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
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. 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.
Related Recipes
This recipe was originally published August 22, 2018.
