The BEST Carrot Cake Recipe
This is my favorite homemade carrot cake recipe! This cake is so easy to make, perfectly moist, and topped with an easy homemade cream cheese frosting.
I feel like carrot cake is a dessert most people tend to only make around Easter. But honestly, carrot cake is such an incredible dessert and I think it should be enjoyed all year long. Especially when it comes to this recipe!
I know it can be a bold statement to call a recipe the best, but I truly mean it with this one. In fact, over the last 6 years this recipe has received nearly 600 5-star reviews – and counting!
Originally posted in 2017, I decided it was finally time to update this popular recipe with more step-by-step photos and tips to ensure that it turns out perfectly for you. I guarantee that once you learn how simple it is to make your own carrot cake from scratch, you’ll want to make it over and over again.
What You Will Need
While there are quite a few ingredients in this recipe, I promise it’s fairly simple. I won’t cover every single ingredient, but I wanted to touch on a few important ones:
- Spices: There’s a mix of ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. All three spices add such a wonderful flavor to this cake, but aren’t too overpowering. Feel free to add more spices, if you prefer though.
- Oil: Any kind of neutral-flavored oil is fine to use here, but I typically use vegetable or canola oil. You may also use melted coconut oil, just make sure all of your other ingredients are at room temperature so that it doesn’t solidify.
- Applesauce: This adds the perfect amount of moisture, so you end up with a moist cake that isn’t greasy. I always use unsweetened applesauce whenever I make this recipe. If you can only find sweetened applesauce, just reduce the granulated sugar by 2 to 3 tablespoons.
- Sugar: I use a bit more brown sugar than granulated sugar because it adds more moisture and flavor to this carrot cake.
- Carrots: I don’t like to skimp on the carrots when it comes to this recipe, so there’s 3 cups of grated carrots. Make sure to use freshly grated carrots here too. Avoid using a bag of pre-shredded carrots as they are often too dry and thick for carrot cake.
- Cream Cheese: Make sure to use a block of cream cheese. Avoid using cream cheese that’s either whipped or in a tub, it’s typically too thin and will result in a runny frosting.
How To Make A Carrot Cake
Make The Cake Layers
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 9-inch round cake pans well with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottoms of each pan with a parchment paper circle. This will make it much easier to remove your cake layers from the pan!
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt to a large mixing bowl and give it a good whisk.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together your oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
- Add the grated carrots to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Adding them at this point will ensure that they are fully incorporated into your batter and prevent you from over mixing it later on.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Make sure not to over mix your batter! This can overdevelop the gluten and cause the cake to turn out dense/gummy. Trust me, no one wants that.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between both cake pans. Tip: If you want to get perfectly even cake layers, I recommend using a food scale to weigh your cake batter.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the tops of the cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly in the pans, then remove the cake layers from the pans and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Mix Together The Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the butter and continue mixing until well combined.
- Lastly, mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. If needed, stop and scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl to ensure that all of the frosting ingredients are thoroughly mixed together.
Assemble & Frost The Cake
- Level the tops of each cake layer. You may use either a large knife or a cake leveler for this step, I personally love this cake leveler. It’s a great option for beginners too!
- Place one of the layers on a cake stand and scoop a little over 1/2 cup of the frosting on top, then smooth it out evenly.
- Place the other cake layer on top and use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. An angled spatula or even the back of a spoon works great for this step! If you want to add a little something extra, feel free to toast some chopped pecans or walnuts and sprinkle them around the top of the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does carrot cake need to be refrigerated?
Yes, if you frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting it does need to be refrigerated. It will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Can you freeze carrot cake?
Of course! You can wrap individual slices with plastic wrap and freeze them in a large freezer bag.
The cake layers and frosting can also be frozen separately for up to 3 months. I do suggest wrapping the cake layers tightly with plastic wrap before freezing them.
How do you grate carrots for carrot cake?
The easiest method is to use a box grater and grate the carrots just like a block of cheese. If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, that works too.
I also recommend peeling your carrots and removing any brown spots or blemishes before grating them.
Can I add nuts or raisins?
Absolutely! Chopped walnuts or pecans would be fantastic in this recipe, I suggest using about 3/4 to 1 cup. If you love raisins, you may also add 1/2 cup.
Adjusting Your Pan Size
One of the most common questions is whether or not this recipe can be baked in another pan. The answer is YES!
Here are a few more commonly used baking pans that you can bake this cake in:
- 9×13: Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.
- 8-inch round pan: Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a parchment paper circle. Pour the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cupcakes: The full recipe will make 28 cupcakes. Only fill each liner about 2/3 of the way full so that they don’t overflow and bake for 16 to 20 minutes. I also recommend doubling the frosting to have enough to cover all of the cupcakes. If you prefer a smaller batch, try my carrot cake cupcakes instead.
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, don’t scoop it out of the container with the measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife. I have a whole post that explains the spoon & level method.
- Don’t have any applesauce? You may replace it with 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or one 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple that’s been drained.
- I opted to stick with my favorite cream cheese frosting. It makes enough to frost the carrot cake like you see in the pictures. If you really love frosting, then I suggest increasing the recipe by half.
- Additional frosting options: If you want to try another frosting, my vanilla buttercream frosting, ermine frosting, or whipped cream cheese frosting would be delicious too.
Video Tutorial
The BEST Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This is my favorite recipe for homemade carrot cake! This cake is so easy to make, perfectly moist, and topped with an easy homemade cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Servings: 10 slices
For the carrot cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (250 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil (180ml)
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar (300 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce (125 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups lightly packed grated carrots (300 grams)
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) package brick style cream cheese (226 grams) softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter (115 grams) softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- To make the carrot cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 9-inch round cake pans well with non stick cooking spray and line the bottom of each pan with a parchment paper circle. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract until fully combined. Add the grated carrots to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or rubber spatula until just combined, making sure not to over mix the batter.
- Pour the cake batter evenly between both prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the tops of the cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of each one comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool in the pans for 20 to 25 minutes. Once the cakes have cooled, remove from the pans and return the cakes to the wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the cream cheese frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and mix for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until well combined and smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- To assemble the cake: Level the tops of each cake with a knife or cake leveler. Place one of the cake layers on a cake stand, top with a little over 1/2 cup of the frosting, and smooth it out into one even layer. Place the other cake layer on top and use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. Top with pecans or other toppings of choice, if desired.
Notes
Storage Instructions: Cake may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing Instructions: Cake and frosting will freeze well for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before assembling the cake.
Applesauce: You may replace the applesauce with 1/2 cup (120 grams) of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
To make a 9×13 cake: Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 35 to 45 minutes.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.
Adapted from Better Homes & Garden
More Carrot Cake Desserts To Try!
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Hello Danielle. Is it ok to use olive oil inplace of the canola or vegetable and can I add butter to this recipe without messing it up?
It would be okay to replace the canola or vegetable oil with olive oil. As far as the butter, it kind of depends on what you’re wanting to use it for. If you’re wanting to replace the oil with an equal amount of melted butter, that should be okay.
This was actually a pretty good recipe. Knocked off one star as I had to reduce the amount of sugar to 300g and even then it was still quite sweet for my taste. But everything else was really good, the texture, the *moistness* and amount of carrots.
I love this recipe, but curious on making these into cupcakes. What temp & how long would work?
So glad you love the recipe, Shae! You can bake this into cupcakes, I covered how to do that in the post 🙂
Would it come out the same if i only have 3 eggs? Its late, the store is closed and I need it for the morning
I haven’t tried it, but I would probably replace the egg with an extra 1/4 cup of applesauce or sour cream.
This is a very good moist carrot cake. If I may suggest a couple things for this recipe & most others like it: Indicate whether/not the recipe can be halved & if so, what pan size(s) would be good.
Also, when specifying volume/amounts of raw ingredients such as carrots I believe it’s very helpful to lesser-experienced cooks if you would indicate approximately how “many” carrots (or other fruit/veg) it typically takes to make that amount.
I’ve been searching for a good recipe and this one looks amazing! The only thing I’m not sure of is the icing. I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese icing because it just seems to have too much cream cheese flavor. Do you know if there is a way to make it without having to use so much cream cheese? Also I just wanted to suggest to people that if you don’t own a spring form pan, you should invest in one! I have 3 different sizes and they are amazing! Another item I like to use
You could reduce the cream cheese to 4 ounces, just keep in mind that you will have less frosting to work with. Or you can try another frosting, like my buttercream frosting or ermine frosting.
I Made the cake woww! Really lovely cake, the texture all. Highly recommende Thanks 🙂 greetings from Perú.
This was my first attempt at making a carrot cake. I also dont bake often. I had some fresh picked carrots that I wanted to use. I found this recipe and decided to try it. I made this for Valentine’s Day and everyone said it was delicious!
So glad I found this recipe!
I’d like to halve the recipe but I don’t have any pans smaller than 9 inch. What would you recommend?
If you don’t have smaller pans, you can just halve the recipe and bake it in one 9-inch pan for a single-layer cake.
Would this yield enough batter and frosting to use in a Bundt pan/mold? Thanks.
Yes, it would! I also have a carrot bundt cake recipe if you’d prefer to try that instead.
I want to make this carrot cake but I only have 8 1/2 cake pans. Would I use 3?
You can just use two and increase the baking time slightly.
I made this today, the cake was moist and delicious as well as the icing recipe. It was a big hit at my house, so make this recipe you will be happy with it!
Nice and simple recipe
I made cup cakes .
Next time I will skip the nutmeg and ginger .
It just hid the carrot flavor
The frosting was great.
After using half of it , I added some coco powder and some sugar to the other half. That was was a game changer.
so i was looking for a good carrot cake recipe that was relatively simple tasty and quick i came across this one and started making it about halfway through i realized that the recipe called for applesauce! which i didn’t have so i had to throw it all away so now coming back to this recipe i need to know is applesauce really necessary for this recipe or not?
Yes, you do need it for this recipe. If you’re out, you can replace it with an equal amount of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
I honestly hardly ever leave any comments on recipes I try out, but I really have to make an exception here!
I made this yesterday, and although I do love a carrot cake, I’m not always happy with the texture as they often just get heavy and claggy. This receipe however definitely tick all the right boxes. It is absolutely gorgeous!!
I served to my son today and he was in love with this cake. It’s one hundred percent a keeper!
Thank you for saving me from another disappointment.
It’s not called the best carrot cake recipe for nothing. GORGEOUS!!
Hi! Any recommendations on adjusting or baking using 4-inch mini round cake pans?
It depends on how many layers you’re wanting to make. If you cut the recipe in half, it would probably be enough for four or five 4-inch cake pans. I’m not sure on the baking time, I would just keep a close eye on them and test them with a toothpick to make sure they’re done.
If making the cake in a 9×13 pan instead of the two round cake pans do I still use the same amount of icing as called for in the recipe?
Yes, it will be enough frosting for a 9×13 cake.
Literally the BEST carrot cake recipe out there. The only change I made were using melted coconut oil instead of vegetable or canola oil and it added such a delicate nuttiness to the cake!! I also added raisins to add additional moisture. This one’s a keeper!!!!
I made this cake on Saturday for my daughters 31st birthday! I was amazing, she loved it and I will definitely make it again, maybe adding raisins and pecans next time. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
I love this cake. I need to make it and take it in the car for a few hours. Can the frosting be made in advance and does it travel well ( it is below freezing where I live!) so I can assemble the cake the day it is served? How long do the componets stay?
Hi, Lisa! It would be okay for the frosting to be at room temperature, or to sit in the car while you’re traveling, for up to two hours. If you plan to travel longer than that, I’d recommend storing it in a cooler with some ice packs.
This carrot cake is delicious! My only suggestion to anyone making this is make sure you are using a circular pan like the one recommended!! I used one for a rectangular cake and it was a deeper dish and my cake didn’t cook properly even giving it an additional 20 minutes in the oven! This recipe is delicious and the additions of spices adds a nice unique flavor without it being spicy. Highly recommend
Hello. I’ve baked this cake and it’s so so delicious, thank you so much! I was wondering if I could bake this into a 9×5? Thank you so much in advance! Greetings from Mexico.
Yes! It would be too much for one 9×5 pan though. You could either cut the recipe in half or make the full recipe and just use any leftover batter to make some cupcakes.
Can you substitute coconut oil for the vegetable oil?
Yes, just make sure all of your other ingredients are at room temperature so that it doesn’t solidify when you mix everything together.
Excellent recipe that is a family favourite. I gently beat butter first, add cream cheese (both softened and the same temp). Sift icing sugar in add vanilla and beat at low speed with a stand mixer only until well combined to avoid the icing becoming grainy.
Perfect and simple to make, a must do for any carrot cake fans like myself!❤️
This cake is outstanding! So moist and delicious. I didn’t add nuts or raisins but it was still great. The frosting is really easy and I had enough to frost the center and top but not the sides which was fine. I used light cream cheese but I didn’t notice a difference. This is a keeper recipe!
Great recipe. My advice, double the icing. Very skimpy amount.
Just made it and it was delicious. I did cut back on the brown sugar. Instead of 300 grams I used 222 grams. Also the frosting makes a little bit but that’s fine since I don’t like over frosted cakes. Also used half the powdered sugar for frosting.
Used 1.5 more of the spices. Added 1/2 cup raisins and a cup chopped pecans.
Didn’t have 2 cake pans so I used a large stainless steel skillet. Only buttered and floured and it baked in 50 minutes.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. Will be making it again.