The BEST Carrot Cake Recipe
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.
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. Not only is this cake easy to make, but it’s so incredibly moist and full of flavor that it’s almost impossible to stop at one piece.
Once you realize how easy it is to make a carrot cake from scratch, you’ll want to make it over and over again.
To make this carrot cake, you’ll start by mixing up your dry ingredients. One important thing when measuring out your dry ingredients is to make sure to spoon and level your flour.
You want to avoid packing the flour into the measuring cup, otherwise, you’ll end up with too much in your recipe. Or if you have a food scale, you can also weigh your ingredients to get an accurate measurement.
I also really love some spice in my carrot cake so I use some ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. All three spices add such a wonderful flavor to this cake, but aren’t too overpowering. They really take this cake from good to absolutely amazing, trust me.
For the wet ingredients, you’ll be using some oil, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and applesauce. The amount of oil and applesauce in this recipe adds the perfect amount of moisture, so you end up with a moist cake that isn’t oily.
As always, I use a bit more brown sugar than granulated sugar because it adds more moisture and flavor to this carrot cake. And of course, you’ll also be mixing in some grated carrots. I don’t like to skimp on the carrots when it comes to this recipe, so I use 3 cups of grated carrots.
I know some carrot cake recipes call for raisins or nuts, but I prefer to leave them out because I know that not everyone is a fan of them. However, if you love either one (or both!) feel free to mix some into the batter.
Then it’s all topped off with my favorite cream cheese frosting. Have you tried it yet?! It’s so good and a few of you have already made it and loved it. The store-bought frosting doesn’t even compare to this homemade frosting recipe.
And speaking of the frosting, it makes enough to frost the carrot cake like you see in the pictures. If you really love frosting, then I suggest making a bit more. Enjoy!
Baking Tips for Carrot Cake
- 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.
- Feel free to use chopped walnuts or pecans in this carrot cake, I suggest using about 3/4-1 cup. If you love raisins in your carrot cake, you may also use 1/2 cup.

The BEST Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the carrot cake:
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (300 grams) grated carrots, lightly packed
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) package brick style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the carrot cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray two 9-inch round cake pans well with non stick cooking spray (you can also line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper for easier removal) and 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 into 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 at 350°F for 30-35 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 about 20-25 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-1 minute until well combined and smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, scraping 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 cakes 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 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
Adapted from Better Homes & Garden
To make cupcakes instead of a cake:
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. The full recipe will make 24 cupcakes or you can cut the recipe in half to make 12 cupcakes.
If you love pineapple, here’s my favorite recipe for Pineapple Carrot Cake!
I was looking for a perfect dessert to make for Easter and made this carrot cake with cream cheese frosting a couple of days ago and it was a huge it with my family! Each and every person who had a slice said it was “the best carrot cake they have ever had” and had seconds! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!!
This made my day, Jenny! I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the carrot cake. 🙂
How long will the cake stay moist? Can I make the day before serving and cover or refrigerate or will it dry out? Please let me know when you get a chance! Thanks!
The cake will stay moist for quite a few days, I’ve never had any problems with it drying out. You can make it the day before, cover, and refrigerate it, then let it come to room temperature before frosting. You can also wrap each layer tightly once they cool and freeze them as well for up to 3 months, just thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Just made this! Hoping it’s great for my hubby’s birthday…. question: I will be refrigerating for 1 day and then letting them come to room temp before frosting them tomorrow… do you recommend taking the cakes out of the baking pans before refrigerating? Or leave them in the pans and just take them out once they’ve “warmed” to room temp?
Hi, Katy! I normally take the cakes out of the pan after 20 minutes, let them cool completely, then wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate them. I think it would probably be fine to let them cool, then refrigerate them in the pans though.
Is there any modification for high altitude?
I’m not familiar with high altitude baking, but some readers have found this guide helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html.
This is an awesome recipe! I made this cake for Mother’s Day and my mom LOVED it!! The cake is super moist and very flavorful, I will definitely be making this cake again.
This made my day, Jessica! I’m so glad your mom enjoyed the cake! 🙂
I had been thinking for a while to try a carrot cake and since I’ve already enjoyed quite a few of your recipes, (especially the lemon and poppy seeds bundt cake) I picked your carrot cake recipe. It was delicious – even better the next day – perfectly moist and delicately spicy, not too sweet. Big success with my whole family. Will definitely bake it regularly. Thank you!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Rozenn! And so happy to hear that your family loved the cake, this is one of my favorites! 🙂
I’m trying this recipe today. I hope all the reviews are right.
Hope you enjoyed the carrot cake, Yvonne! 🙂
I’m making your carrot cake again tonight. It’s been a hit since I started making it. Very easy. Thanks fir sharing.
I’m so glad to hear that, Yvonne!
What do I use if I dont have u sweetened applesauce
You can use sweetened applesauce or the same amount of crushed pineapple.
hi Danielle
what can I use as a substitute for unsweetened apple sauce
I haven’t tried it yet so I’m not 100% positive, but 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple may work.
I used 1/2 cup chopped pears. They blended well with the spices. Great cake that taste better every slice!
Chopped pears sound delicious, Charlotte! So happy to hear you enjoyed the cake 🙂
Hi Danielle. Please what can i use as a substitute for cinnamon and brown sugar. I can’t get both here. Thanks.
You can replace 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or ground allspice. Since there’s 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon in this recipe trying using 1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice. For the brown sugar, you can make your own with 1 cup white sugar + 1 tablespoon molasses mixed together. Or you could use something else like coconut sugar.
If you make your own brown sugar using white sugar and molasses, just be sure to make enough to get 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar. The recipe I gave makes 1 cup 🙂
Dumb question Do you need to drain the crushed pineapple
I haven’t tried it with crushed pineapple yet, Cathy. But I would drain the pineapple though if you do use it.
Hi Danielle,
Ive tried it last night and used pineapple instead of applesauce
and it worked! Its the best! 🙂
Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the carrot cake and that the pineapple worked well, Iris! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Danielle,
I am enjoying your tutorials on how to make your assorted buttercream icings & of course your cream cheese icing. You are a very good teacher. I’m learning quite a lot. I just happened to find your site today.
For the carrot cake, to replace the applesauce – try using pumpkin – same amount (the plain one you would use to make pies). You can’t taste the pumpkin, and it does give the cake moistness. I’ve been using this for years. I’m looking forward to trying your carrot cake, as well as your other recipes. Thank you.
So glad you found my site, Murielle! I haven’t tried using pumpkin in this recipe, but I love that idea. I have quite a bit of pumpkin in my pantry right now for fall, so next time I make this cake I’ll have to give that a try! 🙂
I apologize. The canned pumpkin that I meant to say to use for baking is the ‘PUREE’, not the one used for pies.
No worries! I thought you meant puree when I read your first comment, Murielle 🙂
I am glad that I found your page. Last week I baked your carrot cake recipe for my family (as muffins), they LOVE it. Today, I will try your pumpkin recipe, and I am sure it be delicious 🙂
So happy to hear that your family loved the carrot cake recipe! I’d love to hear how the pumpkin one turns out if you give it a try too 🙂
How would you adjust the baking times for either two 8-inch round pans or a 9×13″ dish? Thank you!
I haven’t tried either yet, so I’m not quite sure. For a 9×13 pan I would guess about 40-50 minutes and for the 8-inch round pans maybe 30-35 minutes. Those are just suggestions though, so I would definitely check them a little before just to make sure. You’ll know they’re finished when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Hope that helps!
I made this today for my son’s 13th birthday we all loved it.
I love to make this as a birthday cake for family too! So glad to hear that everyone loved the cake, Danelle! 🙂
Hi. Do you think this recipe would work in a bundt pan? Any idea on how long to bake it? Looking forward to making this as a birthday cake this wknd.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I think it would work. I’d guess the baking time to be 50-60 minutes at 350F. I’d maybe check it about 40-45 minutes just to be safe though. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Omg. I made this for my husband and father in law. Amazing. I am gping to share recipe with family. Dying to try your butter cream. Childhood favorite of mine. Thanks for shsring.
So glad you liked the cake, Sue! I’d love to hear how the buttercream turns out if you try it too, it’s one of my favorites! 🙂
Tina,
Nov. 13,2017
I made the carrot cake for the first time on
on Nov. 4 for my sons’ 24’th birthday party. Everyone loved it including the waiter. Then two saturdays later my church family had a fish fry for Veterans Day and I made the carrot cake again. Everyone loved it. There was a lot of desserts there with many homemade pies, cakes and puddings; but my carrot cake was the only one almost gone and people asking to take more home for later. We ended up taking one small piece home, and that didn’t last long. Both times I have made this cake there are never any leftovers to worry about. It is an awesome cake. Everyone wants it at the Christmas party plus a red velvet cake. Thanks
I’m so glad to hear that everyone loved the carrot cake, Tina!
If I like pecans or walnuts how much should I put in the batter?
I usually add about 3/4-1 cup to this cake.
Can this recipe be modified to a three layered cake?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I imagine you can multiply the recipe by 1.5 and make 3 layers. Or make the recipe, them make another half batch for an extra layer.
Hello, I just made this cake after a quick search, it was for my son’s 12th birthday. It is absolutely delicious!! The moist/dry balance is perfect, what’s really nice is that it is not too sweet. Also the dichotomy between the applesauce and ginger really makes it shine. The ginger just adds a perfect hit on the backend. Frosting is is also less sweet which wraps it up really well. Thank you!
Thank you for such a kind comment! So glad you liked the carrot cake!
Hi Danielle,
What happens if you use cinnamon applesauce instead of unsweetened?
Also, if I make it Tuesday, how can I store it until Thursday? Can I frost it and then store it in the fridge?
Thanks!
Lauren
(first time baker…)
Hi, Lauren! I think it would be okay to use cinnamon applesauce. It’s probably sweetened, but I don’t think it would affect the overall texture/taste of the cake since it’s just 1/2 cup.
It would be okay to make it ahead Tuesday and refrigerate it until Thursday. If you prefer it a little more fresh, you can bake the cake layers ahead of time and wrap them tightly and refrigerate them. Then bring them to room temperature, prepare the frosting on Thursday, and frost the cake. You can also make the frosting ahead of time too and refrigerate it, you’ll just need to allow it to come to room temperature before frosting the cake.
Hope that helps!
This recipe doesn’t make nearly enough frosting, I ended up with half the frosting you saw on the cake in the picture following the recipe exactly so I don’t know if the measurement is wrong or if the one in the picture just had a bigger batch of frosting than the recipe.
The frosting recipe is correct as written. The recipe makes about 2 cups, so I use about 1/2 cup for the middle layer and the rest for the top and sides. You can certainly increase the frosting 1.5-2x if you prefer more frosting. I didn’t use a larger batch of frosting for these pictures, just the 2 cups the recipe makes 🙂
Great recipe! Easy to follow and ended with a moist and delicious cake!
Had left over frosting (which the little one devoured!)
Thank you
So glad you liked the carrot cake, Cristina!
Hi~ I’m Ana~~ I made this carrot cake for a party last Saturday and everyone loved it! ♥ There were no leftovers! I’m a carrot cake lover and I had another good recipe but this time I wanted to try a new one and this was definitely the best! I haven’t seen applesauce here in Colombia so I replaced it with grated green apple and it turned delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes! Greeting from Bogota 🙂
So glad to hear that, Ana! You can also substitute crushed pineapple for the applesauce, but I’m glad the grated apple worked well too!
Superbbbbb recipe…
Perfect balance ..
It turned delicious…
Thankyou sooooooo muchhh for the delicious recipe.!!!
I’m so glad you liked the carrot cake!
Can you clarify the amount of flour used? 1 US cup = 150 grams. Do I use 2 full cups or 250 grams?
1 US cup = 125 grams, so 2 cups = 250 grams. To get the most accurate measurement on your flour you can weigh out 250 grams.
Great recipe, it‘s the BEST carrot cake I have ever made. Moist and flavorful. Thank you.
So happy to hear that you loved the carrot cake, Fran!
I love carrot cake and wanted to make one for my birthday. However, I like my carrot cake with coconuts, pineapple, and raisins. If I wanted to add these, would I leave the recipe as is and may be add a cup of each? Or would the recipe need to be changed?
You can replace the 1/2 cup of applesauce with 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple and then add some coconut and raisins. I would maybe try 3/4 cup each of the coconut and raisins and then add more if you think it needs it. I hope that helps!
The cake had good flavor. I made it in a 9×13 pan and I could not get the center to bake. Left it in the oven for an hour. Finally gave up as I was concerned about the outside perimeter getting overdone. I ended up selvaging the edges and throwing out the center. The cream cheese frosting is excellent. May try this recipe again but will cut back on the oil as I think that may contributed to my problem. There should be enough moisture in the cake with the applesauce. Any additional suggestions?
I haven’t tested this recipe in a 9×13 pan yet, so I’m not quite sure. You could always cover the cake with foil to prevent the cake from browning too much and allow the center to finish cooking. Have you tested your oven temperature with an oven thermometer?
I did this in a standard half sheet pan. 325 Convention Oven for 35 minutes. Came out beautifully.
Glad to hear that it turned out great, Robert. Thanks for sharing about the baking time for the half sheet pan too!
Hi Danielle, I use a similar frosting recipe but it always turns out runny so will try yours. Is this frosting quite thick?
Thanks
Hi, Kat! Yes, it pipes really well and holds its shape. Just make sure to use a block (brick-style) cream cheese and not the cream cheese spread in the container.
Hello, I want to use this cream cheese frosting to make decorations on a cake such as grass.. i will want to dye it green for obvious reasons, will gel dye change the consistency and do you think it would hold up and stay with making grass decorations? Thanks
I haven’t tried this frosting with a grass piping tip yet, so I’m not sure how well it works with that. But gel food dye would definitely be better than liquid food dye since a little goes a long way and it won’t thin out the frosting.
If I have no icing sugar for the icing, can I use other sugar?
Hi, Kim! Icing/powdered sugar is the only one that will work in this frosting.
Danielle,
You can make your own powdered sugar in a blender by mixing 1 cup of regular sugar with 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Blend until fine. Rumor has it that you cake even leave out the cornstarch if desired, but I have not tried it this way as I have a feeling it would have a tendency to clump.
Yes, you absolutely can! Thank you for pointing that out, I didn’t even think about it at the time. You do need a high powdered blender or food processor though.
Would this cake work in a bundt pan?
I think it would, but I haven’t tried it yet so I’m not sure on the baking time.
Hi, Can I use self rising flour for this recipe? Thanks
I wouldn’t suggest it for this recipe, since self rising flour already has baking powder mixed in.
If I take out the baking power would it be ok to make recipe? Thank you for your fast reply.
I’m honestly not sure, Evy. 1 cup of self rising flour has 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder mixed into it. So if you used 2 cups of self rising flour it would have about 1 tablespoon of baking powder, which is more than this recipe calls for. If you use it there may be too much baking powder in the batter.
This is an outstanding recipe. I work in a restaurant and we had a bunch of carrot sticks leftover from a party last night. So I made your carrot cake. I’m not a baker. This is maybe the third cake I’ve ever made from scratch. This was outstanding and the kitchen staff loved it. It was gone before I could get a picture. Will definitely do this again!
Hello!
Im planning on making this cake as a surprise for my wifes birthday. My wife is a baker and I have absolutely no clue how she makes the things she does, so I figured worst case this experiment will give her a good laugh, even if it doesnt come out good (which I hope it does!)
I want to know if I can leave the finished cake, frosting and all, on a covered cake stand at room temperature for a few hours, or will this ruin/spoil the frosting? Should I leave it in the fridge instead?
Thanks!
What a fun surprise, Stan! As long as you spoon and level your flour and follow the instructions, I think it will turn out great for you. You can leave the cake at room temperature for an hour or two. But since it has cream cheese in the frosting, I wouldn’t leave it out much longer than that.
Hello Danielle, I have just mixed all ingredients wet and dry. I am a bit concerned about the consistency of the batter, it seems a bit too runny. How should it be? Many thanks for your reply. Magdalena 🙁
Hi, Magdalena! I actually just made this carrot cake and put it in the oven! The batter is thinner than something like a vanilla cake batter, so you don’t worry. Sounds like you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just normal for this cake batter 🙂
Thank you Danielle :). The cake is in the oven and will be taking it out in a few minutes. Will let you know the outcome. Btw the brownies I made twice and they were lush ;). Thank you 🙂