My Big Mama’s award-winning carrot cake recipe is the ONLY carrot cake recipe you’re going to need for the rest of ya life. I know that is a bold statement, but the recipe has been tested/rated, and made over 1000 times… so you don’t just have to take my word for it!
Markus says:
Hands down and hands up…THE BEST CARROT CAKE RECIPE EVER! Everyone who hated carrot cake in my family, LOVED this cake! BAKING QUEEN Jocelyn, thank you for sharing this ahhhmazing recipe!
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Marlene says:
I wish I took photos of the expressions on the faces of my family! This is the very best carrot cake I ever made. My family raved about it, and actually thought I purchased it at a bakery. The cake texture was perfect, not oily or dry, just right, moist, and the spices were outstanding. Kudos to you! Oh, the frosting was delicious with a hint of nuttiness. This is definitely my new go to recipe. I’m going to go thru your site and try a pound cake. Which is you favorite? Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was the best Easter dessert on the table!
How to Make a Carrot Cake
These step-by-step photos show how to make carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, but be sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and detailed instructions. Skip to the → Best Carrot Cake Recipe
1. Sift the flour, spices, and baking soda into a bowl
Whisk to combine and set aside.
2. Mix the sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a stand mixer
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
PRO TIP: If you don’t have self rising flour, just make your own. Add 3 3/4 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt to 2 1/2 cups flour.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in batches
Mix on low speed until just combined.
4. Add carrots, pineapple, and walnuts to the batter
Gently fold everything in, then divide the batter evenly into prepared cake pans.
5. Bake the carrot cake layers in a preheated oven
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Melt and brown the butter for the frosting
Cook until amber in color, then chill until solid again.
7. Beat the brown butter and cream cheese, then add sugar
Mix until thick and fluffy, adding confectioner’s sugar and whipping until smooth.
8. Add vanilla and salt and whip until smooth
Continue mixing until the frosting is creamy and spreadable.
9. Spread frosting between each cake layer
Stack them evenly.
10. Frost the outside of your moist carrot cake
Garnish with nuts if desired, and get ready for the best carrot cake of your life!
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PRO TIP: Bake the layers on the center rack. Don’t stack pans too high or too low in the oven or they will bake uneven. Keep them centered and rotate halfway through.
Video Tutorial
Full Carrot Cake Recipe
Carrot Cake Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake
- 2 1/2 cups self rising flour self rising flour usually has salt in it which is why it was omitted here but if you want a bit more you can add 1/4 tsp of salt as well. Make sure to spoon and level your flour so you don't add more than this cake requires.
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar or brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups freshly grated carrots finely (don't use pre-shredded for best results)
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple with juice
- 1 cup roasted walnuts chopped, optional
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 24 oz cream cheese somewhat softened but still a little stiff/ 24 oz is 3 (8 oz) packages
- 5 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar if you want the frosting more stiff, add another 1/2 cup going up to 6 cups total
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and baking soda and set aside.
- Next line the bottoms of 3 9” inch round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly grease.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat sugar, oil and vanilla together at medium speed. Next add eggs, one at a time, blending after each incorporation.
- Next slow down the mixer to lowest speed and add flour mixture in increments.
- Fold in carrots, crushed pineapple if desired and walnuts if desired.
- Evenly pour batter into cake pans.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with some moist crumbs. I begin checking as early as 28-29 minutes because some ovens run hotter than others and you don't want to dry out your cake.
- Cool cake layers in pans for 10 minutes then flip cakes onto cooling racks to cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small saucepan, add butter and melt over medium heat. Once the butter has fully melted, a white foam will begin to appear over the top of the butter.
- Watch carefully as the butter’s color changes to brown and the smell of the butter becomes somewhat nutty.
- As soon as the butter is an amber brown color, remove from heat and cool in the refrigerator until it the butter has become solid again (can take about an hour or so).
- Add cooled brown butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer and beat on high speed until it begins to thicken and fluff.
- Next slow down mixer and carefully add in confectioner’s sugar. Once all sugar has incorporated, turn mixer back to high to continue whipping.
- Add salt and vanilla extract and continue whipping until it is smooth.
- Spread frosting between layers and around cake and serve.
Notes
How to Store
- Room Temp: Keep the cake covered tightly on the counter for up to 1-2 days, but only if your kitchen stays below 70°F. Wrap it well with plastic wrap or foil, or keep it under a cake dome so it doesn’t dry out.
- Fridge: Because of the cream cheese frosting, the fridge is your best bet if you want it to last longer. Store it covered for 3-5 days, either as a whole cake or sliced in airtight containers.
- Freezer: You can freeze it frosted, boos! First chill the cake in the fridge for about an hour so the frosting firms up, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil or store slices in freezer-safe containers. It will keep for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Use room temp eggs. They mix in easier and help the cake bake up nice and even.
- Grate your carrots by hand. I know boos, it takes a little extra time. But you will get more moisture and a softer cake than using pre-shredded ones.
- Toast the walnuts. Place them in a 350°F oven for about 8 minutes. This will bring out their flavor and keep them from going soft in the cake. Toasting also makes the nuts crunchier, so they hold their texture even after baking.
- Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Stir just until everything comes together… Unless you like dense carrot cakes!
- Chill the cake before slicing. I always pop it in the fridge for about an hour after frosting to get clean slices.
Recipe Help
Yes!! I haven’t fully tested it that way, so just know the batter makes a lot since this is a simple carrot cake recipe built for three layers. Don’t fill your pan more than ¾ full. Bake at 350°F and start checking around 45-50 minutes. It will likely take closer to 50-60 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean or with a few crumbs.
Nope, boos. The pineapple just adds moisture and keeps the crumb soft. I grew up on carrot cake with pineapple (Big Mama style), but you can leave it out or swap in applesauce.
You don’t have to, but I really suggest it. This is basically my regular cream cheese frosting, I just brown the butter for this cake because it adds a deeper, slightly toasty flavor.
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Hello Jocelyn,
Would this recipe for carrot cake work with a gluten free flour? Maybe with additional baking powder?
I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks:)
Laurel
I have had a few people use a baking swap cup for cup flour and it work really well!
I’m going to try this carrot cake next week for Easter and was wondering if I can use a Bundt pan to cook it in? Thanks!
If you are looking for a bundt carrot cake, this one is a great one specifically for that https://grandbaby-cakes.com/easy-carrot-cake-pound-cake-recipe/
Moist, but the best part of the recipe is def the browned butter in the frosting.
As for the RAF, carrots and eyesight: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-carrots-improve-your-vision/
Would canola oil be equivalent to vegetable oil or is vegetable the best for this recipe?
You can use canola. That’s fine.
I made this recipe into cupcakes and I LOVED the texture!
These were made for a wedding shower. BIG RAVE REVIEWS!
How long did you bake the cupcakes for?
Here is the cupcake recipe: https://grandbaby-cakes.com/carrot-cake-cupcakes/
What would you recommend as a good sub for eggs to make the cake vegan? There are so many different substitutes but I just wonder which you would say would work best.
I personally have not tried an egg sub for this cake yet but here is my full list of great egg subs https://grandbaby-cakes.com/egg-substitutes/
This cake looks amazing!
Can I use three 8 inch cake pans.? I only have 1 9 inch pan.
Can I add raisins, and if so, how much do you suggest?
Yes you can use 8 inch and I wouldn’t go over 1 cup of raisins for this batter. Maybe add 1/2 a cup first and see if that works for you then add the rest based on how it looks in the batter.
Some tips to help any UK bakers from the frosting (icing!) nightmare I’ve been having, as I suspect our ingredients are a bit different:
1) You MUST use the thickest, richest, full fat cream cheese you can find. The reduced fat stuff has added water and stabilisers and wont thicken.
2) Don’t over-beat / over-whip. As you beat cream cheese, water comes out of it (due to the change in the protein structure of the cheese ‘squeezing’ water out). The icing sugar (powdered /confectioners sugar) dissolves in this water becoming a liquid sugar and this wont thicken.
3) Once your brown butter is solid again, cream it back up with a wooden spoon or your mixer before mixing in the cream cheese. If it’s too cold the butter stays in tiny lumps in your frosting. Since the butter is a more solid fat, not having it mixed in properly also hinders the thickening.
In short, over-whipped, reduced fat cream cheese frosting is basically a wicked sweet milkshake, with butter lumps!!
Softened brown butter with gently folded-in full-fat cream cheese for the win.
Is it possible to halve the recipe to make it for 8?
Thank you!
I just posted the cupcake version of this recipe if you want to make it for a smaller crowd. https://grandbaby-cakes.com/carrot-cake-cupcakes/
Can I use cake flour for this recipe?
I would not use that in place of the self rising flour.
We are not big carrot cake eaters but, for a change, my husband asked for carrot cake for his birthday. I chose this recipe because it won the carrot cake smackdown, and I was hoping for a better-than-average carrot cake, especially because there was browned butter. WOW–it is one of our favorite cakes now. I can’t believe how awesome it is! That browned butter! And the crushed pineapple is perfect. It took slightly less time to bake. The top was completely smooth, thanks to the parchment. It was almost crispy (so I didn’t have to freeze while frosting) while the inside was still wonderfully moist. I only have 2 pans, so I baked two at first and then baked the the third when the first two were cooling.
Thanks for such a great recipe!