Y’all I love me a carrot layer cake but this carrot cake bundt cake is so much easier to pull together without frosting and decorating! This carrot pound cake is also moist and full of warming spices. I drizzle it with a cream cheese glaze and finish it off with some toasted coconut.
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Carrot Bundt Cake Ingredients
For the Cake
- Shredded Carrots: Fresh is best y’all. I always grate my own carrots because pre-shredded ones from the store come dry as a bone.
- Granulated Sugar: You can swap it for light brown sugar.
- Sour Cream: Full-fat is my jam, but plain Greek yogurt also works.
- Vegetable or Canola Oil: Swap in olive oil, melted butter, or unsweetened applesauce.
- Eggs: Large and room temp please!
- Vanilla Extract: The real deal. You can also use orange extract.
- All-purpose Flour: If you wanna make a gluten-free carrot bundt cake, just use a good-quality 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Double-check they’re fresh so your cake rises.
- Salt: Regular ol’ table salt.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You can also swap ’em out for pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice, whatever’s in your pantry!
For the Glaze
- Cream Cheese: Full-fat cream cheese always makes the best glaze for this carrot bundt cake recipe, but you can def use low-fat cream cheese instead.
- Confectioners Sugar: If you run out, you can easily make your own powdered sugar at home.
- Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed or bottled.
- Vanilla Extract: Or orange extract.
- Optional Toppings: Toasted coconut, robin eggs (my go-to for Easter meals, they look adorable on top!), pecans, walnuts, chopped pineapple, candied ginger, etc. Dress it up however you like boos!
How To Make Carrot Bundt Cake
1
Add
shredded carrots, granulated sugar, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and vanilla extract to a large bowl.
2
Whisk
together.
3
Add
flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg to a separate bowl.
4
Sift
together.
5
Slowly add
the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
6
Whisk together
until well incorporated.
7
Add
the batter to a bundt pan.
8
Bake
until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
9
Allow
the cake to cool in the pan, then turn the cake out on a cooling rack to cool completely.
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10
Add
cream cheese to your mixer and mix on medium high speed.
11
Turn mixer down
to slow speed and carefully add in confectioners sugar in two separate intervals until incorporated.
12
Add
orange juice and vanilla extract.
13
Mix
until smooth and pourable.
14
Drizzle
icing over top of cooled cake. Garnish the top of the pound cake with toasted coconut and robin eggs and serve!
Carrot Bundt Cake Recipe
This Carrot Bundt Cake recipe is made with freshly grated carrots and sour cream to keep it moist. Warming spices cinnamon, clove and nutmeg give it a classic flavor.
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Servings: 16 servings
Equipment
- 10 cup Bundt Pan
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Glaze:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ⅓ cup confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Optional: toasted coconut for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In one large bowl, whisk together shredded carrots, granulated sugar, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk together until well incorporated.
- Add the batter to a non-stick sprayed 10 inch bundt pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn the cake out on a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Glaze:
- Add cream cheese to your mixer (or use a hand mixer and medium size bowl) and mix on medium high speed.
- Turn mixer down to slow speed and carefully add in confectioners sugar in two separate intervals until incorporated.
- Next add orange juice and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and pourable (add a little bit more orange juice if you want the icing a little looser or until you get the consistency you prefer).
- Drizzle icing over top of cooled cake.
- Optional: Garnish the top of the pound cake with toasted coconut and robin eggs and serve.
Notes
Spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Packed flour makes for a dense cake, and you don’t wanna mess up your carrot bundt cake like that. While you’re at it, save yourself the arm workout and shred your carrots using the grater blade on your food processor. If you don’t have that blade, just throw the carrots in with the regular one and pulse until they’re finely chopped.
If you forgot to set out your cream cheese ahead of time for the glaze, just microwave it in 10-second bursts until it’s soft but not melted. And if your glaze feels a little too thick, add a splash more orange juice, just a little at a time, until it hits the texture you like. Some people like it to drizzle, some like it to drip… Do you, boos!
Storage: You can store it in the fridge for 4 days, fully glazed and covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. If it’s unglazed, it can chill at room temp for up to 2 days. Just wrap it up well so it doesn’t dry out. You can pour the glaze into a sealed container and stash it in the fridge too. It’ll keep for a few days.
Nutrition
Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 243mg | Potassium: 173mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 2985IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1.1mg
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Recipe Tips
- Don’t scoop straight from the bag, boos! Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off. Packed flour makes for a dense cake, and you don’t wanna mess up your moist carrot bundt cake like that.
- Use the grater blade on your food processor for the carrots. It’s the easiest way to get them shredded fine. If you don’t have that blade, toss the carrots in with the regular one and pulse until they’re chopped up real small.
- Microwave the cream cheese. Heat it in 10-second bursts until it’s soft but not melted. It needs to be fully soft so it blends smooth with the powdered sugar for the glaze.
- Let the cake cool completely before you glaze. If it’s still warm, that glaze is just gonna melt off like it’s got somewhere better to be. Patience pays off y’all!
Recipe Variations
- Add crushed pineapple. I don’t know why boos, but adding ½ cup of drained crushed pineapple to the batter makes the cake taste so freakin’ good!
- Toss in some nuts. Add ½ to 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts. Fold them in right before baking so they don’t sink to the bottom.
- Mix in coconut. Stir in ½ cup of sweetened shredded coconut for a lil’ chew!
- Stir in raisins. Add ½ cup of golden or regular raisins. Soak them in warm water (or a splash of rum!) for 10 minutes, then drain before mixing them into the batter.
Recipe Help
Do I need to peel the carrots first?
Yep, give those carrots a quick peel. This is a carrot bundt cake with cream cheese glaze boos, not with bitter carrot skin baked in!
Can I bake this cake without a Bundt pan?
You sure can! Bake it in two 9-inch round cake pans or use a 9×13-inch pan.
How do I keep the cake from sticking to the Bundt pan?
Use baking spray with flour in it or do it old school: butter every nook and cranny, then dust with flour.
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