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
Made this cake for the first time as a Birthday present…………
OMG Sam just had a piece of your cake it’s gorgeous me and pete are in total heaven Sam that cake is the best i have ever tasted Sam i can’t say enough about it it is truly amazing xx xx
If I choose to use crushed pineapple instead of applesauce, how much should I use? Also, can I just make it 2 layer?
Hi Addie, see Notes after the recipe for details on replacing the 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. This amount of batter really works best in three pans. What would be easiest is to make the recipe as is, fill your two cake pans half way, and then use the leftover batter for a few cupcakes on the side. Enjoy!
Made a chiffon/Swiss roll version of this using 2 double yolked chicken eggs and 2 ducks eggs plus a pinch of cream of tartar. Other than slight cracking while rolling it (easily covered up with frosting) it turned out great. The birthday boy said it was the perfect amount of sweetness, leaning more into spice than sweet. Will make again if a carrot cake is requested.
OMG! This cake is so wonderful. Everyone commented on how good it was. The only thing I changed was halving the powdered sugar in the frosting. I feel like it makes the cake the star instead of the frosting.
Hi Sally, I was just wondering if this recipe would work as a large traybake. I need it to feed 20 people. Do you think this would work? Thanks.
Hi Florence! See notes after the recipe for details on baking this batter in a 9×13 pan. For other sizes, here’s our cake pan sizes and conversions guide.
I made this cake for a family gathering, it is so delicious!
I have one question. The picture shows scant frosting on the sides and the frosting on top of the cake looks thin. On my cake, I have fairly thick layer of frosting on the sides and top of a 3 layer cake and about half a cup left over. I understand people have different preferences just wondering how much frosting there is on the cake shown at the top of page on the website. I like the look of the sides on that cake.
Would half of the frosting be enough?
Also, I pre-measured the powdered sugar the night before. The next day I made a mistake and grabbed the sugar to make the cake batter. Now I have two cups of spiced powdered sugar! Have you ever used spiced frosting? (minus the baking powder and soda)
Hi Sue, we use the full amount of frosting – perhaps we added a bit more between the layers than you did? You can use less frosting on the outside to your preference. You can certainly use a spiced cream cheese frosting, if you enjoy the flavor! We sometimes flavor with cinnamon, etc., so that works well here.
my mums said it was the best carrot cake shes ever had (shes 51)
Hi! I am making a 2 layer carrot cake for a birthday party. The cake will have 2 horse figurines as toppers included with the decorations (piped frosting, chocolate fencing, etc.).I am wondering which of your cream cheese frostings you think might be a good choice here? (Just a Grandma making a cake for her granddaughter over here!).
Thank you!
Hi Jennifer, Cream cheese frosting is great to cover this cake and can be piped in simple designs (like a round piping tip), but won’t hold other shapes/designs. We have a vanilla buttercream that would work well for piping more intricate designs.
Thank you, Stephanie! I found a recipe for Cream Cheese American Buttercream on another site that is similar to the one here but uses more butter (392 g) and more confectioner’s sugar (560 g), so I’m gonna try that with this cake! Fingers crossed! 🙂
I need to travel with the cake. I need to prepare on a Tuesday to eat Saturday! I was thinking I would bake the cake layers on Tuesday and make the frosting ahead. Do you think wrapping the cooled cake layers in saran wrap and then traveling with them in a cooler would work? I would assemble the cake Saturday with frosting and everything.
Hi Stacey, When preparing cake layers longer than a day or two in advance, we recommend freezing them so that they don’t dry out in the refrigerator. Here is exactly how we freeze and thaw cake layers. Depending on the timing of your travel, they should stay frozen in a cooler with ice packs.
This was the best carrot cake I have ever tried. I put a bit less sugar in the frosting, and found it was still very sweet but not overly sweet.
Thank you Sally and team! I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s been a hit! I have 2 questions, my cake doesn’t seem to turn out as fluffy as yours looks (it stays flat and doesn’t rise enough to have to cut off the top for frosting, should I use more baking powder?
2. When frosting, I tend to get cake crumbs from the cake all over in the frosting. What do you advise to keep the frosting looking as it should and not have cake crumbs mixed in when frosting the cake?
Hi Lydia, we’re happy to help! We wouldn’t add more baking powder, but are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? We find they start to lose their effectiveness after about 3 months of opening, even if they’re not technically expired yet. Be careful not to overmix the batter, which can cause the cakes to bake up squat and dense. A crumb coat is a helpful way to prevent crumbs from getting into that final layer of frosting. You can learn more about crumb coats in this post on how to assemble layer cakes. Hope this helps!
So I made the cream cheese frosting according to these instructions and it turned out crap and runny and wasted a tonne of effort and food.
After looking around apparently it’s better to mix the butter and sugar first and then add the cream cheese.
Made the recipe for me and my adult teens as a treat, we havent had a really good carrot cake in a long time, it went down a treat! HUGE thumbs up from the gang and their friends too, one of them even said it was the best carrot cake they have had! I have to agree, it was gorgeous! Thank you Sally, you are my go-to now for anything thats sweet, we love home baked goods in this house, i’ll be stopping by often! Beautiful easy peasy delicious hug of a carrot cake! I turned the spice level up and added extra ginger, mixed spice and sweet cinnamon, just stunning and will make again very soon! <3
I’m a huge fan of all your recipes! I’m going to try this out for my husbands birthday. Do you know what the bake time would be in 2 8inch rounds?
Hi Jocelyn, 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!
So amazing! My brother requested a carrot cake for his birthday. I am not a very experienced cake baker but it turned out incredible! I omitted the nuts (fam’s personal preference), but it was so moist and flavorful I honestly don’t think it needed them. 10/10!
I made this carrot cake yesterday, it is moist and flavourful, the most delicious carrot cake I have tasted. I used defrosted sliced cooking apple instead of apple sauce which I processed slightly together with flame raisins that I’d had soaking in boiled water for an hour.
If I wanted to use smaller cake pans (like 6 inch), how many cakes would it make?
Hi Anna, our carrot cupcakes recipe actually makes the perfect amount of batter for a 3-layer 6-inch cake.
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to see how they’ll turn out.
I love this recipe so much that I’m making it again for my parents anniversary in a few days and I was wondering if the cream cheese frosting would work with browned butter?
Hi River Addie, yes! Follow the instructions for the frosting from this banana cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!
What size cake tins should I use?
Hi Samantha, The pictured cake was made using 9 inch cake pans. For other cake pan sizes that we have tested, see the recipe notes.
This Carrot Cake was delicious and received many compliments! Made it GF (King Arthur’s 1:1 GF Flour).
Baked in 9×13” pan and cut icing recipe in half and it worked perfectly!
I made this cake yesterday. It was by far, the best carrot cake I’ve made in my 73 years.
Hi Sally, I thought I followed the instructions carefully but the centres of my cakes didn’t cook enough but the edges were burning . Help!
Hi Barb, for next time, you can try tenting the sides of the pan with foil towards the end of bake time, which will allow the center to continue baking without burning or over baking the edges.
Everything I have made from your website is amazing. I really appreciate all the scientific reasons behind doing certain things while baking. I made the carrot cake just as instructed for my husband’s aunt’s birthday party. I used the one cup of chopped pecans to spell out her name. Everyone at the party absolutely loved this!!!
Very good❤️❤️❤️
I’ve made several of these over the last couple years. Best ever. Easy to make but people think you worked so hard on it. Add some candied carrot curls on top and watch everyone be impressed.
Generally is there a replacement for sour cream in recipes?
Hi Poonam, it depends on the specific recipe, but plain Greek yogurt can often be swapped 1:1 with sour cream. In this particular recipe, in place of the applesauce, you can use crushed pineapple, mashed bananas, sour cream, plain yogurt, or canned pumpkin puree. Hope this helps!
We don’t typically have applesauce on hand so I sub canned pumpkin. It turns out fabulous and the pumpkin is subtle – no one seems to notice. I’ve made this 3 times for events and every single time someone asks for the recipe!
I have made this several times and I find it tastes the best will all dark brown sugar. It gives it a depth of flavor.
Curious, why do you not say to sift the dry ingredients?
Hi Heidi, we don’t find it necessary here, but you certainly can if you wish.
An absolutely perfect carrot cake. I used fresh ginger instead of ground (1 tbsp) and it worked perfectly. This recipe will be saved and made again for sure!
Harriet, I’m so glad you had success with fresh ginger, and you answered the question I was thinking of asking Sally. I much prefer fresh ginger to ground; the taste of fresh is so much better.
This cake is the best I’ve ever had; so moist and flavorful. I made my own applesauce (slightly chunky).
Can this recipe be made into a 2 layer 9×13 cake by putting half of the batter into 2 pans or should I double the recipe for the 2 pans? If doubling, will the finished cake be too thick? Also, should I double the frosting recipe as well for decorating?
Hi Valerie, see the recipe Notes section for baking instructions for a 9×13-inch pan: “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.” If you want two cake layers, we suggest making the batter twice, rather than doubling. Happy baking!
Hi! my family loves carrot cake, but is it possible to make this specific recipe without pecans or walnuts? I know that some recipes can and some can’t.
Hi Erin, yes, you can omit the nuts here!