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!
Can I use gluten free flour in the recipe?
If it’s one that substitutes 1:1 for all purpose flour, I think it would probably be okay.
Hi! I dont have an oven, will an air fryer work for this recipe? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it in an air fryer, so I’m not sure how well it would work.
I made this carrot cake “loaded”. What I mean is I put in pineapple, dried cranberries, and walnuts along with the carrots of course. I baked it in two bread loaf pans as I am horrible at frosting layered cakes. I didn’t use the frosting suggested as I don’t like powdered sugar. I made it with cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, sugar and cinnamon. It was moist and fantastic. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
I made just as the recipe came oit moist and tasty will try it again.
Hello, can you share your recipe for the “frosting” please without the ordered sugar. Thank you.
What’s the purpose of the applesauce? Can I substitute something else?
To add moisture to the cake, you can replace it with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
Outrageous!! Everyone says better than bakery cakes hands down!! I added walnuts and omitted the ginger!!!
Does it fit in a 10″ bundt pan?
Yes, it will be enough batter for a 10-inch bundt pan.
Omg this the best carrot cake I’ve had. I’ve made this cake using your recipe quite a few times and everyone loves it. This cake is delicious! It’s my favorite to bake!
The cream cheese frosting amounts leave the cakes moving because it is so loose. Betty Crocker says 2 tsp vanilla, 41/2 to 4 34 cups of powered sugar 1/2 cup soft butter and 6 ozs of cream cheese. I remembered it after I made yours that didn’t cover well and was way too loose. You might want to adjust your amounts. We haven’t tried the cake yet as it’s in the fridge to firm up and I’ll be adding more regular cream cheese frosting. It looks great and cooked up perfect.
Thanks for the Recipe. I have a question, you list flour as 2 cups or 250g. A standard cup is 240g. The other ingredients seem to have the same mismatch between metric and cups.
Can you please confirm the amounts. Thank you.
Hi, Nick! 1 cup of liquid does equal 240 ml and also weighs 240 grams. However, flour isn’t a liquid, so even though the volume is the same the weight will be different. 1 cup of flour isn’t quite as dense as 1 cup of liquid, so it only weighs 125 grams per cup. So 2 cups of flour does equal 250 grams.
Made this cake tonight for New Year’s dinner. Substituted crushed pineapple for the apple sauce. The cake tasted amazing. The frosting was unfortunately a little bland. The butter taste dominated. After googling “cream cheese frosting”, it looks like most recipes call for 4 cups of powdered sugar. I’ll definitely be making this again, but upping the sugar. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
The cake was DELISH! It was super moist and tasty. I left it in the oven for 30 mins and it was just right, any longer and I think it would have been well done. You may need to double the icing recipe depending on your preference. It is just enough to coat a 2 layered cake however it was a bit sparse.
Made this cake yesterday. My family still can’t stop raving about it!!! Best carrot cake they ever had!!! I agree! Followed the recipe exactly how it’s printed, just added raisins and crushed pecans!!! OMG, sooooooo good. And the cream cheese icing is to die for!!! Thank you for posting the recipe!
Can something be used in place of the oil, like more applesauce? Or in that case would you recommend a split of applesauce and sour cream?
You could probably replace 1/4 cup of the oil with more applesauce, but I don’t recommend replacing all of it.
It was fabulous!
I’ve made this twice now because it is so good!
Would your cake recipe work for making carrot cake whoopie pies?
The batter is too thin, so it wouldn’t work well for that.
This recipe was the best carrot cake I ever had. Restaurant quality for sure. I used 3 round layer cake pans and put the cream cheese frosting on each layer. I didn’t have enough for the sides, though, because I didn’t have the full 2 cups of powdered sugar. I had a smiggon less than 2 cups, but the consistency of the frosting was perfect! Will absolutely make this again.
By far the Best Carrot Cake ever made in my kitchen.
In fact it was so F**** good that my husband who doesn’t give a Blip about anything, took the time to text me about how Delicious it was. I was running errands when he texted, I was in shock.
The cake is perfect in all the flavors, moist and not heavy. So happy I followed this recipe.
This is my 4 th time making it in two week span. Today I’ll make a cake and muffins.
I want to make it the day ahead for a party. What is best way to store it?
I’d recommend storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. You can set it out an hour or two ahead of time to let it come to room temperature.
Hello! So my daughter found this recipe we used to enter a baking contest ! We had not tasted it so we’re a bit skeptical when we saw many of the other desserts! How ever we knew we had a goo chance ! 3 judges one a British chef and yup we won! Before that we heard one of the judges say “omg “ as she took the 1st bite! I have been baking for years however hands down the best most moistened cake ever! The frosting makes it perfect! Thank you!!!! For sharing ?❤️?
I an à savory cook and despise baking but I just got married and promised my sweet-toothed husband that I’d bake a cake from scratch and thank you! This was not difficult (except grating the carrots:) and tasted restaurant quality. I’m actually inspired to try another cake.
This recipe lives up to its name so add my cheers to the rest- I am making this for the upteenth time (always with half the sugar btw, and it has never failed to be perfect). It is baking right now and everything smells heavenly. Thank you!
Can I use this recipe in a 9×13 pan instead of a layer cake?
Yes, baking time is 35 to 45 minutes.
i never made a better cake in my life…the only way i may have made it better would be to add raisins
This really is THE BEST carrot cake recipe. I have made it so many times and it has never let me down. Easy to make and the perfect balance of flavors.
Pro tip – caramelize pecans and or other nuts and sprinkle it on top for a more toasty taste.
Can I cut this recipe in half?
Yes, that would be fine!
Hi Danielle!! my question is, how long does the cake with frosting last in the fridge?
Thank you!
You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Good day.
Is it possible to substitue Apple sauce with heavy whipping cream or buttermilk?
I haven’t tried either one, but you can replace it with plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Hi! Can I cook this in a Bundt pan? What would need adjusted.
Yes, that would be fine! You will just need to increase the baking time.
Absolutely the BEST Carrot cake I’ve ever made. Definitely not going to last very long!!