Easy Carrot Cake Recipe
This is the best carrot cake recipe I’ve made. We prefer to use a hand grater when preparing the carrots since it creates delicate shreds that melt into the cake batter. We like using granulated and brown sugar in this recipe. If you only want to use one, choose brown sugar since it has the necessary acid to react with the baking soda. Frosting: Our creamy frosting recipe shared below is not a traditional cream cheese frosting. Thanks to whipped cream, it’s creamier and has soft peaks (you can see it in our video). See the tips section below for a more traditional frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking soda, important to level the teaspoon, see tips
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cups (295ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (190g) lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups (300g) grated peeled carrots, 5 to 6 medium carrots
- 1 cup (120g) coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup (70g) raisins
- 8 ounces (225g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch, optional
- 1 ¼ cups (140g) powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) cold heavy cream, not plain whipping cream, see tips
- 1/2 cup (50g) coarsely chopped pecans, for topping cake
Directions
- 1
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
- 2
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- 3
Frosted carrot cake lasts in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I keep it covered with plastic wrap or use a cake keeper, or large bowl turned upside down to cover the cake. I do not recommend freezing frosted carrot cake (the frosting does not thaw well). You can refrigerate unfrosted cake layers for up 5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before adding your frosting.