You’ll love this 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 a simple cream cheese frosting for what truly might be the perfect cake.
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 know you are going to love this one just as much as we 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:
- Flour. All-purpose flour works great here. I don’t recommend using cake flour for this recipe; it tends to yield a lighter crumb, and we want our carrot cake to be on the denser side.
- Sugar. A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar (either light or dark) makes for a moist, flavorful cake.
- Spices. Both cinnamon and nutmeg create the perfect spice profile that pairs so well with the brown sugar, carrots, and nuts.
- Oil AND butter. This is the ultimate dynamic duo for cakes! Oil adds moisture (canola or vegetable oil will work) and unsalted butter adds a rich flavor. Don’t substitute one for the other–we really need both here!
- Eggs. Room temperature eggs work best, so set yours out ahead of time. If you forget, you can just place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes before using.
- Vanilla. We’ll add a full tablespoon of vanilla for some extra flavor. If you’ve got some homemade vanilla laying around, definitely use it here!
- 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. 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.
This carrot cake recipe is made complete with my cream cheese frosting. It’s so simple and a big favorite on my site. Here’s what you need:
- Butter. Since we’re adding salt ourselves, stick with unsalted butter and make sure it’s softened.
- Cream cheese. Use the brick-style cream cheese–not the spreadable kind in a tub. Your cream cheese should also be softened so it can incorporate nicely.
- Vanilla. A teaspoon rounds out the flavor of this frosting.
- Powdered sugar. We’ll add this for structure and sweetness.
Remember, 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 Carrot Cake
- 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. 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.
- Evenly divide the batter between two 8″ baking pans that have been greased, floured, and lined with parchment circles. 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 decoration.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you could, I personally found this carrot cake recipe to be a bit too heavy for cupcakes. 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).
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook.
The Best Carrot Cake Recipe
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 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
Recommended Equipment
- 2 8" round cake pans (see notes for using different sized pans)
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 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 40 minutes (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
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Related Recipes
This recipe was originally published August 22, 2018.
Roxy
Awesome cake! I’d like to bake in an 11×15 sheet pan. Should I 1.5or double the recipe?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Roxy! Increasing the recipe by 50% should give you enough batter. Enjoy 😊
Lynette
We had to have our Easter celebration this year a week afterwards due to illnesses and I couldn’t find my carrot cake recipe that everyone loved! Out of all the online ones I looked at I picked yours, even though I wasn’t to sure about adding brown sugar as well bcuz it would be too sweet! I’ve got to tell you, it was soooo good and everyone LOVED it! I think I like it better than the one I had and that was very good! I added a little crushed pineapple too! And I don’t usually make my cream cheese frosting with butter, never have liked it but this was really good! Hats off to you! I also added just a touch of orange zest to it… l like to do that with the cream cheese frosting with a carrot or spice cake, it just adds another depth of flavor without sacrificing the cream cheese flavor! I will try other recipes of yours for sure!
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback, Lynette! I’m so glad it was such a hit. I hope you love everything you try and I can’t wait to hear how it goes. 🙂
Candi
I made this cake for my daughter birthday everyone love it. The cake was moist and delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s great to hear, Candi! Thanks so much for using our recipe. We hope your daughter had a lovely birthday 😊
shawna siegfired
I just made this, and I love it!! So moist and flavorful! I did add some half n half to the frosting to thin it out, but overall it was great! Will be making again!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved it, Shawna!
Karen
I made this carrot cake on Easter. It was delicious and we had no leftovers. Tonight I am making your banana bread. I love your videos and recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So happy to hear you’re enjoying everything, Karen! Thanks so much for commenting ❤
Becky Rodrigues
Hello!
I will be trying this cake this weekend. I loved the carrot cupcakes!!! I was wondering if I wanted to do a three layer cake with 8 inch pans, is it ok to do 1.5 times the ingredients?
Thank you
Sam
Hi Becky! That should work just fine. 🙂
Sadie
I’ve made many carrot cakes over the years, trying a different recipe each time, and wanted to love this one based on the many great reviews. The batter was easy to prepare, the cake looked great and had a very nice flavour, but unfortunately it wasn’t as moist as most of the cakes I’ve made in the past, which was surprising given the amount of fat in the batter. I followed the recipe with no changes, and used the weight measures. The layers baked in 35 minutes, and were fairly level so didn’t require levelling when it came time to frost the cake.
Sam
I’m so disappointed to hear this, Sadie! The most common causes of a dry cake are over-mixing the batter or slightly over-baking. 🙁 It should come out very moist so I’m really disappointed to hear yours didn’t. 🙁
Emily
Made this cake for Easter and was away! The taste and the density of the cake was perfect!!! My 5 and 3 year olds even enjoyed it and they are hard to please!!!
Maria
This is indeed the best carrot cake. The ratios work well. Moist but not wet or dense. Definitely use the fine side of a box grater for carrots, and emulsify the batter well with a mixer. There’s not enough ‘power’ in a hand wisk. Carrot cake uses the mayonnaise method after all, so you’ll want to make sure there’s no runny oil left.
You can get by with less sugar in the cake and frosting both, depending on preference. If you usually increase the amount of cinnamon in recipes, you can do this here as well, I guess some cinnamon is weaker.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like the cake, Maria! Enjoy 😊
Kristin
Can this recipe be used to make a carrot cake roll?
Sam
Hi Kristin! I haven’t tried it so it’s really tough to say. I would suspect it probably wouldn’t. 🙁
Debbie Williams
This is an excellent carrot cake recipe that I made for the first time to serve to uests. It is rich, dense and moist…exactly what a carrot cake should be. Unbeknownst to me, three of our guests said carrot cake was their favorite type of cake, and they all raved about this one. Note: I used a combination of fingerling carrots and matchstick carrots, chopping them in small batches in my 4-cup food processor, and the size and texture turned out perfectly!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it was a hit for you and your guests, Debbie! Thanks so much for coming back to let us know how it turned out for you 😊
Chris
Everything I hoped this glorious cake would be!! We had a few friends over for dessert after a night out. Received rave reviews all around – even from my husband who earlier that morning commented – but I like carrot cake muffins. 😜🤦♀️💕💕
Only change next time will be making additional frosting, as Sam reccommends. Thank you for an incredible recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Chris! 🙂
Shanny
The cake turned out amazing! My only issue was when I took it out of the oven, it was cooked perfectly however the middle rose so much it became a dome shaped cake. This made it difficult to stack. How to I get it to be even?
Sam
Hi Shanny! You can always level it afterwards if it doesn’t bake up evenly. 🙂
Ruby Galindo
I used baking strips and my cakes turned out flat
Jeanne Simmons
You have officially become my go to. My 94 yr old father wanted a good carrot cake. After two disappointments, one from a fancy grocery and one from a bakery, I decided I would have to make my own. Your recipe exceeded my expectations! I added a cup of raisins. Absolute perfection!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That is wonderful, Jeanne! We are so happy our recipe was the winner. Enjoy ❤
Kate
Sam is my go-to for ALL sweets. (We especially love her chewy oatmeal cookies.) You’ll never be disappointed!
Natalie
I would love to try this recipe but unfortunately I can find any place that sells cream cheese in blocks here in the U.K, only the spreadable kind, so I’m not sure what else I can do for the frosting. Any suggestions?
Sam
Hi Natalie! Unfortunately I don’t really have a suggestion. I’m not sure how it would turn out. I’d be afraid the frosting would turn out runny, but if you do try it let me know how it goes. 🙂
EG
Hello! I realize you asked your question a while ago, so I hope you have found a solution, but I have done this before and it turned out fine, a little soft but still worked fine as frosting, so I hope this suggestion helps! 1. If you can find Neufatchel bricks, those work the same as cream cheese. 2. If you can only find the spreadable cream cheese, use the same amount by weight (or 1-2 grams more).
The reason spreadable doesn’t usually work is due to the moisture added to make it spreadable, to avoid this shape it into a log or brick and wrap in a dry paper towel for about an hour on the counter to absorb the excess moisture and then proceed with frosting recipe.
Make sure you beat the butter really, really well first and then incorporate the cream cheese as you don’t want to beat the cream cheese too much as it is already spreadable, just enough that the two are combined, then follow the rest of the recipe. . Take Care!
Rupa
This is amazing!! Thanks so much for this tip. I’ve been in the UK 10 years, love baking and just make do with slightly too soft cream cheese frosting. I will def look up Neufchâtel and try the paper towel method!!! Thanks so much!
Brittany
Holy moly this is good! So moist and not too spice-y! I used avocado oil because that’s all I had but it came out perfectly. You don’t even need frosting it’s so good by itself but the frosting makes it next level! Definitely making again for Easter!