longer than that I would recommend storing in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep for about 5 days.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published August 22, 2018. Recipe is unchanged, but has been updated with new photos and more helpful information and a video.
Just wanted to thank you for keeping my gym in business. Everything we have tried from your site has been delish. This is a rich recipe that even my pickiest child enjoys. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
We will be trying you pumpkin cheesecake recipe next and serving it with flair on our Thanksgiving table.
J
I am so happy to help Judith! I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. 🙂
My grandchildren and I made this recipe as a 9×13 sheet cake. I have a convection oven so had to alter the cooking temp and time – 325F for 25 minutes in my oven. It was delicious! Indeed best carrot cake I ever made. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank You!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! Thanks for your feedback using the convection oven. 🙂
What flour do you recommend if I wanted to make this gluten free?
Hi Michelle! Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with gluten free flours and baking. 🙁
You can buy numerous flour alternatives at Walmart or Kroger like rice flour, almond flour, or coconut flour. Some gluten-free flours will not be as fine as your standard all-purpose flour, making it hard to work with in breads or pastries, but most are fine for baking cake. 👍
Can I add raisins to this recipe without changing any other ingredients?
Definitely! 🙂
Will this recipe amount make a nice size Bundt cake ?
It’s my Mom’s favorite & I plan to use this recipe, as it’s the closest to my grandmothers that I’ve seen, and drizzle vanilla glaze over the top of it.
ThankYou for sharing !!
Hi Laura! My 10 inch bundt pan holds about 12 cups of batter and this will make about 8 cups of batter so it will be about 2/3 the size of a normal bundt cake. I hope everyone loves it! 🙂
halved this recipe, and made 2 x 6” rounds for a little layer cake, worked perfectly, tasted heavenly. would like to make this ahead of time for a family trip. can i freeze this and frost after thawing? thanks so much!
Hi Jen! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! Freezing the cakes and frosting after defrosting should work just fine. 🙂
thank you!
Hi there, just a small doubt. If I were to make this cake eggless, can I replace the eggs with milk ? Or is there any other ingredient that can replace the eggs ? Thank you 🙂 by the way, I’ve tried this cake with the eggs and it’s the best carrot cake I’ve had in my life!
Hi Manissha! Unfortunately I don’t know how to replace the eggs here. I don’t think milk will work. 🙁 I’m glad you enjoyed it though. 🙂
You can generally replace an egg with 1/4c. Applesauce in baked goods. 4 eggs is a lot to replace though, so I’m not sure how well it would work. It would be worth testing out! You could add baking soda as well to help with the texture as the fruit puree will make to cake more dense.
Are you sure that should be baking soda? Or baking powder? I’ve used baking powder in place of eggs – along with a small amount of a liquid of some sort, but not baking soda 🤔
How rich and delicious! Best ever carrot cake i’ve tried, easy to follow recipe, can’t wait to try the cheese cake frosting.
Thank you.
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lisa! 🙂
Hi, if I were to bake it at a 6 inch air fryer. Will it be too much as stated in recipe? and how long do you suggest to bake with air fryer?
Hi Yuqian! You would need a cake pan that fits into that air fryer and this recipe makes a lot more batter than will fit in one of those pans. You could make it in several batches but I don’t really have any suggestion for how long to bake it.
Do you know how you would (if at all) scale this recipe for a sheet cake?
Hi Emily! It will fit in a 9 x 13 as it’s written. 🙂
I had an abundant crop of carrots this year and I wanted to try my hand a making a cake from scratch again (my first attempt was years ago and quite disastrous) so I chose this recipe. Thank you, as this is TRULY the Best Carrot Cake Recipe! It was very moist and so delicious I don’t have round cake pans so I baked it in a 8″ x 11.5″ glass baking dish for 45-50 mins. I made the full amount of frosting and because I didn’t make a layered cake, I have frosting reserved for some pumpkin cookies that I’ll be baking next 🙂
I am so thrilled to hear what a success it was for you, Dawn! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, it means a lot to me!
I never liked carrot cake, because I had only tried store bought carrot cake. I stumbled across this recipe and tried it. This really is the best carrot cake ever!!!!! Very moist, spicey and delicious!!! This is the only carrot cake I will ever eat again. My fammily loved it!!!!!Sharing this recipe with every cook/baker I know!!!!!
Thank you so much, LaVerne! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Sam, your recipe looks nice. Can I bake this cake into foil trays 220mm x 146mm two trays at a time. I need to distribute to my friends for a special occasion. How long should i bake in oven two trays at a time. Can i shred the carrots a day in advance in food processor. Do i need to refrigerate the cake after it is completely cold. Since i need to make 10 tray of cakes. Would appreciate if you answer my questions soon, since I need to make this on 25 September. Your advise is much appreciated. Many thanks
Hi Pervin! You are using essentially a bread pan correct? It’s pretty deep? If it’s deep, the batter will only fill one of those. I’m not sure how long they would bake especially using foil. You would need to keep an eye on it while making it. You can shred the carrots in advance if you’d like but make sure to store them in an air tight container so they don’t dry out. You won’t need to refrigerate the cake, the frosting is the only thing that really needs refrigeration and that is after a day or so. I hope this helps. 🙂
Incredibly moist cake. Didn’t have pecans on hand when I whipped this up but I can’t wait to try this again with some in the batter! One of my fave carrot cake recipes!
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Dan! 🙂
If I am hoping to make a 3 layer cake with this recipe (6 inch pan, 8 inch pan, 10 inch pan), how would you suggest increasing the ingredient amounts?
Hi Emily! You will need to increase the recipe by about 50%. 🙂