Originally published: May 28, 2018
This delicious Carrot Cake is the perfect choice for special occasions or just because it's Sunday! Packed full of carrots, cinnamon and walnuts, it's paired with tangy Orange Cream Cheese frosting and will quickly become your favourite!
This was the first recipe I published when I launched my blog, almost two years ago. Wow, how the time flies. This Carrot Cake was screaming for a much needed makeover, so I gave her one, just in time for Easter or Passover.
I couldn't decide if I like the light or dark background more, so I posted both -- hope you don't mind. 🙂
Also, I changed the recipe just a tiny little bit and tried to give you as much helpful information on making this carrot cake, so let's dive in!
How to make the best carrot cake
I admit, I might be subjective, but for me this is really the best carrot cake and one of the favourites in the family. I'm not into adding coconut or, God forbid, pineapple. But I like a little bit of nut crunch.
While it's a fairly easy cake to make, let me walk you through the making of process.
Since this is an oil based cake, there is no creaming the butter and sugar which helps produce lighter cake. Oil based cakes are usually denser (which I adore, to be honest), but that doesn't mean we can't beat some air to it.
We'll do it by firstly beating eggs and sugar vigorously, until the mixture is pale, fluffy and falls in ribbons.
Next in line are dry ingredients.
Just sift together flour, baking powder, spices and salt, then whisk in ground walnuts and combine with eggs and sugar. For better flavour, I suggest toasting the walnuts, but if you're not feeling like it the cake will still taste great.
Also, you can use pecans instead of walnuts if you don't have any on hand.
Lastly, in go carrots!
My biggest tip is to use the best carrots you can find and grate them yourself.
Make sure to grate the carrots really finely. I know that's a boring job that requires a little bit of muscle, but it's so worth it.
Since carrots are root vegetables, they require quite amount of cooking to soften. Unfortunately, we can't bake a cake for ages to soften the carrots, so we have to help it along the way and make it as small as possible and evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Less sweet cream cheese frosting
What I've learned these last few years of actively baking and recipe developing is that traditional cream cheese frosting is mostly butter, with some cream cheese and a whole lot of powdered sugar.
Now, I'm not a fan of really sugary frostings, because I can't taste *anything* except sugar and that's not satisfying for me.
I decided to pair this Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese frosting I've learned how to make when I was working in a bakery, very briefly. I
liked that they used white chocolate as a sweetener, because the frosting wasn't too sweet and it would become nice and stiff because of the chocolate.
It's kind of like ganache, but instead of heavy cream you use cream cheese. 🙂 The result is perfectly light and tangy cream cheese frosting, elevated with orange zest. Yum!
How to store carrot cake
Because of the dairy frosting, it's best to keep the cake in the fridge but double wrapped in cling film (plastic wrap) or in an airtight container to avoid drying out the cake.
It's good practice to remove the cake from the fridge at least half an hour before consuming, to get the best possible flavour.
Can I freeze Carrot Cake?
Absolutely.
If you want to make cake layers a couple of days or weeks in advance you can freeze them. After you've baked the cakes, let them cool completely and then double wrap them in cling film (plastic wrap) and place in the freezer. It'll last for a couple of months.
When you are ready to use the cake, thaw it by leaving the layers on room temperature or in the fridge, but still wrapped in cling film so any condensation happens on the plastic, not on the cake.
For a cake lover in you...
Earl Grey Tea Cake
Dulce de Leche Banana Cake
Chocolate Pistachio Raspberry Cake
Raspberry Vanilla Layer Cake
Berry Chocolate Layer Cake
If you make this Carrot Cake let me know by tagging me on Instagram @anasbakingchronicles or tell me all about it in the comments section down below. Seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens, always makes me incredibly happy!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Happy baking!
Love,
Ana
📖 Recipe
carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
Description
ingredients
Cake
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 235 g brown cane sugar
- 190 g sunflower oil
- 250 g finely grated carrots
- 120 g ground walnuts
- 1 + ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
- 1 + ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 375 g cream cheese (room temperature)
- 220 g mascarpone cheese (room temperature)
- 250 g good quality white chocolate (melted and cooled)
- zest of one large orange
Instructions
carrot cake
- Preheat your fan oven to 165°C (325°F) or 180°C (350°F) if you're not using a fan oven. Grease and line with parchment paper three 6-inch (15 cm) round cake pans. Alternatively, you can use two 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pans.
- In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the ground walnuts and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes). Add oil and mix until everything is combined and there are not oil streaks.
- Add your flour/walnut mixture and mix on low-medium speed just until combined. In the end gently fold in the carrots.
- Divide the batter evenly among the three pans and bake in preheated oven for 25-28 minutes. The cake is done when you stick a skewer in the middle and it comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs.
- Once it's done, put the cakes on a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes before you take them out of the pans to cool completely.
orange cream cheese frosting
- Melt white chocolate over a bain-marie and let it cool to room temperature.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with whisk attachment mix together cream cheese and mascarpone cheese with orange zest. Add cooled melted white chocolate and mix until it's all incorporated. The frosting will be a little soft. If it feels too soft, leave it for 10-15 minutes in the fridge to cool. It will be firm in the end when chocolate inside hardens, just like ganache.
assembly
- Using a cake leveler or a long serrated knife level the tops of your cakes for a neater look if needed.
- In the middle of your cake board or a serving plate put some frosting to keep the cake from moving.
- Place one cake layer on a cake board or a serving plate. Using a small offset palette knife or a piping bag spread the frosting over the cake. Top it with the next cake layer and repeat the process.
- Place final layer on top, upside down, and frost the sides of the cake. Then smooth it with a cake scraper to lock all the crumbs. Put the cake in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to chill before final decorating.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting in a rustic manner.
- Optional: Decorate the cake with orange slices and edible flowers.
Notes
-
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer.
- Not all ovens are the same. I suggest to check the cakes at 23 min mark and then adjust the baking time accordingly. Get to know your oven!
- If you still don’t own one, I advise you to buy a kitchen scale – they’re cheap and easy to use, and always guarantee the same results in baking! ????
- Cake is best when eaten at room temperature. You can keep it in a fridge, wrapped in cling film, but take it out of it at least half an hour (preferably more) before serving. ????
- If you want to make a three layer 8 inch (20 cm) or 2 layer 9 inch (23 cm) cake, then double the recipe. You can do that by moving the serving slider to 24. For three layer 9 inch (23 cm) cake, triple the recipe.
IMPORTANT
All the recipes are developed and tested using only metric measurements and a kitchen scale. The U.S. cup and spoon measurements are provided for your convenience, but I highly recommend getting a digital kitchen scale and measuring in metrics. It's easy and always guarantee the same results in baking!
Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
Grace
Ana, this is possibly the prettiest cake I have ever seen!! It looks delicious and I can't wait to try it sometime!
Ana Zelić
Ahh, thank you so much Grace - this made my day! 🙂 Can't wait to hear what you think, my family loves it. Hope you're safe xx
cakes&bakes
Awesome informative article
Farrah
I made this carrot cake and it was so delicious (I'll post a picture and definitely tag you!) I was wondering if there's any way I can use this same recipe to make cupcakes? Approximately how many cupcakes do you think it'll make? And is there any baking adjustments you'd suggest like temperature and time?
Ana Zelić
Hi, Farrah!
I'm so happy to hear you loved the cake and looking forward to see your version. 🙂
Yes, I've successfully made cupcakes from this batter twice. One time it was mini cupcakes even. I think this batter would yield maybe 16-18 cupcakes, I'm not entirely sure because it was a long time ago. But judging from my experience, 2/3 of the 3 layer 6 inch cake usually fits one cupcake tray (depending on the liners).
I usually bake cupcakes for 20 minutes and start checking at 18. This is quite a wet batter so it might need some more time, than your usual vanilla cupcake. If at 18 min mark they don seem to have risen enough, I wouldn't open the door then to check, because they might sink.
Hope this helps!
teresa vigil
Geez, i was hesitant about making this. All the ingredients sounded good except the white chocolate part, i looked everywhere in ralphs and only found white chocolate chips no gourmet white chocolate bars. I still bought it and made it. I can honestly say this will easily hold up in michelin star restaurant. AMAZING, light delicious. thank you for this.
Tatiana Hiebler
Hi there, would not adding the nuts change the proportions of the rest of the ingredients or the baking time at all?
Thank you!
Ana Zelić
Hi Tatiana,
hm, I'm not 100% sure. You might need to add a bit more flour, since finely ground nuts often serve as "flour" even though they are more of a fat component. Maybe add an extra 30-50 grams of flour to keep the consistency in check. Baking time should be fairly similar if using the same pans. If you're using two 8-inch pans, the layers will be slightly thinner, so they will maybe need less time. I always check my cakes at 20 min mark, no matter the pan. 🙂
Hope this helps,
Ana x
Tena
Hi Ana and Tatiana!
I made the cake this week and somehow forgot to put walnuts in it and I can tell you the cake was absolutely delicious and the texture was perfect (without adding any extra flour). I used 8-inch pans and baking time was actually a bit longer, but I guess that's just my oven.
Cheese frosting was tasty but a bit to heavy for my taste. Ana, could you recommend something else I could use to get a lighter variant of the cake?
RMA
WOW!!! I made it twice!!! My family loved it! Thank you so much for this great recipe!!! Greetings from Portugal.
Emily
This looks amazing, can’t wait to make it. How did you cut your orange to look so beautiful?
Ana Zelić
Hi Emily! Hope you'll like it!
As for the oranges, I don't know if I'll be able to explain but here it goes: start by cutting a slice but only halfway then cut the other all the way, so you have that half like "hanging" and then just like the regular twist, cut a slit in the center. Hope this makes sense! 🙂
Sharon Thompson
I live in the UK where we don’t have block cream cheese. Do you know if the frosting works with tub/spreadable cream cheese please?
Ana Zelić
Hi, Sharon,
I also don't have access to block cheese, this was done with Philadelphia cream cheese spread or our local Vivis that isn't too watery. 🙂
Sharon Thompson
Fabulous! I use Philadelphia too, so that’s good news.
Gurleen Bnait
Hi Ana, I have used this recipe many times to make a 3 tier 6 inch. It’s always come out perfectly. I wanted to make this as a 4 inch cake. I wanted to find out what measurements I will need for this.
Ana Zelić
Hi Gurleen,
To make the 3 layer 4 inch cake, you need approx. half of this recipe. You can move the serving slider to 6 and it will automatically calculate the correct measurements. I've never made a cake so small, so let me know how it goes! 🙂
Ana x
OG
Hi Ana - the cake looks delicious! Very excited to try it out! I do have a question, is the cake dense? I prefer a light cake and curious to know the texture to see if I should make some adjustments for a lighter cake. Thanks in advance!
Emily
Hiya, I can't get hold of ground walnuts, however I can get either chopped walnuts or ground almonds. Would either of these work, if so which is best? x
Ana Zelić
Hi Emily,
I have readers that successfully made the cake by omitting the walnuts altogether, so I think chopped ones would work as well! Almonds would probably get shadowed by the spices and richness of the cake, so I would stick with walnuts. 🙂
Hope this helps! x
Matea
I just ate my first slice of the cake! Tastes amazing and it will for sure be my go-to carrot cake in the future. 🙂 Maybe I still need to get to know my oven better, as it seems like it could have been better with more time in the oven. Just another reason to try the recipe again soon 🙂 I have a question about nuts... If I need to omit them, do I substitute them with flour in terms of "weight" or I don't need to change anything else? They taste amazing btw and I would only do this when I make the cake for nuts-allergy folks 🙂
Francisca
Thank you very much for this recipe, Ana!
I made it for my husband's birthday, and he loved it. I followed the recipe almost as is, since I reduced the amount of sugar in the cake, and made a very light whisky and orange juice syrup to soak the layers before frosting them. It turned out delicious!
Thank you again!
Tammy R
Hi Ana, I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks delicious. Just wondering…do you toast the walnuts first?
Tammy R
Oh no!!! I didn’t intend to rate the recipe a one star, can you remove it.
Ana Zelić
Hi Tammy, toasting the walnuts is optional, you can do it for a nicer aroma, however when I first developed the recipe I didn’t toast the walnuts. 🙂
And no worries, I removed the rating! 🙂
Andrea
Hi Ana,
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. I’m reading your recipe from Australia and we don’t have some called brown cane sugar here. I was wondering if it is similar to what we call raw sugar (less refined white sugar, same texture as white sugar just coarser) or brown sugar (soft moist fine sugar that has had molasses added).
Thanks for your help 🙂
Ana Zelić
Hi Andrea, I would say it's probably more similar to raw sugar, something like demerara or turbinado sugar, but slightly finer. However, soft brown sugar should also work fine, we just didn't have any readily available at the time I developed this recipe. Now I make it myself all the time and use it often in cake baking!
Good luck, hope you like it 🙂 xx