This is truly the ONLY carrot cake recipe you will ever need. This carrot cake is incredibly moist and perfectly spiced, covered with delicious and tangy cream cheese frosting. You can turn this cake into a one layer or a two layer cake by switching out the cake pan size. Check the notes under the recipe for more tips!
What makes this the BEST Carrot cake recipe?
When I imagine the perfect carrot cake, this is what I picture. It’s soft and tender, with fragrant spices that go so well with the frosting. Not only is this cake ultra moist and delicous, but it is super easy to make. No electric mixer is needed, and you could make it all in one bowl if you want to.
This cake is incredibly moist not only thanks to the shredded carrots, but also because of the oil (which makes this recipe easier since you won’t have to wait for the butter to get to room temperature before baking). I like to have chunks of visible carrot in my cake, but if you want a more integrated carrot in your carrot cake, simply grate them using the fine blade side of the grater.
As for the flavor of the cake, this recipe uses freshly grounded cardemum seeds, along with cinnamon and nutmeg. I find this combination of spices gives the carrot cake the perfect flavor. The addition of lime zest and lime juice brings a freshness to the frosting and makes it taste less sweet and heavy. The lime is also a great combo with the spices in the carrot cake!
The result is a truly the most PERFECT carrot cake, that needs no further tweaking!
Tips for making Carrot cake
Freshly grounded spices – The flavor from this cake comes from the addition of spices which is ground cinnamon, cardemum seeds, and nutmeg. To get the most out of the cardemum, it is best to ground them with a mortar and pestle. The difference from using pregrounded vs freshly grounded spices in both the flavor intensity and fragrant is huge! Please note that if you use fresh nutmeg in your cake, to use a smaller amount, since the flavor can be more strong.
Do not over mix – Overmixing the flour can lead to gluten development which will result in a dense and hard cake. Make sure to gently fold in the flour until just combined. Premixing the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then sifting in the dry ingredients into the batter helps incorporating in the dry ingredients without overmixing.
Room temperature eggs – In order for the batter to come out smoothly and for the cake to bake according to the baking time, make sure to use room temperature ingredients. Sometimes when I forget to take out the eggs in time (about 1 hour before baking), I like to immerse them in warm (not boiling) water for 10 minutes.
Weigh the ingredients – In order to get the most accurate amount of the ingredients (particularily the flour and carrots in this case), and to successfully make this recipe it is advised to use a kitchen scale to measure the weight. If you don’t have a scale, I recommend spooning the flour into your measuring cup and using the edge of a knife to flatten out the top. This minimizes the risk of overpacking the flour, which would lead to a dense and tough cake.
For more cake recipes:
Best Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Carrot cake
- 4 large eggs
- 2/3 cup (135 g) brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (95 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cup (340 g) carrots, peeled and grated (about 4 medium sized carrots)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp freshly grounded cardemum
- 2 cups (250 g) flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (100 ml) neutral oil
Cream cheese frosting
- 16 ounces (460 g) philadelphia cream cheese, room temperatured
- 1 cup (230 g) butter, room temperatured
- 1 cup (145 g) powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 2 tsp lime zest (about 1 lime)
Instructions
Carrot cake
- Preheat the oven to 320 ℉ / 160 ℃. Grease and line three 6 inch (15 cm) baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and freshly grounded cardemum seeds until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs with the sugars until smooth and combined. (No need for electric mixer)
- Once combined, whisk in the carrots, the oil and the vanilla.
- Sift in the dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the lined baking pans. Use a kitchen scale for best results, but eye-balling it is fine.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer from the center of the cake comes out clean (some crumbs are fine).
- Allow the cakes to cool down completely covered with a kitchen towel before proceeding to frosting.
Cream cheese frosting with lime
- In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, add the softened butter and cream cheese. Mix on medium speed until smooth and combined.
- Scrape down the sides and add the powdered sugar, lime zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Mix on low speed until completely smooth.
Assemble Carrot cake
- Take out the carrot cakes from the baking pans and remove the parchment paper.
- Place the first layer on a cake stand and spread a layer of cream cheese frosting. Repeat the process for the second cake layer.
- Crumb coat the entire cake by spreading a thin layer of frosting to the top and sides of the cake. Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- Once chilled, spread the remaining cream cheese frosting to the sides and top of the cake, covering the cake completely. Smooth out the sides with an offset spatula or a large knife. If you plan on frosting carrots as decoration, make sure to set aside about 1/4 cup of the cream cheese frosting.
- Decorate with your favorite choice of toppings, such as chopped walnuts, shredded carrots or candied pecans. You could also pipe cute little carrots by dividing any saved cream cheese frosting into two small bowls and mixing in 1 drop of green food color gel and 1 drop of orange food color gel in the other. Pour the frosting into two piping bags with a small round tip and pipe carrots all around the cake.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to allow the frosting to set completely.
- Finally, slice and enjoy your perfect carrot cake!