Best Ever Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi Bold Bakers! WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Unlike some cakes that have just one sweet flavor profile accentuated by frosting, this carrot cake has an unmatched depth of flavor due to the sweet carrots, raisins, and the best addition: cinnamon. When paired with my Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting, you have a cake that’s out of this world. Already have an account? 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 truly special carrot cake gets served all year round — and that’s exactly the type of carrot cake recipe you 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 great carrot cake recipe, I’m going to give you all my professional advice in addition to passing the recipe on to you!

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 for Avoca 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. This carrot cake recipe was 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, it has to be moist. 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 cinnamon and raisins! You can leave these out if you’d like, but they add a special warmth and sweetness you won’t get in other carrot cake recipes. After years of delicious research, I’m happy to say that this is definitively the Best-Ever Carrot Cake with unmatched flavor and moistness.

Tools You Need

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-inch Cake Pan Mixing bowls Whisks Oven (or toaster oven)

Carrot Cake Ingredients

Eggs: Eggs add richness, incorporate and retain air to aerate the carrot cake, and provide an emulsifier in yolks to bind ingredients into a homogenous mixture at the same density. Always use room-temperature eggs. Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar provides sweetness and caramelizes to bind other ingredients and add golden color to cakes. Substitute some brown sugar for a richer Oil: Oil adds a rich taste and works with egg yolks to form an emulsion stabilizing the aerated structure of the Carrot Cake. Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor and sweetness to your cake. Make Homemade Vanilla Extract from scratch! All-purpose flour (AP): All-purpose flour is the base of this cake with a perfect protein content of around 11% for a signature cakey texture instead of being chewy like bread. Baking powder: Baking powder is the raising / leavening agent to make Carrot Cake rise. Ground cinnamon: Highly aromatic, sweet, and warm, it’s perfect for a spice cake. Carrots: Carrots add moisture, texture, and sweetness to your cake batter. Use fresh, finely grated or shredded carrots. Raisins: Raisins add sweetness and a soft chewy texture to the carrot cake. Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting: Make 1 recipe of my Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting. Orange and green food coloring: Use good quality orange and green store-bought or my All-Natural Homemade Food Coloring for 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:

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:

How to Make a Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

For those of you who need or prefer a gluten-free version of my best carrot cake, substitute Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend, almond flour, oat flour or coconut flour for all-purpose flour. If you want an added baking challenge, try my Gluten Free Flour recipes! Check out my ‘Guide to the Best Gluten-Free Flours’ for more information. You can also try out my Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes with no refined sugars.

How to Store a Carrot Cake

Room temperature & fridge: You can store leftover Carrot Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. In the meanwhile, keep any leftover cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Freezer: You can also freeze your Carrot Cake if you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place it in a freezer-safe bag. For the icing, you can either freeze the cake with the frosting or frost it after thawing.

How do I know if my Carrot Cake is done?

To check if your Carrot Cake is done, you can insert a toothpick or 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 thick batter and monitored baking can contribute to a moist carrot cake.

A good thick batter: Make sure your batter is not dry in the first place. Flours in 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. Monitored baking: Make sure to overbake your Carrot Cake in intervals. Keep a close eye on the cake and bake it until no wetness on top, firm to touch in the center, the edge pulls away from the mold a little bit or a toothpick inserted 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 my 2-minute Carrot Cake Bowl recipe and 1-Minute Microwave Mug Cakes post! 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, deep flavor. Add some nutmeg to create a deeper spiced flavor! A little freshly grated ginger (about ½ teaspoon) is an excellent addition to this cake. If you like walnuts, pecans, or other nuts in your carrot cake, you can add roughly 1 /4 -1 /3 cup of finely chopped toasted nuts to the batter. It’s optional, but you can sprinkle in a pinch of salt to your cake batter to 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 the Cream 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 my 3-Layer Carrot 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!

Try Mote Carrot Cake Recipes:

Best-Ever Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Ultra-Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes With Best-Ever Cream 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.