This Amazing Carrot Cake is perfect for Easter or year round!! Made incredibly delicious and moist with fresh carrots, pineapple, a blend of warm spices and a homemade brown butter cream cheese frosting, this Carrot Cake Recipe is truly the BEST dessert EVER!
HOORAY! THIS CAKE IS THE WINNER OF THE KITCHEN CARROT CAKE SMACKDOWN! FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WIN HERE!
If you love carrot cake, you will love this Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe, Easy Carrot Pound Cake or Orange Carrot Cupcakes!
THE BEST CARROT CAKE RECIPE ONLINE!
Y’all, I spent this past week working in LA and let me tell you, I missed the sunshine. The days were warm but never uncomfortably so and the cool breeze was EVERYTHING. I enjoyed stepping out in a t-shirt because it meant shedding the winter coat I’ve been lugging for months.
Though I was sad to tuck away my sunglasses and yank on my boots, I came home excited for the coming Spring. I’ve spent the past few days dreaming of budding trees, tulip bulbs and surprisingly, carrot cake. To me, Carrot Cake is synonymous with Spring; the gorgeous, vibrant carrots represent all that’s beautiful about the new season.
So, I decided to share with you all the BEST Carrot Cake recipe EVER in the hopes that the seasons will get the hint. Let’s welcome in warmer weather with a moist, spiced and oh so decadently creamy Carrot Cake!
THE HISTORY OF THIS CAKE
Time for a little history lesson y’all! Did you know that carrots have been used as sweeteners in cakes since the medieval period? Recipes for the illustrious carrot cake can be found in recipe books from as early as 1827. The spiced, nutty cake continued to gain popularity throughout WWII; ads were run by the British government that claimed carrots could help you see at night.
These ridiculous ads were run in the hopes that the Royal Airforce would be able to better read a newly developed special radar system.
Carrot Cake made its debut in America during the 1960’s and has since become a household favorite. It seems as if no one can deny a moist cake filled with delicious, vibrant orange carrots. Don’t even get me started on the sweet cream cheese frosting!
HOW TO MAKE CARROT CAKE RECIPE
Having a better understanding of your ingredients and their purpose in a recipe creates a better outcome. Take a moment to learn about these ingredients, you’ll thank me later.
Self-Rising Flour
Carrot Cake can be on the heavier side because of its mix-in: nuts, fruit and carrots. To avoid a dense outcome, I use a self-rising flour which contains baking powder. The additional leavener helps to prevent the development of too much gluten; this means a tender, moist cake. Thank you to Mama Dip for this amazing tip!
Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg and Allspice
This is traditionally a spice-heavy cake; the spice blend layers warmth, a sweetly pungent aroma and peppery overtones.
Vegetable Oil
The purpose of fat in any baking recipe is to add and retain moisture. Oil does the job by coating the protein in flour to prevent it from mixing with the other ingredients; if the protein is compromised, the necessary gluten does not form.
Grated Carrots
I prefer to freshly grate my own carrots because there’s a cleaner, more prominent flavor. Carrots should be sweet, earthy and slightly fruity.
Cream Cheese
Does this need an explanation? Every Carrot Cake worth talking about is served up with a tangy, smooth cream cheese frosting.
OPTIONAL: Roasted Walnuts & Crushed Pineapple
I would highly encourage the addition of these two ingredients. Roasted walnuts add a smoky, nutty flavor while also layering in a crunchy textural component. Pineapple simply offers a little extra fruity sweetness to compliment the carrots.
TRIMMING & FROSTING
I often find that assembling and icing a cake is the most difficult part of the whole process. The texture of a cake is finicky, frosting can be runny and patience is always required. But, don’t fret just yet! I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to make this much easier for you folks at home.
Chill the Cake
Consider baking the cake layers the day before frosting and allowing them time to properly chill. Cold makes for fewer crumbs and therefore, a smoother layer of frosting.
Once baked and out of the pan, leave the cake out to come to room temperature. Then, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours.
Use a Knife to Level the Top
If your cake has come out of the oven with a domed top I would suggest giving it a trim. Flat cakes make for easier stacking and a more visually appealing result.
Use a long serrated knife to carefully slice the rounded tops off each layer.
Crumb Coat
After having chilled your layers, apply a thin, even layer of frosting to the top and side of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes then, proceed with the final beautifully smooth layer of frosting.
BONUS TIP: This cake is visually quite simple. Jazz it up by decorating with chopped nuts, grated carrots, chocolate chunks or crushed pineapple. Get creative and your cake is sure to be a showstopper!
HOW LONG WILL THIS CAKE KEEP?
Keep your freshly baked Carrot Cake in a dry, cool area and cover with foil or plastic wrap to keep from drying out. At room temperature, the cake will last for 1-2 days.
If refrigerating, Carrot Cake will last for up to a week (properly stored of course). You can even freeze your cake; wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. The freezer will maintain the quality of the cake for 4-6 months.
SPRING CARROT RECIPES
Let’s keep the Spring celebration going! Here are a few of Grandbaby Cakes’ BEST carrot-filled recipes:
ORANGE CARROT CUPCAKES
EASY CARROT CAKE
MANGO CARROT CAKE SWIRL BARS
Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the 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
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups grated carrots
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple you can omit this if you want but I think it is essential/ I ONLY DRAIN PARTIALLY
- 1 cup chopped roasted walnuts optional
For the Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 16 oz cream cheese somewhat softened but still a little stiff/ 16 oz is 2 (8 oz) packages
- 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar if you want the frosting more stiff, add another 1/2 cup going up to 4 cups total
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the 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 clean.
- Cool cake layers in pans for 10 minutes then flip cakes onto cooling racks to cool completely.
For the 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
Nutrition
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This cake turned out great! I adjusted the spices a little to my taste, but otherwise followed the recipe, and it turned out moist and tender. The brown butter cream cheese frosting is amazing… It’s one of the best frostings I’ve ever made, and I’m already thinking about what other kinds of cakes I’ll put that frosting on!
Super excited about this cake! Do you think this would work as a sheet cake?
You said you partially drain the crushed pineapples…about how much of the juice do you keep?
I keep maybe like about a 1/3 of the juice.
Thank you! I made this once before and it was amazing. Do you think adding raisins would work? Would you adjust the recipe in any way or would it be just like adding walnuts? Thank you for any advice! My dad’s birthday is coming up and his mom always put raisins in her carrot cake!
For the granulated sugar can i do 1 c granulated and 1 c brown sugar?
absolutely!
Been looking for a higher quality home recipe for carrot cake! This sounds like it, especially with the brown butter & fresh hand-prepared carrots. FLAVOR HEIGHTENER!
The best carrot cake.
I haven’t made your recipe, but I know that it is an excellent one, as I created my own carrot cake recipe through trial and error, and lo and behold, it is a duplicate of yours!
I am a commercial baker but no longer professionally, and like yours, mine receives rave reviews too! Thank you for posting this perfect recipe I must now check out more of your recipes(great minds…)
What part of the butter are we browning? The impurites turn brown, if not removed. Then there is the fat part of the butter, that remains golden. I make ghee… so forgive me that I’m confused on this step. Do we leave in the impurities and toast them, making them briwn, essentially, leaving them with the golden butter fat? Or remove the impurities and keep cooking until the fat turns brown?
Also, when mixing the sugar, eggs and oil… do we mix until just incorporated, or until the sugar melts?
Thanks!
Those aren’t « impurities » per se, the browned part (not the oily golden part) is The sugar, inthe form of lactose, etc, and other protein components of the dairy milk used to create butter in the first place. Clarified butter works as a higher heat fat used to fry and saute because those products are also removed by separating the two (oil and residue) removed in the process of clarification.
Using browned butter (very careful never to burn or it’s ruined) gives the butter a very umami, nutty flavor because you have browned the sugars and other proteins in the butter.
Hope that helps.
Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
You can but I honestly wouldn’t suggest it because it is too strong of a flavor and I prefer a neutral oil.