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WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE:Unlike some cakes that have just one sweetflavorprofile accentuated by frosting, this carrot cake has an unmatched depth offlavordue to the sweet carrots,raisins, and the best addition: cinnamon. When paired with my Best-EverCream Cheese Frosting, you have a cake that’s out of this world.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was updated and improved to include definition, additional notes for ingredients and instructions, step-by-step photography and answers to the most frequently asked questions and Pro Chef Tips.
Carrot cake is abundant during the spring, but only trulyspecialcarrot cake gets served all year round — and that’s exactly the type ofcarrot cake recipeyou get with my Best-Ever Carrot Cake. It’s my favorite way to make this classic dessert, and I’ll tell you why.
It took me years to find this perfect recipe, and since every baker needs a greatcarrot cake recipe, I’m going to give you all my professional advice in addition to passing the recipe on to you!
Table of Contents
- What is a Carrot Cake?
- The Secret To My Best-Ever Carrot Cake
- Tools You Need
- Carrot Cake Ingredients
- Why areVegetablesAdded to Desserts?
- How to Make the Best-EverCarrot Cake RecipeandCream Cheese Frosting
- How to Make a Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- How to Store a Carrot Cake
- FAQs
- Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
- Try MoreCarrot Cake recipes!
What is a Carrot Cake?
It is just that — a cake that includes carrots! Mine doesn’t only include carrots, though, it also includes lovely cinnamon and raisins as well, making a super moist cake that really shines when paired with my easy, Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting.
The Secret To My Best-Ever Carrot Cake
This recipe originated from an Irish cookbook forAvoca Handweavers Cafe! Avoca Cafe is hidden off the beaten track in County Wicklow, just an hour outside of Dublin city. Whether you are a local or tourist, everyone should make the pilgrimage to Avoca for their amazing food and their endless array of freshly made baked goods that are a sight to be seen. Thiscarrot cake recipewas published in their first cookbook in the early 2000s and I have been making it around the world ever since.
To be the best-ever cake, ithas to bemoist. To make a cake moist, you have to focus on the right ingredients, as always, but in perfect balance and concert. What sets this carrot cake apart is just that — how the ingredients work together.
This tried-and-true recipe uses oil to get that moistness a carrot cake deserves. It also doesn’t just have carrots, but it also uses both cinnamonandraisins! You can leave these out if you’d like, but they add a special warmth and sweetness you won’t get in othercarrot cake recipes.
After years of delicious research, I’m happy to say that this is definitively the Best-Ever Carrot Cake with unmatchedflavorand moistness.
It’s simple to make this amazing cake, and it doesn’t take any special tools — you can even mix the batter by hand if you’d like, even though I use a mixer in my how-to video (below).
What you’ll need is probably what you already have:
- 9-inchCake Pan
- Mixingbowls
- Whisks
- Oven(or toasteroven)
Carrot Cake Ingredients
- Eggs:Eggsadd richness, incorporate and retain air to aerate the carrot cake, and provide an emulsifier in yolks to bind ingredients into a hom*ogenous mixture at the same density. Always use room-temperatureeggs.
- Granulated sugar:Granulated sugar provides sweetness and caramelizes to bind other ingredients and add golden color to cakes. Substitute somebrown sugarfor a richer
- Oil:Oil adds a richtasteand works witheggyolks to form an emulsion stabilizing the aerated structure of the Carrot Cake.
- Vanilla extract:Pure vanilla extractaddsflavorand sweetness to your cake. MakeHomemadeVanilla Extractfrom scratch!
- All-purpose flour(AP):All-purpose flouris the base of this cake with a perfectproteincontent of around 11% for a signature cakeytextureinstead of being chewy like bread.
- Bakingpowder:Bakingpowderis the raising / leavening agent to make Carrot Cake rise.
- Ground cinnamon: Highly aromatic, sweet, and warm, it’s perfect for aspicecake.
- Carrots:Carrots addmoisture,texture, and sweetness to your cakebatter.Use fresh, finely grated or shredded carrots.
- Raisins:Raisinsadd sweetness and a soft chewytextureto the carrot cake.
- Best-EverCream Cheese Frosting:Make 1 recipe of myBest-EverCream Cheese Frosting.
- Orange and green food coloring:Use good quality orange and greenstore-bought or myAll-Natural Homemade Food Coloringfor the decorative carrots.
Why are Vegetables Added to Dessert?
Believe it or not, vegetables already have a lot of natural sweetness to them. That means that they don’t really need to be hidden by tons and tons of sugar. Though, it doesn’t hurt to add a little extra and some frosting.
Some use baking and desserts as a way to get kids (and let’s be honest: themselves!) into eating their vegetables. Whether or not that’s your goal is totally up to you ;).
How to Make the Best-Ever Carrot Cake Recipe and Cream Cheese Frosting
If you’re ready to make this Best-Ever dessert, it won’t get much simpler than these steps:
For the carrot cake:
- Mix your wet ingredients and sugar
- In a separate bowl, mix your flour, cinnamon, and baking powder (you can leave the cinnamon out if you’d like)
- Add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix together until just combined
- Add in your finely grated carrots and raisins and mix until they’re thoroughly combined
- Grease and line your 9in baking tin
- Pour mixture into the tin and place in the oven at 340°F (170°C) for 70-80 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack. Let cool before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
When it comes to carrot cake, the best way to top it is with tangy, sweet, and THICK cream cheese frosting! Get the full recipe, including measurements, for my Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting.
To make it, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is:
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not overbeat).
- Chill until needed.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
For those of you who need or prefer a gluten-free version of mybest carrot cake, substituteGluten-Free All-Purpose FlourBlend,almondflour,oatflouror coconutflourfor all-purpose flour. If you want an addedbakingchallenge, try myGluten FreeFlourrecipes!
Check out my‘Guide to the Best Gluten-FreeFlours’for more information. You can also try out myGluten-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakeswith no refined sugars.
How to Store a Carrot Cake
- Room temperature& fridge:You can store leftover Carrot Cake in an airtight container atroom temperaturefor up to 4 days. In the meanwhile, keep any leftovercream cheese frostingin an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Freezer:You can also freeze your Carrot Cake if you wrap it tightly inplastic wrapor aluminum foil and place it in afreezer-safe bag. For the icing, you can either freeze the cake with the frosting or frost it after thawing.
FAQs
How do I know if my Carrot Cake is done?
To check if your Carrot Cake is done, you can insert atoothpickor skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then it’s done. You can also lightly touch the surface of your cake, and if there’s a slight spring, then it’s ready.
Why is my carrot cake dry? How can I avoid a dry carrot cake?
A good thickbatterand monitoredbakingcan contribute to a moist carrot cake.
- A good thickbatter: Make sure yourbatteris not dry in the first place.Floursin different places absorb liquid differently. Note to hold back some liquid by using up to 3/4 in one go and adjust it accordingly to get the same consistency as the recipe.
- Monitoredbaking: Make sure to overbake your Carrot Cake in intervals. Keep a close eye on the cake andbakeit until no wetness on top, firm to touch in the center, the edge pulls away from the mold a little bit or atoothpickinserted comes out clean.
Gemma’s Pro Tips for Making a Carrot Cake
- If you want to make a smaller serving, feel free to also check out my2-minute Carrot CakeBowlrecipeand1-Minute Microwave Mug Cakespost!
- Make sure your carrots are finely shredded, otherwise they won’t get fully incorporated and you’ll have big tough chunks of carrot in your soft cake.
- Leave the cinnamon out if you’d like, but I love it. It adds a warm, deepflavor. Add somenutmegto create a deeper spicedflavor!
- A little freshly gratedginger(about ½teaspoon) is an excellent addition to this cake.
- If you likewalnuts,pecans, or other nuts in your carrot cake, you can add roughly 1 /4 -1 /3 cup of finely chopped toasted nuts to thebatter.
- It’s optional, but you can sprinkle in a pinch ofsaltto your cakebatterto balance out the rest of your ingredients.
- Use this recipe to also make 2 x 900g/2lb loaves using loaf tins, but make sure you reduce the heat and use the same telltale sign for the doneness.
- Don’t overmix theCream Cheese Frosting, just mix until smooth and creamy.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting, otherwise, the frosting will melt and get messy.
- Watch the video below for all of my advice on making the Best-Ever Carrot Cake.
- If you want to make a quicker full-size carrot cake, check out my3-LayerCarrot Cake Made in the Microwave.
See? This cake is not hard at all, and if you’re still hesitant all you need to do is watch my easy how-to video (below) and give it a go!
- Ultra-Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes With Best-EverCream Cheese Frosting
- Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese
- Carrot Cake Sheet Cake
- Carrot Bundt Cake (With Cheesecake Filling)
IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was updated and improved to include definition, additional notes for ingredients and instructions, step-by-step photography and answers to the most frequently asked questions and Pro Chef Tips.
