A delicious Easy and Moist Carrot Cake Recipe made with all the classic flavors with raisins, a hint of cinnamon, and nuts. Made entirely from scratch, this homemade carrot cake is always a hit.
Moist Carrot Cake Recipe
I grew up eating carrot cake in my household. My mom always made a delicious carrot cake with spices and an incredible cream cheese frosting.
For years now, when my birthday comes around, I’ve asked for carrot cake. My family, bless their hearts, go to the local grocery store and buy a carrot cake for me. I love my family, I do, but let me tell you right now, I’ve never had a store-bought carrot cake that even comes close to a homemade carrot cake. Actually, I think I’ve kind of turned into a carrot cake snob. I honestly believe the only carrot cakes worth trying are homemade. Thankfully, this homemade carrot cake is easy to make and definitely brings back that old-fashioned carrot cake feels. I can’t wait to share the recipe with you.
Here’s What I love about this Carrot Cake Recipe:
- it’s moist and so full of flavor
- using store-bought shredded carrots is a nice shortcut for this homemade carrot cake recipe
- I think it’ll remind you of the classic carrot cake you grew up with
- you can customize the add-ins, adding pecans or walnuts, raisins, or dried cranberries
The oil keeps the cake moist, tender, and fluffy
There is probably too much flour in the batter. The batter should be thinner than a brownie batter and most cake batters
Yes! You can shred them up to 3 days in advance or buy pre-shredded carrots
Yes and No. Unless you live in an extremely humid climate, you can leave a cake with cream cheese frosting out on your counter for a couple of days. If you plan on keeping your cake around for longer than that, then cover it and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week
Yes. Peel your carrots to avoid a bitter flavor
A box cutter or food processor are both great ways to shred carrots. Using a box cutter will produce smaller and moist bits of carrots
You can purchase a cake cover, or if you need something immediately, insert toothpicks around the cake and cover it with plastic wrap
Add-Ins for Carrot Cake
- raisins
- walnuts
- toasted pecans
- dried cranberries
- pineapple bits
- shredded coconut
- ground cloves for a deep spice flavor
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- ginger
- allspice
Tips and Tricks for making this Easy Carrot Cake
- Even though I skipped a step by using pre-shredded carrots, grating your own always produces the moistest and most tasty carrots
- To avoid the cake sticking to the pan, you can pre-line the cake pan with parchment paper – trace the paper around the bottom of your cake pans and cut them out to-size
- You can easily make this cake a day in advance. This gives the frosting time to firm up and allows the flavors to meld even more
- Even though this is a straightforward classic carrot cake recipe, Don’t be afraid to add more spice. I love carrot cake with ground cloves, and nutmeg – yum!
If you are ready to make this cake, let’s make sure you have everything you’ll need:
Ingredients
- eggs – large eggs at room temperature
- sugar – granulated sugar to help sweeten this delicious carrot cake
- oil – a vegetable oil like canola. Canola oil has a subtle flavor which is why it is preferred in baking
- flour – all-purpose flour is preferred for this cake recipe
- ground cinnamon – find this at your local grocery store in the baking aisle
- baking soda – helps the cake rise
- baking powder – this also helps the cake rise and lightens the texture
- salt – just plain old table salt is what you need for this recipe
- nutmeg – this is a spice that lends a delicious deep spicy flavor
- grated carrots – I used pre-shredded but I do believe that you’ll have an even moister cake if you shred the carrots yourself
- raisins – a delicious addition to this cake
- walnuts – provide a tender yet crunchy texture to the cake
For the Frosting
- butter – unsalted butter – softened to make it easier to mix with
- cream cheese – softened. You could use either the original cream cheese or 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- vanilla extract – is always a great flavor enhancer for cream cheese
- confectioner’s sugar – this will thicken the frosting
How do you make a Simple Carrot Cake?
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and oil.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture
- Fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts
- For an extra precaution cut round pieces of parchment paper and place them into the bottom of the cake pans
- Grease (2) 9-inch baking pans
- Pour the batter evenly into both pans
- Place the baking pans on a baking sheet
- Bake for 35-40 minutes
- A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean
- Let the cakes cool slightly and then flip them over onto a place to cool – like a wire rack
- Place a cold off cake, upside down onto a cake platter
- frost the top of the cake
- place the other cake upside down on the frosted piece
- frost the outside of the stacked cakes
Moist Carrot Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 2 9-inch round cake pans
- 1 sheet of parchment paper
- 1 cake stand
- 1 dome cake cover
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar granulated
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup walnut pieces
Frosting
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and oil.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture
- Fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts
- *For an extra precaution, to keep cake from sticking to the bottom, you can cut round pieces of parchment paper and place them into the bottom of the cake pans
- Grease (2) 9-inch baking pans
- Pour the batter evenly into both pans
- Place the baking pans on a baking sheet Bake for 35-40 minutes – A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean
- Let the cakes cool slightly (about 10 minutes) and then flip them over onto a place to completely cool
- Mix the frosting, by mixing butter and cream cheese
- Add the vanilla, and mix in
- Pour in confectioners' sugar and mix well
- Place a cooled off cake round, upside down onto a cake platter
- frost the top of the cake
- place the other cake upside down on the frosted piece
- frost the outside of the stacked cakes
Notes
- Instead of using 2 round cake pans, use 1 9×13 inch pan for a quick and “no-fuss” cakeÂ
- So the frosting does not melt, make sure your cake halves have completely cooledÂ
- Spread a thick layer of frosting between both slices of cakeÂ
- Some people prefer their frosting to have walnut pieces in it. You can fold those in after your frosting has come togetherÂ
- Store-bought shredded carrots are convenient but not as moist as shredding them yourself
- Using a food processor is an easy way to shred carrots
- Using a box cutter will get the finest pieces of shredded carrotsÂ
- raisins
- walnuts
- toasted pecans
- dried cranberries
- pineapple bits
- shredded coconut
- ground cloves for a deep spice flavor
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- ginger
- allspice
