The moment I tried this carrot cake recipe, I was hooked! The ingredient list is simple, and they come together to make such a delicious, moist, perfectly spiced cake. I bet you already have most of what you need to make this recipe in your kitchen. This really is one of my favorite cake recipes. For cupcakes, check out our recipe for carrot cake cupcakes. Or for another spring inspired cake, try our fresh strawberry cake.
Key Ingredients
Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but this recipe works with spelt flour or your favorite gluten-free flour blend for a gluten-free carrot cake. Baking soda: Helps our cake rise. We don’t add baking powder (this cake recipe does not need it). Check that your baking soda has not been open for longer than 6 months (it loses its potency after that). Sugar: Makes carrot cake moist and delicious. I love a combination of white and brown sugar. If you only want to use one, choose brown sugar since it has the necessary acid to react with the baking soda. Oil: The secret to keeping our carrot cake so deliciously moist. I’ve used avocado oil, safflower oil, and vegetable oil with great results. Melted coconut oil works, too, but the baked cake will have a light coconut flavor. Salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract: Make our cake taste amazing, resulting in a lightly spiced cake. Eggs: This cake calls for 4 eggs, which add flavor, moisture, and give the cake structure. Carrots: Three cups of freshly grated carrots make this the best carrot cake! If you’re making the carrot cake and start to second-guess the number of carrots called for in our recipe, don’t. You need all three cups. It is a carrot cake, after all. Pecans and Raisins: These add texture, but they are optional. Reading through the comment section, it is clear that some people love nuts and raisins in carrot cake, while others cannot stand them. I love them, but add what you love!
How to Make Carrot Cake
If you have a couple of bowls and can stir ingredients together, you can make this easy cake! You’ll start by whisking the dry ingredients in one bowl, and do the same with the wet ingredients in another. Making this cake batter reminds me of making pancakes or muffins. All you need to do is fold the dry ingredients into the wet, add your carrots, nuts, and raisins, and you are done. It’s that easy! To bake the carrot cake, divide the batter between two baking pans, and slide them into a 350°F oven. Bake the layers until they rise in the pans and are a bit bouncy when you lightly touch them. (I use one or two fingers and lightly push. If you leave a dent in the cake, it needs more time.) It’s important that you cool your cake layers, otherwise your frosting will slide right off! I like to cool them in the pans for 15 minutes and then turn the layers onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting
This cream cheese frosting reminds me of softly whipped cream. It’s light, creamy, and swoopy. I highly recommend it, but if you want a firmer, more American-style cream cheese frosting that you can pipe onto the cake, see the tips section of the recipe for my recommendations. For my favorite frosting, you will need cream cheese, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and heavy cream. You’ll beat the cream cheese with the sugar and cornstarch until fluffy and then beat in the cream. Watch our video to see how light, swoopy, and creamy it becomes. We also use this frosting for our Guinness chocolate cake. This cake is also delicious without frosting. You can try it plain or sift some powdered sugar on top. When Adam and I tested this carrot cake recipe, we skipped the frosting the first couple of times and fell in love with the cake completely plain. Frosting: Our creamy frosting recipe shared below is not a traditional cream cheese frosting. Thanks to whipped cream, it’s creamier and has soft peaks (you can see it in our video). See the tips section below for a more traditional frosting. 2 teaspoons baking soda, important to level the teaspoon, see tips 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 ¼ cups (295ml) vegetable oil 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar 1 cup (190g) lightly packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 large eggs, at room temperature 3 cups (300g) grated peeled carrots, 5 to 6 medium carrots 1 cup (120g) coarsely chopped pecans 1/2 cup (70g) raisins 2 teaspoons cornstarch, optional 1 ¼ cups (140g) powdered sugar 1/3 cup (80ml) cold heavy cream, not plain whipping cream, see tips 1/2 cup (50g) coarsely chopped pecans, for topping cake 2Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then grease the top. Or grease and flour the bottom and sides of both pans. 3Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until very well blended. 4In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. 5Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each one. 6Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients in three parts, gently stirring until they disappear and the batter is smooth. 7Stir in the carrots, nuts, and raisins. 8Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake until the tops of the cake layers are springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. 9Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully turn the cake layers out onto cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely. If you find that a cake layer is sticking to the bottom of the pan, leave the cake pan upside down and allow gravity to do its thing. 2Beat in the powdered sugar and cornstarch. I like sifting the powdered sugar and cornstarch over the cream cheese to remove lumps. If you do not have a fine mesh sieve, beat in the cornstarch and powdered sugar a 1/4 cup at a time until combined. 3Pour in the heavy cream. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until the frosting is whipped and creamy. This frosting resembles the texture of whipped cream. Chill covered until ready to frost the cake. 4When the cake layers are completely cool, frost the top of one cake layer and place the second cake layer on top. 5Add the remaining frosting to the top of the carrot cake and use a butter knife or small spatula to swirl the frosting around. Leave the sides of the cake unfrosted. Finish with a handful of nuts on top.
