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
My husband is a huge carrot cake fanatic, but I don’t have a go-to recipe, until now. This cake is fabulous! The spices are so perfect, the cake so moist. I didn’t have applesauce or nuts, so I went with crushed pineapple and coconut. So so so good! I have a different cream cheese frosting I used, but no doubt the one listed would be fabulous. I baked the cake in a bundt pan and the alternative directions were spot on. This recipe will be made again and again in our house.
Hi Sally,
I’d like to make this recipe, but I don’t have much experience with bundt cakes. Do you have any suggestions with greasing it or helping it release from the tin?
Thanks!
Hi Lauren! You can use this recipe for a 10-12 cup Bundt pan. I always recommend greasing bundt pans very very generously with nonstick spray. In my experience, it works MUCH better than butter or anything else.
Super cake!
I grated an apple instead of including applesauce. I also added raisins as I had no pecans.
I experimented by cooking the cake with steam (I placed my cake tin inside a large pot of simmering water). I’ve never tried this before but I live in Morocco and don’t have an oven. It actually worked great and the cake was amazingly moist with a soft crumb.
Thanks for another stellar recipe.
Made this recipe today and loved it. Only had one cake pan so I used a Bundt pan. Turned out more dense than I was expecting and reminded me of a “carrot cake bread”. I was aiming for something more light and fluffy. Could this be because I used a Bundt pan? Still a great recipe and easy to follow. My family loved it!
I’m so glad your family enjoyed it! Yes, it could have been more dense from being baked in the Bundt pan. Because the large quantity of batter in the pan it is much heavier and has to be baked longer for it to bake all the way through.
Sally, would you recommend the same cream cheese frosting if you make this cake as a bundt or something different? If you would still use it, would you pipe it on or spread it on? Asking because I only have two 9″ cake pans, not 3, so working with what I got. Thanks!
Hi Hilary, For a Bundt cake you can either use the same cream cheese frosting (you would need a smaller quantity) and you can either spread it on top or use a piping bag to “drizzle” it over the top. You can’t go wrong either way! If you would like something lighter you can make a simple glaze like I do for my Cheesecake Swirl Carrot Bundt Cake (you can even use milk instead of orange juice).
It’s positively true: this is the best homemade carrot cake! We made it last year for Easter and here wasn’t a slice left. I’m looking forward to making it again next week for my son’s birthday/ Hoping I can find flour at the grocery store during all of this madness!
I’ve tried this recipe 3 times and it works EVERY time!!!! I love it and so does everyone else! This is THE BEST carrot cake and the frosting is good too, but I suggest cutting back just a bit with the sugar in the frosting and it is perfect. Without the frosting is great too. Try this!
How can I adjust baking times for 2 8 inch tins
Hi Debbie, You can divide this batter between three 8-inch pans. Your layers will be a bit thicker than mine so might take an extra minute or two in the oven. I don’t recommend only using two 8-inch pans as this would be too much batter in each pan. You can also bake it as a Bundt cake or a 9×13 rectangle, see recipe notes!
This is one of the best cakes on your blog! I loved it so much!
I made this cake for my daughter and her family it was a hugh hit,I have tried a lot of carrot cake recipes and yours was the Winner, Thank you so much Sally for this wonderful recipe I will looking forward to trying many more thanks so much again.
I’d give more stars if I could. This was so good!! I didn’t have applesauce or pineapple on hand so I subbed out applesauce for plain Greek yogurt and it’s ! I also didn’t scroll down far enough to read the Bundt pan directions, so I cooked mine about 45 min and it turned out wonderfully. (I snuck a piece and put it back together before I iced it so my company won’t be able to tell ). This will be my go to from now on! Deee-licious.
Hi Sally!
These raving reviews look very promising!! I just have one question, can I substitute a banana for the applesauce? I love the moistness of carrot cake, and dont want to missing out, but I have no applesauce :(. Is there something else you can recommend?
Best,
Rachael
Hi Rachael, You can replace the applesauce with an equal amount of mashed banana, or even with crushed pineapple.
I made this recipe as a treat for a holiday celebration. It was so moist and full of flavour and got rave reviews. Thank you Sally. You are my go to for the best recipes. They always have lots of flavour and instructions are easy to follow. I have learned much from your baking tips.
I have one word for this cake — OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!! I had to reduce the sugar in both the cake and the frosting due to severe health issues, but the cake has such huge flavor that it didn’t matter. Your instructions were perfect, and the cake IS my favorite carrot cake (although I looked no further than this one, and don’t feel the need to look any more). Your favorite carrot cake recipe is now MY favorite carrot cake recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Sally – I’m so in debt for all your knowledge, baking tips and of course wonderful recipes! Am wanting to make a carrot cake for a friend’s 60th where there will be 15 people. I note you say servings will stretch to 12 people, but being a 9 inch cake I just wanted to clarify that number please? Also can it be made in 2 x 10 inch pans? Many thanks for any advice and with best wishes from a New Zealand fan 🙂
Hi Bron, Servings really depend on how large or small you cut your slices 🙂 You can easily make this cake in a 9×13 inch pan or a Bundt pan (see recipe notes) with out making any changes. You would have to scale up the recipe for 10 inch pans which required some math. You can see exactly how to figure this out in my post on Cake Pan Sizes and Conversions.
Hi there, I Just made this cake ..it’s super delicious and my house smells yummy…
This is my first ever cake from SCRATCH. Always relied on easy to make cake boxes. It’s really worth all the time and effort.
The only change I made was I added a little fresh ginger and orange Zest along with the apple purée which was part of the recipe ingredients
Thank you so much for all the tested tips and tricks. You and your site is super amazing. I’m an old subscriber and your site is my ONE stop for all my baking needs 🙂
Such a fantastic recipe! The cake was fluffy and oh so moist! I am used to very dense oily carrot cake and this was NOT that. The icing was also perfect.
can I use sweetened applesauce?
Yes you can!
This was an exquisite recipe. A friend of mine wants to use it for her wedding.
I have made this recipe many times now. It’s has become a family favorite. Thanks Sally for yet another great recipe
If I choose to use butter instead of oil will the measurement remain the same 1 cup?
Hi Susan! I don’t recommend butter– stick with oil for this recipe. 1 cup of melted butter won’t bring the same moisture. If you prefer a butter based cake, most (not all, but most) of my cake recipes are made with butter.
Made this cake for my daughter’s birthday …..she is in love with the cake……thanks for the wonderful recipe….im loving it
What do you use to grease the pans with?
Hi Lisa, I usually just use a baking spray – it’s usually sold with the cooking sprays such as Pam but simply labeled “baking spray” as it’s a non-stick spray made with flour.
This is the best Carrot Cake recipe I’ve ever used. It is our family’s new go to carrot cake favorite. Thanks for sharing. My family especially loves the frosting.
I used 1/2 c of applesauce and 1/4 c of light olive oil. And raisins soaked in hot water instead of toasted pecans. It’s incredibly moist and light. My son always requests carrot cake for his NYE birthday cake. This one is the winner!
This cake made me subscribe to your blog. Fantastic! Good spice, super moist. I did use a small can of drained crushed pineapple as well.
Can I substitute walnuts instead of pecans? Are those good toasted?
Yes, you can use walnuts instead!
This looks delicious! What can I use instead of applesauce? It’s hard to find that where I live. Thank you
Crushed pineapple works! See recipe note.
Turned out so beautifully – yum!
Hi Sally! I would love to try this but only have three 8-inch cake pans… Will this be fine?
Yep! The cake layers may take an extra minute or two to bake through.
Hello, Sally! I’ve made this before for my mum’s and grandma and they absolutely LOVE it!! They’re requesting it again but asked me skip the frosting (they’re trying to lessen their sugar intake).. my question is, can i use this recipe as Loaf cake? If so, any suggestion for cook time and temp? Thank you so much!!
Hi Kari! This batter could fit into 2 loaf pans or even into a larger Bundt pan– you may want to try my cheesecake carrot cake instead and skip the cream cheese layer.
This came out delicious! I used a small can of drained crushed pineapple instead of applesauce and added 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Moist and perfect. Spiced nicely . Easy. Everyone loved it!