This Vintage Carrot Walnut Cake is closer to a European-style carrot cake. It’s fluffier and airier than the traditional American Carrot Cake, but it’s perfectly soft and moist. The cream cheese frosting has a marshmallow-like fluffiness that will make you want to lick the spatula, the whisk, the bowl and your fingers if needed ;).
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Vintage Carrot Cake Video
I hope you enjoy this video on how to make this “Rustic” European-style Carrot cake.
Handed Down Recipe for Vintage Carrot Cake
Why I love this rustic carrot cake so darn much? It’s not overly sweet. Most store-bought carrot cakes throw you into a sugar coma after half a slice, but this one is just right; bite after delicious bite. Rave reviews all around (everyone ate a lot of carrot cake this week).
My Mother-in-law shared this carrot walnut cake recipe with me and one of her friends shared it with her who inherited the recipe from her mother. This carrot cake has been enjoyed by several generations and I feel honored to pass it on to you! I baked it three times in 1 week and modified it only slightly to increase the amount of frosting, cut the baking soda in half, and decrease the sugar. It was wonderful!
I love the vintage feel of this cake – it’s easy to bake, easy to assemble, and you’ll love every bite!
More Spring Baking Recipes
There are several flavors and ingredients that I look forward to in Spring, from blueberries that get jammy when baked into desserts to lemons and, of course, carrots! Here are my go-to spring desserts that are perfect for Easter.
Here’s the Print-friendly recipe for this Vintage Carrot Cake. Be sure to print copies for all your friends!
Vintage Carrot Cake (Handed Down Recipe)
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Ingredients:
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil or extra light olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, *measured correctly
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 lb carrots, about 3 cups, grated on the large holes of a box grater
Frosting/Decor Ingredients:
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
- 1 stick, 8 Tbsp or 113 grams of butter, softened at room temp
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted on a skillet and coarsely chopped
Instructions
How to Make the Vintage Carrot Cake Layers:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter two 9" round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer, whisk 4 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed 3 min until thick and fluffy. With mixer on medium speed, add 1 cup oil in a steady stream. Whisk in 1 tsp vanilla.
- Sift 1 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp baking powder into 2 cups of flour and whisk the dry ingredients together well. With the mixer on medium low, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in fourths, scraping down the bowl as needed. Once flour is fully incorporated, use a spatula to fold in 3 cups of carrots just until evenly combined.
- Divide dough in to two round baking pans and bake at 350˚ for 30-35 min or until toothpick comes out clean (mine was perfect at 30 min). Let cake layers cool in their cake pans for 10 minutes then remove from pans and cool to room temp on a wire rack before slicing layers in half.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Once cake layers are at room temp, make your frosting: With the wisk attachment on med/low speed, cream together 1 stick butter with 2 cups powdered sugar, scraping the bowl as needed (2-3 min).
- With the mixer medium speed, add cream cheese, one chunk at a time. After all the cream cheese is in, set the mixer to high speed and beat the frosting until smooth, fluffy and no lumps remain (5 minutes), scraping down the bowl a couple of times to make sure you don’t have stray cream cheese stuck to the bowl.
How to Assemble the Best Carrot Cake:
- Place the first layer, cut-side-up on a cake platter. Spread enough frosting to cover the top and sprinkle with 2-3 Tbsp of chopped walnuts. Repeat with remaining cake layers and spread remaining frosting around the sides. Decorate the top layer with remaining chopped nuts around the top border and sides of the cake.
Notes
* to measure flour, scoop into your measuring cup and scrape off the top.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More European-Style Cakes
I feel spoiled having grown up enjoying my Mom’s European cakes instead of boxed cakes – I can always spot the difference between a homemade cake and a store-bought one or a shortcut cake. If you love cakes that aren’t as sweet as American cakes but definitely have plenty of character and exciting flavors, check out these European-inspired cake recipes. There are so many treasures in this list!
- Italian Tiramisu
- Himmelstorte (Heaven Cake)
- Chocolate Souffle
- Almond Cake
- Baklava
- Blackberry Cake
- Poppy Seed Cake
- Black Forest Cake
made this for a birthday party this evening.. did not rise… so making a 2 layer only.. but looks great
Hi Terri, I haven’t had that experince, is it possible you omitted the baking soda? Baking soda is 4x stronger than baking powder and with a full teaspoon, it should be adequate for the cake to rise. You might also check that your baking soda and baking powder are fresh. Hope that helps!
Natasha I love your receipts n videos. I want to try your carrot cake as a sheet cake 9×13 pan, what would you suggest on how long to bake it.
Hi Terry, you can just make the whole thing in a 9×13 baking pan and bake until the toothpick comes out clean. Without testing it, I can’t tell you exact baking time. Let me know how it works out.
Made this cake exactly as recommended. Lacked flavor without the spices in most other recipes Cake was not moist. Toasting walnuts give them a rustic flavor. We didn’t care for this cake at all.
I love pineapple in my carrot cake…can this be adapted…will it be too moist to add drained crushed pineapple
Hi Dianne, that is a great idea! I haven’t tested that, however. Here is what one of our readers wrote ” I’ve tried putting nuts in the batter, and added fresh pineapple chunks to the cream cheese frosting. It turned out absolutely amazing! My daughter is still begging me to make this cake one more time 🙂 It’s a family favorite recipe now!”
Thank you…the frosting is an option
Has anyone made this in a 9×13? I’m not good with layer cakes and prefer not to mess with layers this weekend when I have to transport the cake.
Hi Linda, without testing it, I can’t give you exact bake time, but you can just make the whole thing in a 9×13 baking pan and bake until the toothpick comes out clean. The bake time should be pretty close to the round pans.
Can the frosting be made with hand mixer? I can’t afford the stand mixer.
Hi Missy, yes that will work fine to use an electric hand mixer. In step 1, mix for 5 minutes instead of 3 and then in step 2, turn the mixer to low speed instead of medium/low. I hope you love the cake!
instead of using 2 pans, can i make the carrot cake in 1 pan?
Hi Raquel, I feel that will overwhelm one pan, and may overspill. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
I made it today for my husband’s birthday. The cake was a big hit. It is pretty easy to make. Maybe the hardest part was slicing layers in half 🙂 Frosting is delicious (I wanted eat it from the bowl). I added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla, raisins (1oz) and crushed pineapple (small can without liquid).
Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Just a quick tip…..put your layers in the freezer to firm it up! It makes cutting easier. (no crumbs!)
Hi Natasha
Your carrot cake looks delicious and I would love to bake it, could you weigh the ingredients in grams or ounces please as it more accurate and many bakers fill the cups differently and it results in too much or too little. Especially the flour
Regards Ruth
Hi Ruth, We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help
Hey, firstly I love your recipes! I just have a question about this one, what exactly is a cake pan? I actually live in Ukraine, and the measurements are completely different here. I have 1 pan which I use to bake pies in, I wonder if I should just get a 2nd of this one, or 2 of a different size. Thanks!
Hi Megan, we used 9″ cake pans. Something like this pan here will work.
Tried this recipe for the first time. Cake didn’t raise. It wasn’t as fluffy as it is on the pictures. What could be done to get it risen? The other recipes online have more backing powder. Could it be a reason?
Hi Oleksandr, is it possible you omitted the baking soda? Baking soda is 4x stronger than baking powder and with a full teaspoon, it should be adequate for the cake to rise. You might also check that your baking soda and baking powder are fresh. Hope that helps!
I have made this several times and it is great! How long can I keep extra icing in the fridge? I made enough for a second cake, but haven’t made it yet?
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Robyn. This should last at least a few days in the fridge. We have used ours up much sooner than that so I can’t advise on that.
Could I use different oil like sunflower oil or extra-virgin olive oil?
I think that should work fine, Kristina!
This carrot cake is absolutely delicious, I tried many varieties of carrot cake after I came in America from Russia, and finely I satisfied 100%, only I used different frosting, it’s was sour cream with sugar and vanilla, everyone loved , but noone would imagined it was made of sour cream. Thank you very much, God bless you!
Thank you so much for sharing this version with me, Olga!!
I’ve made this cake so many times.. It surprises me every time how much carrots go in it, but it’s so good anyways! I also make them in mini-bite cupcake size and bake them off at 350 for 15 min. and they turn out so good too!
Hi Marina! Thank you for sharing that with us! I love that you were able to make them mini cupcakes!
YUMMY 🤤 😋!!!!!!! I love carrot cake and I was so impressed to find a healthier version instead of the usual American one! My family also loved it!
I’m happy your family enjoyed it!
Would coconut be good instead of pecans.
Hi Emily, yes that would work since you are layering them in after the cake is baked. 🙂
I was wondering would it be good if I put coconut instead of pecans? Because my sister is allergic.
Hi Emily, I haven’t tried putting coconut in it but since the nuts are just sprinkled on between layers when the cake is assembled, you could really use any nuts you prefer or omit them altogether. I hope you and your sister love the cake! 🙂
Hi Natasha, I’m looking forward to making this carrot cake for a birthday party. You mentioned that the frosting is fluffy. I wanted to decorate my cake with candy melts flowers. Do you think this frosting would hold them? Thank you.
It depends on how heavy they are. This isn’t stiff like the buttercream frosting but it holds its shape.
Just be careful using any kind of candy because it tends to bleed into the icing!
Hi Natasha; i always follow your recipies and i think they are absolutely great. It’s just that i made this cake and i’m waiting for it to cool down in the fridge; but it smelled awfully eggy in the first place before adding the cream. Is that normal?
Since i made it for my friend’s birthday i’m afraid they might smell the egg !
Hi, I haven’t noticed an eggy scent when making this cake. I would suggest reading our best tips for making a sponge cake. One thing that might cause an eggy smell is if they eggs and sugar are underbeaten or if the mixture is overmixed and not baked right away after the butter is added (or using butter that is too warm) – all of these things can cause the cake not to rise properly. Our post on making a sponge cake answers most FAQ as well.
I made this cake today, 2/22/2020, everthing went as shown in your video except when I make the frosting. The powdered sugar and butter did not come out creamy and fluffy. It s powdery , as though there was t enough better. I put in the exact amount as stated in the recipe. I kept double checked if I had the amount incorrect, but it was exactly as stated. What gives?
Hi Eleni, did you use the correct amount of cream cheese? It sounds like the proportions were off somehow – this frosting is normally soft and fluffy and not too thick.
Dear Natasha,
I love all of your recipes! My husband was craving a carrot cake and I knew where to look right away. I made the cake today and it came out amazingly delicious!!! Thank you!!!!
You’re welcome Maria! I’m glad to hear how much you love the recipe. Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Hello mrs natasha i baked this cake it was perfect so delicious thank you very much just i add a little bit cinammon to it ❤️❤️❤️
Hello Marya! I’m glad you love the recipe, thanks for sharing your great review!