Carrot Cake
This is the moist and expertly spiced Carrot Cake recipe you’ve been searching for! Complemented with a thick and velvety cream cheese frosting, it is a fool-proof classic.
The BEST Carrot Cake Recipe
This is my mom’s incredible carrot cake recipe! She is positively famous for this recipe and has kindly shared all of her tried and true tips for baking the best carrot cake ever.
- Make sure you grate the carrots fresh. I know it’s tempting to buy the pre-shredded kind from the store, but the fresh carrots make this so much better!
- Make sure all ingredients are completely mixed together before pouring into the pan. I know that sounds intuitive, but you’d be amazed how many bakers rush this and end up with dry patches in their cake.
- Be careful not to overbake your cake! This will dry it out and lose that moistness we crave here.
Homemade Carrot Cake Ingredients
Baked with love and basic pantry staples + some fresh carrots, here’s what you’ll need to make this beloved carrot cake recipe.
- All-purpose flour – Yep, just regular old all-purpose flour will yield the most moist and tender cake.
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda – The baking soda helps give your cake the perfect rise.
- Cinnamon – Honestly a star of the show! This helps bring together the flavor of the cake beautifully.
- Salt
- Canola oil
- Eggs
- Grated carrots – I know it’s an extra step, but grate these by hand! Don’t buy the matchstick/shredded carrots at the grocery store for this. We want them fresh because it makes a HUGE difference.
For the frosting, check out my cream cheese frosting recipe!
How to Make Carrot Cake
This truly is such an easy homemade carrot cake. Reminder: be sure to mix the batter completely and do not overbake!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Using an electric hand mixer, slowly add in the oil, eggs and packed carrots.
- Once the batter is mixed thoroughly, pour into your prepared pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until the cake passes the toothpick test.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
- Ice using your favorite Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Enjoy!
How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting for a Carrot Cake
I have a post all about how to make my cream cheese frosting, but I’ll give you the basics here, too.
- Use either a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer to cream together the room temperature butter and cream cheese until completely combined.
- Slowly add the remaining ingredients (minus the milk) into the bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
- If you’d like, add a little milk to adjust the thickness of the frosting to your liking.
Decoration Tips
You can decorate this easy carrot cake as simply or extravagantly as you’d like! For a simple, but elegant look, top with candied pecans or a swirl of the frosting. I personally like to pipe orange cream cheese frosting to look like carrots on the top of the cake for a festive touch.
Storing this Simple Carrot Cake Recipe
Cover your cake as tightly as you can and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. It needs to be stored in the refrigerator because of the high moisture level of this cake. But that doesn’t mean you need to serve this cake cold – it will be okay at room temperature for a little while!
Can you freeze Homemade Carrot Cake?
You absolutely can! I would recommend freezing before frosting because it makes things a little easier, but you can also freeze the completed product. Wrap your cake in plastic wrap tightly and then seal in a ziptop bag or airtight container. Place in the freezer and use within 3 months!
Other Spring Recipes
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (304g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (460g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups (360mL) canola oil
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups (330g) packed grated carrots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray a 9×13 pan with non stick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.2 cups (304g) all-purpose flour, 2 cups (460g) granulated sugar, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt
- Using an electric hand mixer, slowly add in the oil, eggs and packed carrots.1 1/2 cups (360mL) canola oil , 4 eggs, 3 cups (330g) packed grated carrots
- Once the batter is mixed thoroughly, pour into your prepared pan.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25-35 minutes or until the cake passes the toothpick test.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
- Ice using your favorite Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Enjoy!
I was thinking about baking the cake in mini Bundt molds. Do you think that will work?
That should work fine!
Oh my goodness! This is the BEST carrot cake ever. I don’t even like carrot cake but wanted to make it for my hairdresser! It is absolutely unbelievable. The cinnamon is just the right amount and it is super moist! Thank you
I love this recipe! Easy and moist. Thanks for sharing.
Can I make this recipe into cupcakes and adjust the baking time?
Yes, you can! I would start with a baking time of 18-22 minutes and go from there.
How much frosting do you use? I looked at your cream cheese frosting, is the whole recipe?
My cream cheese frosting recipe typically makes enough for my preference. However, you can totally double the recipe!
What could be used in place of the canola oil? Butter, avocado oil?
I would try another oil, like avocado!
Can I make this in cake pans for a double layer 8 inch cake? How might that vary cooking times?
Yes, you can! I’ve never tried it, but it should work. I would keep the baking time the same, somewhere between 25-35 minutes.
I am doing this and its taking much longer because the cake is thicker 🤷
How long did you end up baking?
My baking time is longer than 35 minutes too. Cake is just thick in center. watching closely.
My first time EVER making carrot cake and it turned out SO moist!! Everyone loved them.. instead of making a whole cake, I made cupcakes… thank you so much for the recipe.. this one is going in my collection!!
Hi Sandy! Do you remember how long you baked them for the cupcakes?? I want to try the same thing!
Who knew grating carrots could turn into a full-blown arm workout? I felt the burn yesterday while shredding carrots for your delicious carrot cake yesterday and my triceps are really feeling the burn today. 🔥 💪 🥕 🎂
Can you replace the canola oil with a different type of oil?
Yes! I would start with vegetable oil, but other substitutes should work well, too.
Is this cake able to be made in 9in round pans instead? Is it stable enough to be a layer cake and is there enough batter?
Hi Amy, I haven’t tested this recipe as a layer cake, but it definitely can be baked in round cake pans. This is a moist and fluffy cake, but I believe it is stable enough that it should layer okay.
anything we can do that we can substitute for the eggs? and how much?
I haven’t tried making this without the eggs, but I have a post about egg swaps you can try: https://cookiesfordays.com/egg-substitutes-for-baking/. You can also try subbing cream cheese. 1/4 cup or 2 oz of cream cheese per 1 egg!