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.
Elaine Gagnon
I made this cake for my friend 50 birthday. Everyone love it. Very good and moist. And the icing is so good.
RedBlueSpice
No really…THIS is truly THE Best Carrot Cake! I get everyone says that about carrot cake, and carrot cake is so very subjective, but this cake won hands down! I looked up other recipes, tried one, tried yours and the search was over!! Even my non carrot cake loving husband really, really liked it and went back for more. This cake is dense, but moist, but NOT oily. I added toasted pecans, requested by the recipient. The flavor of the cake and the frosting is spot on. I made a three layer cake (separate batches), barely had to level, and it was gorgeous being so tall! This was for a birthday, and the recipient, and many others loved it, and asked for the recipe, so I sent them to this website! This recipe is aptly named and the search is over for THE Best Carrot Cake! You sure know how to create great recipes, Sam! Thank you!
Linda
I completely agree with everything you have said! Since making this cake for the first time for my son, I have experimented with all matter of spices, additions, deletions, and keep coming back to this recipe. It’s perfect!
RedBlueSpice
Love this!!
Nicole
Baked this cake in 2 6” cake pans instead and changed the temp and bake time a bit. Had to freeze the cakes after cooling about 10 mins as I had to spread my time between 3 days to put this cake together (for a family bday). This cake was eaten day 3 and was a bit dense but still great! I added walnuts in it which may have messed with that but during the bake it passed the tooth pick test.
The cream cheese frosting originally was a little too buttery tasting to my liking and a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar which did the trick. Would make again. 🙂
Hannah
I’ve tried your carrot cupcake recipe and it was the best cupcake for me. Now I’m going to make this as my birthday cake this Saturday. Question: can i add whipping cream on the frosting to make more frosting? (idk if that makes sense) i want to be able to pipe some of it at the top. I hope you can answer this question before Saturday 🤞🏼 thank you! I love your recipes ☺️
Sam
Hi Hannah! Sorry I wasn’t able to get to you sooner. I’m not sure how adding whipping cream would go. It may thin the frosting a bit too much to be able to pipe it. If you need more frosting I would just increase all of the ingredients proportionally to get more frosting. 🙂
Linda
The first time I tried this recipe was last month for my son’s birthday. He loved it! So I had to make another for his wife’s birthday this month. She loved it as well. Then I decided to experiment a bit and substitute ginger for the nutmeg. I also added a bit of crushed pineapple, both pecans and walnuts and 1/2 cup raisins. It came out great, but taught me one thing: Never mess with perfection. Your original recipe hands down is the BEST!
RedBlueSpice
Would stacking 3 of these cake layers (make 2 separate cake batches) together stay put or would it slide?
Alternatively, cut the 2 cakes in half to make four layers. Would that stay put and not slide?
Sam
This cake bakes up pretty flat so you should be good to stack it 3 or 4 layers high. 🙂
Stacey
How long would I bake a jelly roll size pan and would I need to change any measurements?
Sam
Hi Stacey! Unfortunately I have not made it in a jelly roll pan so I can’t really say for sure how long it would need to bake. You will end up with about 8 cups of batter so you can use that to help determine if you need to make more or less batter based on the volume of your pan. I hope that helps. 🙂
Sally
I have been using this recipe for years and I do two batches and make four perfect layers. I use a cake dowel in the center to hold them together.
Btw this recipe is indeed the best carrot cake recipe.
Carlia
Hi Sam. I want to make this cake 2 days ahead of time (I have oven issues) and want to know if it is better to frost it once made or to frost it before the party?
Thx
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Carlia! We’d recommend frosting it before the party, since the frosting needs to be refrigerated. The fridge can dry out cakes, so best to keep the cake itself out of the fridge as long as you can. Hope that helps!
T
This recipe is amazing, made it many times and everyone loves it! I usually do the 9 inch round cake pans but I need to make a larger round cake. My problem however is sometimes my cake is undercooked in the center and browning too much on the top. I usually continue to cook til center is done and trim off the overdone part. If I made this in an even larger pan I worry that I will have the same issue but worse. I think my large springform cheesecake pan is about the right size I need. Any suggestions for batter amount and cook time and temp. I realize you may not have ever cooked it in this size but I would greatly appreciate any suggestions! 😀 my 6 year old is requesting this cake for his birthday.
Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much! It sounds like your oven may be running a bit hotter than it says it is. Do you have an oven thermometer by chance? I haven’t made the cake in a springform pan so I don’t know a bake time. This recipe does make about 8 cups of batter so that can help guide you on what size pan to use. The temperature won’t change though. 🙂
Julie Raimonde
I made this recipe as a Bundt cake. It turned out amazing!!!! My family loved it!
Definitely a keeper!
Debra Adair
I’m so glad someone tried this in a Bundt pan! Thank you for posting. Did you change anything about bake temp or time?
denise clarkson
That’s a great idea Sammy, I will consider the weights when needed. Butter is one that is often hard to measure, so weight would be better. Thanks
denise clarkson
Hi Sammy, I made the carrot cake a couple of days ago for a birthday girl and it turned out great!! My first time and so happy it did because I almost forgot the brown sugar. Loved the butter cream icing. Today I made the muffins but didn’t try them yet…to hot! Thanks for these wonderful recipes, never disappoints. A question not related to the recipes, why do measuring cups and spoons from different companies not the same measurement? It drives me crazy because I am old school and if a cup is 250 ml. then all cups should be hahaha Does the difference affect the measurements, do you think?
Sam
Hi Denise! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake so much! I can’t answer your question about different brands having different measurements, although I agree it’s highly frustrating. It can make a difference in some recipes. This is why I prefer to use weights whenever possible. I’ve standardized them on my site so I know they are good to go with the amounts listed. 🙂
Sophia
Excellent cake receipe! Cake is so moist and so tasty! Took a different receipe for the frosting! Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Sophia! ❤
Amanda
Would the creaming method work here?
Sam
Hi Amanda! It could, but honestly I think this is the best way to do it for this cake. 🙂
Colleen
This cake was amazingly delicious!
Zane Blane
If I wanted to add crushed pineapple, how much would I add?
Sam
Hi Zane! I haven’t experimented with it myself so I can’t say for sure how much would work here. I know others have done it with success though. 🙂
Bella
Hi, can this cake hold up under fondant?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes it can. Enjoy! 😊
Carly
I’ve made this cake around 10 times and it is foolproof. Everyone loves it, it is the best carrot cake ever!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love hearing that, Carly! Thanks so much for your review ❤