A wonderfully moist, perfectly spiced carrot cake recipe. This cake is surprisingly simple to make and includes a step-by-step video for no-fail results every time. Top everything off with my simple cream cheese frosting for what truly might be the perfect cake.
Today I’m re-sharing an old favorite recipe! Considering current events I was hesitant to re-share this cake as originally planned. I’ve mostly been focusing on recipes that use pantry staples, but with Easter right around the corner I wanted to share it as a small gesture of celebration (even though Easter is going to be different for a lot of us). Back to basics later this week!
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’m wildly in love with my white cake, vanilla cake (a reader favorite!) and chocolate cake, this carrot cake is hands-down the one I will reach for first every time.
There’s something about its deliriously moist crumb, the perfect amount of spices, and yes, that all-time favorite cream cheese frosting of mine. 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 reached for a second piece.
I think you guys are going to love this one just as much, so let’s dig in.
How to Grate Carrots
My carrot cake recipe uses 3 cups of finely grated carrots. This is usually about 4 large carrots for me and I always peel my carrots before grating them. You can use a box grater to grate your carrots, but I prefer to use my food processor.
To use the food processor, I’ll first use the “shred” blade, but I’ve found that this doesn’t get my carrots as fine as I’d like them to be, so I’ll then switch to the standard blade and briefly pulse the carrots until they’re 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 for my liking).
One thing you definitely want to avoid is store-bought shredded carrots (or “matchstick” carrots). Those are way too thick to use here, unless you like biting into discernible chunks of carrot (I do not).
Ingredients
Can I make this into Cupcakes?
While you could, I personally found this carrot cake to be a bit too heavy for cupcakes. Because of that 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.
Oh, and if you’re interested in more carrot cake variations, I also have a carrot cake cookie recipe you can try out, too.
How to Store
If you’re eating this cake the same day it is made or within 48 hours of making it and 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. However, any longer than that and I recommend storing refrigerated in an airtight container, where it will keep for about 5 days. I generally don’t like to keep cakes in the refrigerator (like my caramel cake) because the refrigerator can dry them out, but this carrot cake is so moist it holds up quite well in the fridge.
Before I let you watch the video below the recipe I need to talk to you about my cake decorating skills. I am not a cake decorator, but I can usually modestly frost a cake so that it looks at least presentable. The frosting job you’re about to see in this video is not an example of my finest work, at all!
My pride compels me to inform you that this was my sloppiest frosting job ever. I had to turn off the air conditioning in my house to shoot the video (my microphone picks up the noise and it sounds awful if we don’t) and at the time I shot this (it’s an old video) it was a 90+ degree day outside. I pulled the cream cheese frosting out of the fridge too far in advance and between the hot lights that I use for filming, the lack of AC, and the fact that I was right in front of my 350F oven, everything was a melty disaster, so while I’m not a cake decorator things aren’t usually that bad!
Alright I feel better now getting that off my chest 😉Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like:
Are you more of a visual learner? Check out my YouTube channel where I show you exactly how I make this recipe step-by-step in my own kitchen.
The Best Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (315g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar* tightly packed (200g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil (235ml)
- 1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter melted (113g)
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots** (340g)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional (125g)
Cream Cheese Frosting***
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 8 oz cream cheese softened (brick-style, not spreadable) (226g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar (500g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8-inch 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.
- 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).
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Stir in carrots and nuts (if using) until ingredients are well-combined.
- Evenly divide carrot cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake on 350F (175C) for 40 minutes (toothpick inserted in center should come out mostly clean with only few moist crumbs).
- Allow carrot cake 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.
- Add vanilla extract and sprinkle salt into the bowl and stir well to combine.
- 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).
- Once your cake has cooled completely, cover with frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
Treat yourself to a FREE E-BOOK!
This recipe was originally published August 22nd 2018.
Judith
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
Sam
I am so happy to help Judith! I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. 🙂
Amma
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!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! Thanks for your feedback using the convection oven. 🙂
Michelle
What flour do you recommend if I wanted to make this gluten free?
Sam
Hi Michelle! Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with gluten free flours and baking. 🙁
Emmalee
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. 👍
Cheryl
Can I add raisins to this recipe without changing any other ingredients?
Sam
Definitely! 🙂
Laura Bickford
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 !!
Sam
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! 🙂
jen
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!
Sam
Hi Jen! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! Freezing the cakes and frosting after defrosting should work just fine. 🙂
jen
thank you!
Manissha Gunedran
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!
Sam
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. 🙂
Angel
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.
Angela
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 🤔
Lisa
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.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lisa! 🙂
Yuqian P
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?
Sam
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.
Emily
Do you know how you would (if at all) scale this recipe for a sheet cake?
Sam
Hi Emily! It will fit in a 9 x 13 as it’s written. 🙂
Dawn
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 🙂
Sam
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!
LaVerne Miller
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!!!!!
Sam
Thank you so much, LaVerne! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Pervin
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
Sam
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. 🙂
Dan
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!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Dan! 🙂
Emily Dempsey
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?
Sam
Hi Emily! You will need to increase the recipe by about 50%. 🙂