With its outstanding spice flavor, super moist crumb, and velvety cream cheese frosting, this is truly the best carrot cake. Use brown sugar and toasted pecans for deeper flavor.
I don’t call it carrot cake. I call it “birthday cake.” It’s my one and only choice on my big day. I’ve adopted this tradition and make my own carrot birthday cake each year. And, of course, we never limit it to only once per year. This is always my top choice for Easter dessert recipes and I love making it for spring brunches, baby showers, and our community’s new bake sale.
In fact, this recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
And, finally, I firmly believe that the ONLY thing that competes with carrot cake is a batch of carrot cake cupcakes.
What Does This Carrot Cake Taste Like?
This carrot cake sets the standard for carrot cakes everywhere. It’s deeply moist and filled with toasted pecans (or walnuts, if you prefer). Most of its flavor comes from brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and carrots. Ginger adds the most delicious zing, but it isn’t overpowering at all. The cake is dense, but each forkful tastes super soft and extra lush. If made ahead, the flavor intensifies and the cream cheese frosting seeps into the layers, creating an even more tender bite.
So if you’re looking for a make-ahead cake whose taste and texture won’t be compromised, make this! It’s a total classic and 1 taste converts everyone, even those silly people who “don’t like carrot cake.” Who ARE you people?! 😉
Let’s Make It!
This carrot cake is pretty easy, but let’s walk through the process together. You can also use this detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post and video as a guide.
Begin by toasting pecans in the oven. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake for about 6–8 minutes. Toasting the nuts is optional, but you won’t regret doing it. Toasting pecans creates an unparalleled deep nutty flavor—I love using them in my hummingbird Bundt cake and pecan pie cheesecake, too. Let the nuts cool down for a couple minutes, then start the carrot cake batter. Begin with 2 mixing bowls. Whisk the dry ingredients together in 1 bowl, then the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine the two, along with shredded carrots and half of the toasted nuts. You don’t even need a mixer for the cake batter!
Instead of a layer cake, you can bake this recipe in a 9×13-inch pan. It’s also perfect as the bottom tier for a homemade wedding cake!
How to Make Carrot Cake Moist
If it isn’t stick-to-the-back-of-your-fork moist, it’s just not worth it. So I worked to create an EXTRA moist carrot cake. Don’t skip these ingredients:
- Brown Sugar: I’ve come across a lot of carrot cake recipes that are sweetened with mostly granulated sugar. That’s great, but granulated sugar doesn’t do much for the cake besides sweeten it. Brown sugar not only sweetens cake, it produces so much flavor and moisture. It’s just… the best!
- Oil: Cakes need fat to make them soft and tender. When preparing cakes without super strong flavors such as vanilla cake and white cake, I prefer to use butter as the fat. Butter also gives them flavor. But for cakes like chocolate cake and carrot cake that have flavor from other ingredients, I find flavorless oil is the best choice.
- Applesauce: To prevent the cake from tasting too moist (wet) and oily, I add some applesauce. You could even use crushed pineapple, too! These flavors pair beautifully with brown sugar and spices.
- Freshly Shredded Carrots: My #1 tip for carrot cakes is to shred whole carrots at home. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry. You need about 4 large carrots for this recipe. And when you grate them, you’ll notice how wet they are. That is PRIME moisture for your baked cake and you don’t want to skip it! Same principle applies when using zucchini in my zucchini cake, too.
Cream Cheese Frosting
The carrot cake frosting? Well, that’s easy too. It’s so smooth, tangy, and glides on the cake seamlessly. I call it spreadable cheesecake and it tastes unbelievable with this cake’s deep spice flavor.
Ingredients: You need brick-style cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. The salt helps offset the sweetness.
If you’re looking to pipe decoration with this cream cheese frosting, chill it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour first. This guarantees the creamy frosting will hold its shape.
And if you’re not a fan of cream cheese frosting, these vanilla frostings will work just as well: vanilla buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, and not-so-sweet whipped frosting.
There’s no emotion quite like the sadness you’ll experience when that last slice is gone!
Carrot Cake Success Tips
- Line your cake pans with parchment. Place your cake pans on a large sheet of parchment paper. Trace the bottom of the cake pan with a pencil, then cut the circles. Grease the pan and the parchment paper. Parchment paper rounds guarantee the cakes won’t stick!
- Make it ahead. One of the BEST parts about carrot cake is that it gets better with time, even after 1 full day. The flavors mingle, the moisture prevails, and the cream cheese frosting sets into the layers. It’s ridiculously good! You can make and frost the cake 1 day in advance. Keep it covered in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Use freshly grated carrots. Grate them yourself for the freshest, best result.
My Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With its outstanding spice flavor, super moist crumb, and velvety cream cheese frosting, this is truly the best carrot cake. Use brown sugar and toasted pecans for deeper flavor. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) chopped pecans or walnuts (1 cup for cake, 1 cup for garnish)*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226g/240ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)*
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) smooth unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups (260g) grated carrots (about 4 large)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Toast the nuts: Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread the chopped pecans (or walnuts) on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 6–8 minutes, or until fragrant. Give the pan a shake halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10–15 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Grease two or three 9-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla until combined and no brown sugar lumps remain.
- In another large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the ingredients together until just combined. Fold in the carrots and 1 cup (about 120g) of the toasted nuts. (The rest of the nuts are for garnish.) Pour/spoon the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If using three cake pans, this takes about 20–25 minutes. If using two cake pans, this takes about 30–35 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to help loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy. If the frosting seems a bit thin and runny, refrigerate it for 30 minutes before using.
- Assemble the cake: (For extra help with this step, see this video & post on how to assemble a layer cake.) First, using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, slice a thin layer off the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake layer on your cake turntable, cake stand, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with 3/4 to 1 cup (180–240g) of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer, upside down, and spread the same amount of frosting as on the first layer. Top with the third layer, right side up, and spread the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Garnish with the remaining toasted nuts. Refrigerate the cake for at least 20 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting. If you refrigerated the cake for longer than 4 hours, take it out of the refrigerator 2 hours before serving so it can mostly come to room temperature.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I like to use a cake carrier for storing and transporting.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, covered, and stored at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared, then covered and refrigerated overnight. When ready to decorate, let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 15 minutes, then give it one more mix with the mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute before frosting cake. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See this post on how to freeze cakes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Box Grater | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Wooden Spoon | Silicone Spatula | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Nuts: Feel free to omit the nuts for a nut-free carrot cake. No other changes to the recipe required.
- Applesauce: Instead of applesauce, you can use 3/4 cup crushed pineapple if desired. Slightly drain the canned crushed pineapple first. You want it the consistency of applesauce—not too watery. You could also use 3/4 cup mashed bananas, sour cream, plain yogurt, or canned pumpkin puree.
- Carrots: My #1 tip for carrot cakes is to grate whole carrots at home. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry.
- Oil: If using melted coconut oil, make sure all of the other cake batter ingredients (carrots included) are room temperature. Otherwise, the melted coconut oil will begin to solidify before the batter goes into the oven.
- Cream Cheese: Use bricks/blocks of real cream cheese, not cream cheese spread in a tub.
- 9×13-Inch Cake: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13-inch pan and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Carrot Bundt Cake: Use a 10–12-cup generously greased Bundt pan. Bake for 55–75 minutes. All ovens and Bundt pans are different, so that’s why the bake time varies. Keep a close eye on it.
- Add-Ins: If you’d like to add raisins or coconut, reduce the pecans to 1/2 cup (or leave them out). Add 1 cup of raisins or shredded coconut. Stick to around 1–1.5 cups total add-ins. Or you can leave the cake plain without any add-ins.
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20–22 minutes. Yields about 24 cupcakes. Or try my carrot cake cupcakes recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This will be my first time making this recipe. In your introduction to it, you mention “shredded” carrots, yet in the recipe you say to “grate” the carrots. Which method produces the best result? Or should I do half shredded and half grated? Thanks!
Hi Julie! Use a grater to grate whole carrots at home. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry. Happy baking!
I am use this recipe to make an Easter cake. Carrying on a tradition from my mother, I decorate the cake with dyed green coconut, jelly beans and a chocolate rabbit. Best carrot cake ever!
I love this recipe! I have made it 3 times now, most recently without nuts. It’s a hit every time, and my mothers favorite. She asked me to make it for her every birthday! Thanks for sharing!!
This cake was the best! I made it for my dad for his birthday and my whole family loved it. They say it was one of their favorites 🙂
Love it I was wondering how many cupcakes would this make
Hi Kira, this recipe yields about 3 dozen cupcakes (see recipe notes).
Thanks for this recipe, Sally!! Everyone loved the recipe I’ve used in the past for carrot cake but I thought it could be better, so when my daughter asked for this for her birthday I started looking for an update. Boy, this one is SO MUCH BETTER!! So moist, great spice blend, really dense and packed with flavor, it’s my new go-to!! Thanks again, you’re my baking guru.
Can you use cake flour for this recipe? Or is all purpose best to use?
Hi Denielle, we don’t recommend it. Cake flour won’t hold up to all of the heavier ingredients in this recipe. For best results, stick to using all-purpose flour!
Hands down the best carrot cake ever.. highly recommended
Hello Sally i cannot wait to bake this cake with my granddaughters. Cake looks amazing Can we use applesauce instead of oil, and also add crushed pineapple? If so what would the measurements be. Thank you so much, Cindy
Hi Cindy! I think you may prefer this Pineapple Carrot Cake recipe instead! Follow that sheet cake batter recipe, then follow the assembly/baking directions in this carrot layer cake recipe. Use the frosting recipe in the layer cake (makes a little more for frosting a layer cake). See recipe notes in the sheet cake recipe where we detail replacing half the oil with applesauce. We don’t suggest substituting more than that for the best texture. Enjoy this special time baking with your granddaughters!
Hi sally
Is the carrot cake recipe stable enough
To hold under fondant icing?
Can’t wait to try it out
Hi Pam, absolutely, it will also hold under fondant, but we might recommend using regular vanilla buttercream rather than cream cheese buttercream. Cream cheese buttercream needs to be kept refrigerated — while fondant should not. Let us know what you try!
Wonderful cake, really enjoyed making it, and it’s delicious. PROS: love toasting the pecans and makes a real difference, icing is wonderful, I added a pineapple middle filling. CONS: this is a dense cake, found applesauce to be a bit overwhelming and affects taste, prefer versions with 3 cups of carrots and no apple. Nevertheless, was very good.
I just made this for an Aunt who loves carrot cake and coconut. In the notes I found the perfect substitution and used fewer pecans and added the shredded coconut per Sally’s ratio. I made it ahead and froze it and frosted it the morning of the event. It had defrosted and was perfect to eat for the birthday brunch.
Everyone was obsessed with this cake and all of them agreed that this would be our “go-to” birthday cake as well! This is my 3rd recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and it didn’t disappoint either.
The best carrot cake recipe I’ve ever tried. And the cream cheese frosting was ridiculously good. Perfect as written. I used mct oil because that’s all I had left, and I accidentally over- baked it, but it didn’t matter because it came out really moist and delicious.
The recipe for the cream cheese frosting here calls for 16oz of cream cheese as compared to the cream cheese frosting used for the pineapple carrot cake. Which one should I follow? 🙂
Hi Hannah, this recipe produces more frosting so there is more cream cheese. There’s also a higher ratio of cream cheese for more tangy flavor.
This cake got rave reviews from my friends. One asked me to make this as her wedding cake. You can seriously not go wrong by trying this recipe.
The cake was excellent. Thanks for the recipe. I used three pans, and I was a little concerned that the batter was runny and there wasn’t enough for the three pans, but it turned out perfectly. I tried to do a vegan version of the frosting and had to throw it away. Vegan butter and cream cheese are just not there yet. The cake didn’t need the frosting, though.
Really good recipe overall, although I had to reduce the sugar by 50%. Otherwise, I would have ended up with almost a kilo of sugar in only one cake.. This screams diabetes to me.
Apart from that, the bled of the spices, the moisture from the applesauce and the carrots and the texture from the pecans make this cake heavenly tasty!
This cake was soo good. Loved it. A perfect birthday cake for my sister. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Sally, I would like to make a smaller cake (7inch) for my 2 year olds birthday. Could you help me with the recipe adjustment for that? Thanks
Hi Ramya, you can use our handy Cake Pan Sizes and Conversions guide to help scale this recipe for your needs. Or, you can make the recipe as written, filling your pans 2/3 way full, and use the leftover batter for a few cupcakes. Hope this helps!
I did this on Sunday and OMG. So good! I did not have applesauce so I used natural Greek yogurt. I replaced the brown sugar with natural cane sugar and the sugar for 3 tablespoons of agave syrup and turned out an absolute de-lish. Thank you 🙂
I just made it and it loooks great. The only issue I had was the icing – way too soft! I added a further 1/2 cup of icing sugar and then left it in the fridge but still way too soft and the top glides around on the bottom layer so will be interesting to cut. Any suggestions for adapting? Thx
Hi Julie, it’s possible that your cream cheese and/or butter were a bit too warm. Here’s a helpful guide on What Room Temperature Really Means. Adding a bit more confectioners’ sugar and placing the buttercream in the fridge for a while should help to thicken it up. Hope you enjoyed the cake!
This is definitely the best carrot cake recipe I’ve ever made, it is truly scrumptious. It’s moist, and doesn’t dry out when refrigerated. I’ve made it a few times now with either applesauce or sour cream; and with and without the toasted pecans; both have received rave reviews from friends and colleagues and is now the most requested cake for work colleague birthday celebrations.
Carrot cake is my most favorite cake so I was excited to make this for my own birthday given the rave reviews. I checked it out at 30 minutes and it wasn’t done yet so I put it in for another five minutes. It came out with crunchy edges and wasn’t moist at all on the inside. Very dry and dense. I was so disappointed. I’ve had better results from adding crushed pineapple to a box mix. Sorry but this was a miss for me.
Really is the best recipe I’ve used. I doubled this for a larger cake. I added white chocolate chips, a little buttermilk and I toasted the chopped pecans in butter with a pinch of cinnamon and 1 Tbsp brown sugar until fragrant. I used olive oil rather than vegetable or coconut oil. As much as I love cream cheese frosting I decided on a fluffy Swiss meringue buttercream. I was told it was the best carrot cake they have ever had by the recipient of the cake. Im not a fan of carrot cake or nuts in cake but I ate a piece and enjoyed it.
Merci beaucoup ! Excellente recette – I did the same, cut on the sugars by 2/3 – but kept the frosting . I’m always bringing in my suitcase Carrot cake from Uk but it’s always to oily and too sweet . I’m so happy thanks for that delicious recipe!!! I’m a big fan of the apple sauce tip , I’ll definitely be using it with my French desserts from now on.
I come to Sally’s website whenever I want to bake basically anything. Her recipes never fail! And, I recently discovered her carrot cake and I am OBSESSED- I’ve made it 3 times in the past month! The first time was for when we hosted guests and it was a hit by both the adults and kids. My family asked me to make it again the next weekend, and here I am today, making it for another set of friends that are coming over tonight. It is such a fool-proof recipe and you can’t go wrong with this delicious, fluffy, and moist carrot cake.
Thank you Sally, for sharing it!
Hannah
Sally-
This carrot cake is SPECTACULAR. My bestie’s birthday is coming and SHE LOVES CARROT CAKE. I would prefer to bake this “mini” in a 6 inch round pan…any chance you can tell me how to reduce down ingredients coupled with baking time please??
Thank YOU for considering.
With much appreciation,
Amy
Hi Amy! The batter for Carrot Cake Cupcakes fits perfectly into three 6 inch pans. You can follow the baking times from this 6 inch cakes post/. If you’re looking for a one layer 6 inch cake you can use this handy guide to find out how much batter you’ll need.
Hi Sally! Can I bake the three cakes at once? Should I put them all on the same rack? I’ve baked two cakes at once but I wonder whether they will all bake evenly if there’s three. Thank you!
Hi Mariam! We bake cake layers all at once on the same rack and rotate them once during baking. Enjoy!
I made this for my husbands birthday. Carrot cake is his request every year. This has been his favorite so far! I made this cake exactly as instructed and it was amazing! I did use walnuts rather than pecans, as it’s his favorite nut. I mixed 2/3 cup of both raisins and walnuts in the batter and garnished the top with 1 cup of walnuts chopped small. I highly recommend using parchment paper in the bottom of the pans, this made it much easier to release the cakes from their pans. I can not say enough about how wonderful this cake is. I will be using this recipe going forward for all of my carrot cake needs!
Is it okay if I substitute the apple sauce? I was thinking maybe with buttermilk or sour cream.
Hi Zoe! Sour cream would work – see recipe notes for more substitutions.