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
I always look for recipes by Sally’s Baking Addiction because they’re always really good and well explained!
Thanks Sally!
Jane Ackerman
I am from the south and in a lot of the carrot cakes I have made it has a buttermilk glaze. Have you ever used this? If so, do you have a recipe that you like?
Hi Jessica, no, we haven’t tried a buttermilk glaze before. Will have to give it a try sometime!
Can I double this recipe to make 2 cakes at the same time?
Hi Denise, for absolute best results we recommend making separate batches instead of doubling. Enjoy!
I love carrot cake and my mum would make the Silver Palate carrot cake recipe. Does anyone know how this recipe compares to the Silver Palate recipe? Thanks for any insight.
I’m hosting Easter brunch this year and would like to make mini-bundt carrot cakes for our guests to take home, since I’ll have Sally’s cream cheese french toast casserole for a sweet dish. Any recommendations on how long I should bake them for?
Hi Kaley, we’re unsure of the exact bake time (it will depend on the exact size of your mini Bundts), but you can use the baking time for these mini vanilla pound cakes as a guide. Hope they’re a hit!
Could you use butter instead of oil for both this cake and your carrot cake cupcakes?
Hi Elizabeth, we don’t recommend swapping butter (which is solid at room temp) for oil or vice versa. Best to stick with oil for this recipe.
This looks incredible!! If I wanted to make a smaller version using 6 inch pans, how would I adjust the recipe?
Hi Priya, you can use the recipe for carrot cake cupcakes and follow the baking instructions for 6-inch cakes here. Enjoy!
Could I do three 8 inch pans? I only have 2 nine inch but I want to do a triple layer for Easter. Thanks!
Hi Lindsay, you can divide this batter between three 8-inch pans. Your layers will be a bit thicker so might take an extra minute or two in the oven. Enjoy!
Delicious, delicious, DELICIOUS!!! Thank you for sharing so many wonderful recipes and tips. My baking is at a totally higher level!
Hi,
Your recipe has an excellent score so I’m eager to give it a try for our upcoming Easter Dinner dessert. I’m a big advocate for using weight vs. volume measurements for accuracy, particularly when it comes to baking. For the carrots you indicate 4 large or 260 grams. That can’t be correct. I just weighed what I consider to be 2 medium carrots and they weigh almost 300 grams? Thank you in advance for any clarification you can provide.
Hi Kevin, this measurement is correct. I just measured what I consider to be 4 medium/medium-large carrots and they weighed 240g. Because carrots vary in size, it’s best to shred your carrots and measure out 2 cups of shredded (260g by weight) for this cake batter. Hope this helps!
I need gluten free recepies
Hi Judith, here are all of our gluten free recipes. Hope you find some to try!
It’s a rare cake recipe I can use just as written at altitude in Colorado, but this turned out very well with no changes! I’m so happy to have found an easy go-to carrot cake. <3
Same with me! At such high altitude, it’s hard to find recipes that don’t sink, or dry out. Sally’s cake recipes have all come out great! Even her white cake recipe doesn’t sink for me, and I have made it 3 times now! Also, I have not had any luck with cookies here in the Springs, but her cookie bars come out amazing here!
Amazing! I did a hybrid since all that icing sugar scared me. Followed cake part of recipe for most part – ran out of carrots resulting in about 80% of what recipe called for, used avocado oil, put all cake batter in one baking dish
Instead of icing I tossed together heavily toasted pecans (was preheating oven for something else at 425 degrees then set for convection and came close to burning but still amazing), brown sugar & cinnamon. Guessed amounts but had just made My Best Blueberry Muffins, so used that as a guide. Had enough for a thin layer over my 8 by 17 dish.
Wasn’t sure how long to bake it for partly because my oven is failing me. Kept checking after 35 minutes or so and adding 15 minutes, then 5, then a few more.
Turned out to be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever made. So moist despite all that baking.
Thank you Sally!
Hi looking for carrot cake made with pine apple love your recipe s i
Hi Judith, you might love this Pineapple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Would it be possible to make this carrot cake 2 days in advance?
Hi Debbie, you can assemble the cake a day or two in advance if needed. For best results, see the recipe Note for our recommended make ahead instructions. Enjoy!
Would it be possible to make this carrot cake 2 days in advance? I would like to make it for a Saturday Bridal Shower, but only have Thursday free to bake it.
Thanks so much
How can I make this into carrot cake cookies
Hi Ali, we don’t have a recipe for carrot cake cookies on the site at this time, but there is a recipe for Iced Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies in Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Let us know if you give them a try!
Would you feel comfortable subbing in a brick of vegan cream cheese for the frosting? I’m trying out dairy free options
We love Carrot Cake and this recipe looks amazing! If I ad some raisins or dried cranberries, should they be rehydrated first?
Thank you.
Hi Diana! We love to add raisins – see Notes after the recipe. We don’t rehydrate them for this recipe, but we can’t imagine it would hurt.
Can you use a cake box mix and add other ingredients to it? I don’t seem to have much luck with scratch cake, it I do attempt, I use box cake flour.
Hi Kathleen! We highly recommend giving this cake recipe a try – let us know if you do :). You need all purpose flour for this cake recipe, not cake flour.
Can you use cake flour? or will the other ingredients be too dense for a finer grain flour?
Hi T., cake flour is much too light to use with a heavier cake batter like this. Best to stick with all-purpose flour here!
I love this recipe. I have made it before. Do you think I could make cupcakes with it?
Hi Angela, absolutely. See recipe notes for details!
My husband and I have been married 29 years, and every year he requests a carrot cake for his birthday. For the longest time, I always bought one from a bakery or asked a friend (who has a dessert catering business) to make one for me, but last year I was gifted some excellent quality baking spices and so I decided that it was time I tried to make it myself. I followed Sally’s recipe to the letter – turns out it was a lot easier than I had convinced myself it would be to make a carrot cake!
Anyway, all of this is to say that my husband declared this the Best Carrot Cake He Has Ever Had which and since we’ve lived in Australia and the US I think that makes it the best carrot cake in two continents.
The first time I made it, we ate it within a week and I immediately baked another one. Just because I could.
Good morning! I’ve made this wonderful carrot cake a number of times and it never fails to impress! It’s the perfect carrot cake and my utmost favorite cake ever. I have one question about substituting some or all of the oil in the cake with more applesauce to reduce the fat content. My concern is it will make the cake too dense and the only reason I would consider doing this is my husband, who also loves carrot cake, asked if it would be possible.
Hi Lisa, we don’t recommend it—the oil helps keep the cake supremely moist and we fear the swap with more applesauce would leave the cake feeling a bit rubbery and dense. You could start by swapping just a little bit, but again, the outcome will be different. We’re glad to hear this is a favorite for you!
I live in south most of our carrot cakes use buttermilk glaze have you ever used this? If so what is your recipe?
Hi Sally, your recipe is fantastic, the cake came out perfect. My husband couldn’t believe I did bake this cake. Thanks so much! But I have a question, you said the carrots could be substitute with zucchini. Do I have to squeeze them to get an extra liquid from them? Please and thank you!
Hi Nataliya, we’d actually recommend following our zucchini cake recipe instead!
Do you think you could use crushed pineapple instead of the applesauce?
Also do you think adding coconut would be ok?
Thank you!
Hi Crystal, 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. See recipe notes for details about adding shredded coconut. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Does this carrot cake work with gluten free flour?
It would be great if your recipes would include a gluten free adaptation in notes!
Hi Maureen, admittedly, our team does not have much experience baking with gluten-free flour. Although some readers report using an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results anytime you substitute ingredients. Let us know if you give it a try here!
Hi,
I would make it with gluten free flour , that’s what I use when baking.
I am trying to figure out how you get 3 layers using this recipe with only 21/2 cups of flour?? I did make this recipe and there was not enough batter for 9 inch cakes and barely enough for 2 8 inch cake, (very thin layers). I loved the ingredients and know it makes a good cake but looking at your cake pic the 3 layers doesn’t add up with only 21/2 cups of flour. Thanks for any input! Your recipes are delish!
Hi Victoria, the carrots add a considerable amount of volume. You can absolutely use 8 inch pans instead. I’m wondering how your 2 layer 8-inch cake could be so thin! Did you accidentally mis-measure any ingredients?
My daughter started making this cake for Easter when she was 5 years old. This will be her third year making it. This is the BEST carrot cake and it’s absolutely easy.
This is my go-to carrot cake. It’s perfect on the side of flavor, texture, carrots, spices, you name it. Someone asked me to add pineapple one time, and I replaced the applesauce; thanks for that tip, Sally. This carrot cake should go in everyone’s recipe stash.
This has become “the family birthday cake” in our family. Delicious and moist!
It does seem to sink in the middle (using two 9 inch pans) so I am going to try three 8 inch pans to see if it will cook evenly and still be moist! The cream cheese icing puts this recipe over the top!