Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (VIDEO)
This carrot cake is soft, moist, loaded with carrots and pecans and has tons of flavor. You’ll love the layers of fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting - you will need 1 recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting to frost a 2-layer, 9-inch cake. Carrot cake is a nostalgic and comforting dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, *measured correctly
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves, optional
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup extra light olive oil, or vegetable or canola oil
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup applesauce, or drained crushed pineapple
- 3 cups finely grated carrots, 14 oz or 6 medium carrots
- 1 cup pecans, *plus more to garnish, optional
- 3/4 cup golden raisins, or regular raisins, optional
Instructions
How to Make Carrot Cake:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350˚F with a rack in the center of the oven. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with a ring of parchment paper and lightly butter the parchment. Set aside.
- Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add flour, both sugars, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and salt. Whisk to combine and break up any brown sugar clumps.
- Wet Ingredients: In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: oil, eggs, and applesauce just until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold until combined.
- Add-Ins: Use a spatula to fold in the carrot, nuts and raisins if using and fold until well incorporated.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake in a fully preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cake rest in the pans for 15-20 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature before applying frosting and decorating. Meanwhile, make the Cream Cheese Frosting.
To Frost The Carrot Cake:
- Set the first cake layer on a cake platter and spread on a generous amount of Cream Cheese frosting (about 1/4 of the batch).
- Set the second layer over the frosting with the top-side-down to create an even frosting surface. Lightly crumb coat the cake with frosting then apply more frosting to the top and sides of the cake.
- Use a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip to pipe puffs of the remaining frosting around the top of the cake and sprinkle remaining pecans around the edges.
Notes
The nutrition label does not include frosting. Please see the Cream Cheese Frosting recipe for additional frosting nutrition information.
*To improve the flavor of pecans, toast them on a dry skillet, tossing frequently until fragrant then cool and chop. You can also substitute pecans with walnuts, almonds, cashews or shredded coconut.
*To improve the flavor of pecans, toast them on a dry skillet, tossing frequently until fragrant then cool and chop. You can also substitute pecans with walnuts, almonds, cashews or shredded coconut.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (VIDEO)
Amount per Serving
Calories
345
% Daily Value*
Fat
19
g
29
%
Saturated Fat
3
g
19
%
Trans Fat
0.004
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
13
g
Cholesterol
41
mg
14
%
Sodium
246
mg
11
%
Potassium
230
mg
7
%
Carbohydrates
41
g
14
%
Fiber
2
g
8
%
Sugar
26
g
29
%
Protein
4
g
8
%
Vitamin A
4077
IU
82
%
Vitamin C
2
mg
2
%
Calcium
44
mg
4
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
