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This truly is the best carrot cake recipe! It’s perfectly moist and delicious, made with lots of fresh carrots, and topped with the most heavenly cream cheese frosting.
Oh hey. ♡ Just thought I would casually slide this recipe right here at the top of your feed in time for Easter. Because if you happen to be looking for the world’s best carrot cake recipe to make this weekend — or any delicious day of the year — look no further. Hundreds and hundreds of our readers have agreed over the years that this homemade carrot cake recipe is a hands-down winner!
I mean, I should admit right off that I will forever-and-always be on Team Carrot when it comes to my favorite kind of cake, so I am extra-partial to carrot cake in any form (including cupcakes or carrot cake bars). But because it’s my favorite, I hold extra high standards when it comes to exactly what constitutes the perfect slice.
First off, the perfect homemade carrot cake must always be fluffy and legit extra-moist — no dry cakes allowed. It must also be made with the coziest warming spices, but just enough so that the flavor of all of those fresh carrots can shine through. And speaking of fresh carrots, a good carrot cake recipe must include lots of them speckled in every slice. Most importantly, though, a good carrot cake recipe must be accompanied with a rich and buttery cream cheese frosting in every single bite. Because in my book, a good moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is the ultimate dessert match made in heaven.
The other good news about this recipe? It’s much easier to make than it looks. You can make the entire recipe — both cake and frosting — 100% by hand if you would like. (No mixer required.) You can also save yourself a step and purchase store-bought grated carrots or grate them in the food processor, if you don’t want to grate them by hand. And if you’ve never made a three-layer cake before, have no fear — it’s easier than it looks, and I’ve added a brand new video below to walk you through each step of the way.
Alright, let’s make some carrot cake together!
The BEST Carrot Cake Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Homemade Carrot Cake Ingredients:
Alright, let’s make our shopping list! To make this homemade carrot cake recipe, you will need:
Oil: Any mild-flavored oil will do. I typically use avocado oil, but vegetable or canola oil would work too.
Sugars: Both granulated (white) and brown sugar.
Eggs and vanilla extract: Because…cake.
Flour: I always indulge here with classic all-purpose flour. But you’re welcome to sub in white whole wheat flour instead.
Spices: Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Baking soda and baking powder: This recipe uses both.
Salt: I used fine sea salt. If you only have iodized (table) salt, I would recommend using a little less.
Freshly-grated carrots: Either grate them by hand with a box grater, use the shredding attachment on a food processor, or save yourself a step and buy them pre-grated.
(Optional add-ins): Feel free to also include chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts), shredded coconut, and/or raisins if you would like.
Cream cheese frosting: Made easily with cream cheese, butter, salt, vanilla and powdered sugar.
Ingredient amounts and full instructions included in the recipe box below.
How To Make Carrot Cake:
To make this homemade carrot cake recipe, simply:
Prep your baking pans. Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. (Or save yourself a step and just use baking spray, which already includes flour.)
Make the cake batter. Mix together the oil and sugars, followed by the eggs and vanilla, then the dry ingredients, and then the shredded carrots.
Fill and bake. Portion the batter evenly into your three baking pans. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool on a wire baking rack until they reach room temperature. Meanwhile…
Make the frosting. See notes below.
Assemble and frost the cake. Once the cakes reach room temperature,* use a cake leveler or a bread knife to slice off the rounded tops of the cakes so that they are completely flat on top. Place the first cake on your serving platter, add a large scoop of frosting on top of it, and spread the frosting so that it covers the cake evenly and extends a bit over the edges. Repeat with the second and third layers of the cake. Then use the remainder of the frosting to frost all around the side edges of the cake.
Serve and enjoy. Then once you’re ready to serve the cake, slice it up and enjoy!
*I find that it’s easier to frost the cakes when they are slightly chilled. So I recommend popping them in the fridge for 15 minutes before frosting if you have the time.
How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting:
This dreamy cream cheese frosting recipe can either be made by hand in a mixing bowl or in a stand mixer — you choose! Just be sure that both the cream cheese and butter are both room temperature. (And if you want your frosting to be super-smooth, I also recommend sifting the powdered sugar in advance.)
To make cream cheese frosting, simply stir the cream cheese and butter together with the vanilla until completely smooth. Then add in however much powdered sugar is needed to make the icing nice and firm. (You may need more/less powdered sugar than the recipe calls for.)
Carrot Cake Variations:
If you would like to customize your carrot cake, feel free to:
Add nuts: Feel free to stir 1/2 cup chopped nuts (such as pecans, walnuts, pepitas or hazelnuts) into the batter, and/or sprinkle extras on top of the frosting.
Add raisins: You could also stir in up to 1/4 cup of raisins.
Add coconut: Or up to 1/4 cup of toasted shredded coconut.
Spice the frosting: If you would like a bit of extra flavor in the frosting itself, I recommend stirring 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger into the frosting.
Make the recipe gluten-free and vegan: Use this recipe!
More Carrot Recipes:
Looking for more delicious sweet carrot recipes? Here are a few of my faves! ♡
This classic carrot cake recipe is moist, perfectly-spiced and made with lots of fresh carrots and a cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Scale
Carrot Cake Ingredients:
1 2/3 cupavocado oil (or vegetable oil, or any mild-flavored oil)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pound finely-grated* fresh carrots
optional: 1 cup chopped nuts or 1/2 cup raisins
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
3 (8-ounce) bricks cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 cups powdered sugar (or more, if needed to thicken)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. (Or to save a step, you can coat them with baking spray, which already contains flour.)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the egg mixture, and stir until smooth. Fold in the grated carrots and stir until combined. If you would like to add nuts and/or raisins, stir them in at this time as well.
Portion the batter evenly into the prepared baking pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Transfer the baking pans to a wire cooling rack and let the cakes cool until they reach room temperature.
Meanwhile, to make the cream cheese frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined and smooth. (You can either do this with a spatula, or with a hand or stand mixer.) Gradually stir in the powdered sugar and mix until it is completely combined. You want the frosting to be pretty firm for a 3-layer cake, so add more/less powdered sugar as needed to reach the correct consistency.
Once the cakes reach room temperature,* use a cake leveler or a bread knife to slice off the rounded tops of the cakes so that they are completely flat on top. Place the first cake on your serving platter, add a large scoop of frosting on top of it, and spread the frosting so that it covers the cake evenly and extends a bit over the edges. Repeat with the second and third layers of the cake. Then use the remainder of the frosting to frost all around the side edges of the cake.
Once you’re ready to serve the cake, slice it up and enjoy! Or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
*You can either grate fresh carrots by hand with a box grater, or grate them with a food processor by using the shredding disk.
*I find that it’s easier to frost the cakes when they are slightly chilled. So I recommend popping them in the fridge for 15 minutes before frosting if you have the time.
Recipe instructions updated (with no ingredient changes) in April 2019.
This was my first attempt at a carrot cake and it was perfection! My family loved it! I made it for Easter and decorated with m&ms and peeps. Thank you for this recipe :-)
I’ve always had bad luck with carrot cake, probably because I use the more complicated recipes that ask for canned pineapple and it’s always results in a cake that doesn’t rise and stays nearly undertakes no matter how long I bake it, which I assume is due to too much liquid in the mix from the wet ingredients, but this recipe was simple and resulted in the best carrot cake I’ve ever made!! This will now be my go-to carrot cake recipe!! Thank you
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing with us Marina — we’re so glad you enjoyed this! :D
Hi! This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try! I know you said the carrot blends into the cake but do I just leave the pieces that big (after grating)? Or will there be big, carrot pieces once the cake is done?
Thanks!!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Rai — Yes, the carrots should be the size and thinness of the photo of them inside the food processor. They won’t be stringy or too big once the cake is done. We hope you enjoy! :)
I was going to make something totally differnt for our wedding cake, and lost the recipe.
However carrot cake is both of our favorite cake, so I found this one, did a test run and am making it this weekend as a two tiered wedding cake. It’s lovely. Thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you Lillianna — we’re so happy you two enjoyed it, and extremely flattered that you will be making it for your wedding cake! Congratulations to you both! :D
Made this cake yesterday and it turned out amazing!!! I have a dairy allergy so I didn’t need to modify anything in the cake recipe but I did use a vegan cream cheese frosting from The Minimalist Baker. That you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re so glad to hear that Danielle! Thanks for giving it a try! :)
I have never made a carrot cake or cream cheese frosting before. But for my mother’s birthday she requested a homemade carrot cake. This one caught my eye and I tried it. Everyone loved it!!! Thanks so much for sharing. :)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for giving the recipe a try Amber! We’re so glad to hear it was a hit! :D
OMG this was an amazing cake! I have been asked by several people to make it again someone even offers to pay me LOL! Just wondering if you have ever made them into cupcakes? I am going to attempt it and out some of the frosting in the centers too! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Tiffany — we’re so glad it was a hit! You can definitely make this into cupcakes (but it will make a TON, unless you do half the recipe).
I tried this recipe over the weekend, as I was asked to make one for a friend. I love carrot cake but felt like it was a bit dry, even more so the next day. Do you have any tips to make it a bit more moist (maybe a little milk or omitt)? Also, any suggestion on giving the flavor a bit more kick?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi there! Hmmm, we’re sorry it was a little dry — it could be that it got slightly over-baked (that could definitely be a reason). One thing you can do to help add moisture is to make some simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar – just bring to a boil, cooking until the sugar is dissolved), and brush the cooled cake layers with it. It will help lock in moisture. We hope this helps!
Hi! I absolutely love your recipes! Your enchilada sauce is the BEST! I’m making your carrot cake as we speak, but I think I messed up. I was grating the carrots by hand, but decided part way through to use my Magic Bullet, as it’s the closest thing I have to a food processor. Unfortunately, the carrots came out finely chopped, not grated. (A very stupid beginners mistake!) It may be to much to hope for a reply before I mix up the batter, but I’m wondering if you would suggest starting over, or do you think it’s worth giving it a go with what I have? Thank you, and thanks for making delicious recipes that are approachable for a novice!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Sherilyn! Thank you for your sweet words about the enchilada sauce! As for the carrot cake — oh no, we’re so sorry! If you haven’t already mixed the carrots into the batter, we’d say you might want to start over. :/ We hate to say that, especially since we really hate waste, but we’re afraid you’re just not going to get the right taste or texture with them that way. Good luck to you —please let us know how everything turns out!
My carrot cake is in the oven now and excited to frost it but I have always had this question…if cream cheese needs refridgerated then how is it ok to be used as a frosting and not need to be kept in the refridgerater?
Thanks!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi there! We’ve found that cakes with cream cheese icing are fine left out of the fridge (at room temp) for several hours, even a day or so. Ideally you would store it in the fridge and take it out an hour or two before serving (unless you prefer it cold), but it isn’t unsafe if you don’t refrigerate it (cream cheese and butter are pasteurized and processed) — it just helps keep it fresher longer. We hope this info is helpful, and that you enjoy your cake!
I wanted to make some cupcakes today and this recipe sounds delicious. I know it would make a lot of cupcakes if I used the full recipe. If I cut the recipe in half how many cupcakes would you guess it would make?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Maria! We think if you cut the recipe in half, this should make around 22-24 cupcakes. We hope you enjoy! :)
Wow! This is indeed the best carrot cake I’ve ever made. I made it for my parents 55th wedding anniversary and it was a huge hit! Posted it on Instagram it was so beautiful :) Thanks for the recipe. Lisa at Seasonsinvermont
Hi. I would like to know if I can make this Carrot Cake in a
1 × 28cm Round cake tin or 2 × 25cm cake tins for a double layer cake & for how long n the oven must it bake please? I really need advice urgently please….need to make it today still. Thanks a lot. ♡
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Denise — Yes, we think you can use two 25cm pans for a double layer, or you can use one 9×13-inch pan (a 32cm pan) for a single layer. We hope you enjoy!
This recipe looks amazing! I have one question though. I will have to make it gluten free because one of the party members have celiacs and I have never baked useing gluten free flour before. Are there any adjustments that I should make to the recipe that you know of? Thanks in advanced!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you Jen! We actually have a gluten-free (vegan) carrot cake recipe! If you don’t want it to be vegan though, we think you would be fine to follow this carrot cake recipe and just use a gluten-free all purpose blend of flour. We hope this helps, and that you enjoy! :)
So far this cake has been a total hit! 2nd year my brother and his wife has requested it for his birthday! Everyone loved it the first time let’s see what they think this year! Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Gwen — we’re so happy you and your family love it! :D
What is the meaning of the first line of ingrediants?
“1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil”
I assume the 1 1/2 is flour and that the 2 T is for the oil? Then I questioned if there would only be 2 tablespoons of oil. Hmmm, don’t know what to make of that.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Vickie! It’s 1 1/2 cups of canola/vegetable oil, plus 2 TBS (of oil). We hope you enjoy!
Hi I had a question about the type of flour used in this recipe. Did you use AP Flour? Also, how would the final product turn out if cake flour was used instead?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Crystal! Yes, we used all-purpose flour. We can’t say for sure how this would turn out with cake flour, as we haven’t tried it. However, cake flour is great, so we think it’s worth a shot! Use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. We hope you enjoy!
Oh my goodness, this cake turned out so good! We made half the icing, and had to make due with the only spice we had on hand, cinnamon. Still fantastic! Thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re so happy to hear that Baylee — and that’s good to know it was still yummy without those other spices! :)
I first tried your recipe last year and ever since I’ve been making it for every occasion in the family. Actually I have the cake in the oven “as we speak”. The frosting was a bit tricky at first, but I’ve managed to get the no lumps version in the last attempts :)) thanks for this great, great recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Awww we’re so happy to hear that Cris! Thanks for commenting! :)
I’ve made this several times and love it! Have you used the same recipe for cupcakes with success?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Colleen — we’re so glad to hear that! You can definitely do cupcakes with this recipe, only we’d cut the recipe in half, as it will yield waaaay too many cupcakes. Even cutting it in half will give you a pretty big amount. :)
Oh my ! IT IS the best !!! Just made it, adding walnuts and apricots ! So good and nicely balanced flavors !!!!!
Thank you for sharing and will trust your other recipes !!
(i divided by two and made 2×6″ and 2×4″)
Hi just wanted to know if it would make a difference in blending the carrot after grating? I would like to make a very vibrant cake and I figured blending would change the color perfectly
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Koda! We don’t think it would make much of a difference, but you could try — we hope you enjoy the cake! :)
I had the same problem as Kara. I do not believe that my carrots are watery since they were shredded at least 40 minutes prior to mixing into the batter. I also used two 9″ pans. Perhaps this is a cake meant only for 3 layers or a 9×13.
Darn, I’m sorry to hear that. If you make this again, I would try placing the carrots through a cheesecloth and giving them a good squeeze to remove any excess moisture (even if they were just shredded). Sorry, I’ve made this cake many times and have never had that happen. :(
I also used two 9″ pans, deep ones, but I used the advice of some professional bakers that I found online and after the initial 40 minutes at 350˚F, I lowered it to 300˚F for another half an hour. The cakes look fantastic and seem solid all the way through. I might start at 325˚F next time if I use two pans again so that there’s a more consistent cooking process.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing with us Jena! We hope you enjoy this!
Hi Nicole! We think it will take around 30 minutes or more, but we would still suggest setting the timer for 25 minutes and just checking from there (just to be on the safe side). We hope that helps, and that you enjoy! :)
Hey I’ve made this cake a couple of times and it comes out perfect everytime. I made a crusting cream cheese frosting because I live in the Caribbean and the heat makes the frosting runny other than that it’s a lovely cake and makes great cupcakes as well. Thank you for the recipe.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing with us Sarah — we’re so happy you’re a fan of the cake! :D
The cake was great, however the icing was runny and made enough for 3 cakes.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Sarah! We’re glad you enjoyed the cake! We’re sorry about the icing though — that’s strange. We’ve never experienced it being runny before — could one of your measurements have been off?
I made this the other week and it was the best carrot cake my husband and I have ever eaten! I’d like to make it in cupcake form for my students and was wondering if you knew how many standard-size cupcakes this recipe makes? I have 24 students.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Wow, what a generous compliment Danielle! We’re so happy you and your husband loved it! And if you want to make cupcakes out of the recipe, you’ll definitely need to cut it in half (even cutting it in half will probably make more than 24).
Hi, It was my first time making cakes (I’m a 14 year old).
And I messed up with the salt. I read tbsp. instead of tsp.(Yes, I’m a fool)
Is there a way to fix it or I have to throw it away? :(
Sorry if i made a mistake , english is not my first language.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Ana! Oh no, we’re so sorry! You are definitely not a fool though, we have done things like this a zillion times (it’s easy to misread something). Unfortunately though we’re afraid this isn’t salvageable as that’s just a whole lot of salt. We hate for you to have to throw it out but we just can’t think of anything that could fix this. :(
I’m making these into cupcakes for my niece’s graduation party. What would the bake time adjustment be for cupcakes? Thanks!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Charlene! You’d want to cut the recipe in half (even then it will still make quite a lot of cupcakes)! Also, they will probably bake for 12-15 min (possibly even a bit longer). We hope this helps and that they’re a hit at your niece’s party! :)
Could you tell me about baking in loaf pans what would you recommend for cooking time. Thank you!!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Rebecca! If you wanted to use a loaf pan for this, you would need to cut the recipe in half (it makes a lot)! It might even be enough batter to fill up two loaf pans. As far as the baking time, it will probably need about an hour or so to bake (possibly 75 minutes). We’d suggest setting a timer for 45 minutes and checking every 5-10 min after that. We hope this helps and that you enjoy! :)
Hi, could you give me the quantity of carrots in cups?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Lih! 1 lb of carrots should equal about 3 or 4 cups. We would suggest weighing the carrots at the grocery store if you can though. We hope you enjoy the cake!
I’ve made this recipe twice before, and absolutely loved it! I’m going to make it again soon and was wondering if this recipe would work in a bundt cake pan? What would you suggest for baking time and/or temperature adjustments? Thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Anthony — we’re so happy you’re a fan of the recipe! As far as trying this in a bundt pan, as long as your bundt pan is big enough (it should be able to hold about 15 cups of batter), then this should be fine. You may have a bit of batter left over (be careful not to overfill the bundt pan), but if that’s the case, you could always bake a few cupcakes as well. :) We hope this helps!
This recipe looks absolutely AMAZING! I have learned that I tend to like crushed pineapple and shaved coconut flakes in my carrot cake – do you think I would need to alter anything else in the recipe if I added these to it?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Katie! You can add a 15oz can of crushed pineapple (drained) — we would recommend gently folding it into the batter. And you should be find to add the coconut as well! We hope you enjoy!
Im confused with the cream cheese measurement ‘ so is it 3 x8oz- making it 24 ounces. Try to convert into grams and struggling :
Hi Celia! Yes, it’s 24 oz of cream cheese, so in grams it should be 680.4 g
This was my first attempt at a carrot cake and it was perfection! My family loved it! I made it for Easter and decorated with m&ms and peeps. Thank you for this recipe :-)
Awesome Kerri — we’re so glad it was a hit! :D
I’ve always had bad luck with carrot cake, probably because I use the more complicated recipes that ask for canned pineapple and it’s always results in a cake that doesn’t rise and stays nearly undertakes no matter how long I bake it, which I assume is due to too much liquid in the mix from the wet ingredients, but this recipe was simple and resulted in the best carrot cake I’ve ever made!! This will now be my go-to carrot cake recipe!! Thank you
Thanks for sharing with us Marina — we’re so glad you enjoyed this! :D
Hi! This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try! I know you said the carrot blends into the cake but do I just leave the pieces that big (after grating)? Or will there be big, carrot pieces once the cake is done?
Thanks!!!
Thanks Rai — Yes, the carrots should be the size and thinness of the photo of them inside the food processor. They won’t be stringy or too big once the cake is done. We hope you enjoy! :)
I was going to make something totally differnt for our wedding cake, and lost the recipe.
However carrot cake is both of our favorite cake, so I found this one, did a test run and am making it this weekend as a two tiered wedding cake. It’s lovely. Thank you!
Thank you Lillianna — we’re so happy you two enjoyed it, and extremely flattered that you will be making it for your wedding cake! Congratulations to you both! :D
Made this cake yesterday and it turned out amazing!!! I have a dairy allergy so I didn’t need to modify anything in the cake recipe but I did use a vegan cream cheese frosting from The Minimalist Baker. That you so much for this wonderful recipe!
We’re so glad to hear that Danielle! Thanks for giving it a try! :)
I have never made a carrot cake or cream cheese frosting before. But for my mother’s birthday she requested a homemade carrot cake. This one caught my eye and I tried it. Everyone loved it!!! Thanks so much for sharing. :)
Thanks for giving the recipe a try Amber! We’re so glad to hear it was a hit! :D
OMG this was an amazing cake! I have been asked by several people to make it again someone even offers to pay me LOL! Just wondering if you have ever made them into cupcakes? I am going to attempt it and out some of the frosting in the centers too! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Thanks Tiffany — we’re so glad it was a hit! You can definitely make this into cupcakes (but it will make a TON, unless you do half the recipe).
Silly question but I am not much of a baker :) I do not have a large stand mixer. Can I use beaters?
Yes, beaters will work fine! :) We hope you enjoy this Lisa!
I tried this recipe over the weekend, as I was asked to make one for a friend. I love carrot cake but felt like it was a bit dry, even more so the next day. Do you have any tips to make it a bit more moist (maybe a little milk or omitt)? Also, any suggestion on giving the flavor a bit more kick?
Hi there! Hmmm, we’re sorry it was a little dry — it could be that it got slightly over-baked (that could definitely be a reason). One thing you can do to help add moisture is to make some simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar – just bring to a boil, cooking until the sugar is dissolved), and brush the cooled cake layers with it. It will help lock in moisture. We hope this helps!
Hi! I absolutely love your recipes! Your enchilada sauce is the BEST! I’m making your carrot cake as we speak, but I think I messed up. I was grating the carrots by hand, but decided part way through to use my Magic Bullet, as it’s the closest thing I have to a food processor. Unfortunately, the carrots came out finely chopped, not grated. (A very stupid beginners mistake!) It may be to much to hope for a reply before I mix up the batter, but I’m wondering if you would suggest starting over, or do you think it’s worth giving it a go with what I have? Thank you, and thanks for making delicious recipes that are approachable for a novice!
Hi Sherilyn! Thank you for your sweet words about the enchilada sauce! As for the carrot cake — oh no, we’re so sorry! If you haven’t already mixed the carrots into the batter, we’d say you might want to start over. :/ We hate to say that, especially since we really hate waste, but we’re afraid you’re just not going to get the right taste or texture with them that way. Good luck to you —please let us know how everything turns out!
Hello the recipe says 3 1/4 cups of flour ..is it 3 times 1/4 cups of flour or is it 3 cups + 1/4 cup
Hi Karlene! It’s 3 cups plus 1/4 cup of flour.
My carrot cake is in the oven now and excited to frost it but I have always had this question…if cream cheese needs refridgerated then how is it ok to be used as a frosting and not need to be kept in the refridgerater?
Thanks!
Hi there! We’ve found that cakes with cream cheese icing are fine left out of the fridge (at room temp) for several hours, even a day or so. Ideally you would store it in the fridge and take it out an hour or two before serving (unless you prefer it cold), but it isn’t unsafe if you don’t refrigerate it (cream cheese and butter are pasteurized and processed) — it just helps keep it fresher longer. We hope this info is helpful, and that you enjoy your cake!
I wanted to make some cupcakes today and this recipe sounds delicious. I know it would make a lot of cupcakes if I used the full recipe. If I cut the recipe in half how many cupcakes would you guess it would make?
Hi Maria! We think if you cut the recipe in half, this should make around 22-24 cupcakes. We hope you enjoy! :)
Wow! This is indeed the best carrot cake I’ve ever made. I made it for my parents 55th wedding anniversary and it was a huge hit! Posted it on Instagram it was so beautiful :) Thanks for the recipe. Lisa at Seasonsinvermont
Thank you Lisa — we’re so happy it was a hit! :D
I made this cake tonight, it’s still in the oven actually. I put toasted chopped pecans in the icing. I’m dying to see how it turns out.
Hi. I would like to know if I can make this Carrot Cake in a
1 × 28cm Round cake tin or 2 × 25cm cake tins for a double layer cake & for how long n the oven must it bake please? I really need advice urgently please….need to make it today still. Thanks a lot. ♡
Hi Denise — Yes, we think you can use two 25cm pans for a double layer, or you can use one 9×13-inch pan (a 32cm pan) for a single layer. We hope you enjoy!
This recipe looks amazing! I have one question though. I will have to make it gluten free because one of the party members have celiacs and I have never baked useing gluten free flour before. Are there any adjustments that I should make to the recipe that you know of? Thanks in advanced!
Thank you Jen! We actually have a gluten-free (vegan) carrot cake recipe! If you don’t want it to be vegan though, we think you would be fine to follow this carrot cake recipe and just use a gluten-free all purpose blend of flour. We hope this helps, and that you enjoy! :)
So far this cake has been a total hit! 2nd year my brother and his wife has requested it for his birthday! Everyone loved it the first time let’s see what they think this year! Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!!
Thanks for sharing Gwen — we’re so happy you and your family love it! :D
looking for low carb recipe – NOT!! But i can make substitute for the flour and loaded sugars….
What is the meaning of the first line of ingrediants?
“1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil”
I assume the 1 1/2 is flour and that the 2 T is for the oil? Then I questioned if there would only be 2 tablespoons of oil. Hmmm, don’t know what to make of that.
Hi Vickie! It’s 1 1/2 cups of canola/vegetable oil, plus 2 TBS (of oil). We hope you enjoy!
Hi I had a question about the type of flour used in this recipe. Did you use AP Flour? Also, how would the final product turn out if cake flour was used instead?
Hi Crystal! Yes, we used all-purpose flour. We can’t say for sure how this would turn out with cake flour, as we haven’t tried it. However, cake flour is great, so we think it’s worth a shot! Use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. We hope you enjoy!
Hello I was wondering I want to add pineapple to this recipe how many cup of crushed pineapple that I should put it in
Hi Karlene! We would try adding a 15oz can of crushed pineapple (drained), and just gently fold it into the batter. We hope you enjoy! :)
Oh my goodness, this cake turned out so good! We made half the icing, and had to make due with the only spice we had on hand, cinnamon. Still fantastic! Thank you!
We’re so happy to hear that Baylee — and that’s good to know it was still yummy without those other spices! :)
I first tried your recipe last year and ever since I’ve been making it for every occasion in the family. Actually I have the cake in the oven “as we speak”. The frosting was a bit tricky at first, but I’ve managed to get the no lumps version in the last attempts :)) thanks for this great, great recipe!
Awww we’re so happy to hear that Cris! Thanks for commenting! :)
Hi! I’m going to be making this cake with (3) 8″ round cake pans. How many, on average, does it it serve?
Hi Tricia! This is a pretty huge cake, so you should get around 15-20 slices out of it. We hope you enjoy!
Made this recipe tonight, but did jumbo cupcakes instead….out of this world! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe!
That’s awesome Crystal — we’re so glad you enjoyed them! :)
Hi! I currently have mine baking in the over, I’m using 2 9 inch pans and was wondering how long I should be cooking them for?
Hi Marian! The cook time should be about the same, but you can set the timer for 20 minutes to start, if you’d like. We hope you enjoy!
I’ve made this several times and love it! Have you used the same recipe for cupcakes with success?
Thanks Colleen — we’re so glad to hear that! You can definitely do cupcakes with this recipe, only we’d cut the recipe in half, as it will yield waaaay too many cupcakes. Even cutting it in half will give you a pretty big amount. :)
Hello.
Can I freeze this cake and then carve it in the shape I want? Just as a normal cake??
We think that should be fine Katherine! We hope you enjoy. :)
Oh my ! IT IS the best !!! Just made it, adding walnuts and apricots ! So good and nicely balanced flavors !!!!!
Thank you for sharing and will trust your other recipes !!
(i divided by two and made 2×6″ and 2×4″)
Thank you Al — we’re so happy you enjoyed it! :D
Made this recipe 3 times my family and friends love the cake I’m famous know thanks.
We’re glad to hear that! :D
Hi just wanted to know if it would make a difference in blending the carrot after grating? I would like to make a very vibrant cake and I figured blending would change the color perfectly
Hi Koda! We don’t think it would make much of a difference, but you could try — we hope you enjoy the cake! :)
Hello. Will this recipe work in a 9×13 pan? or even two of them? Do you happen to know what volume of batter it makes?
Thanks!
Hi Helen! Yes, you can make this in a 9×13 pan. Unfortunately we’re not quite sure on the volume of the batter. We hope you enjoy the cake!
I had the same problem as Kara. I do not believe that my carrots are watery since they were shredded at least 40 minutes prior to mixing into the batter. I also used two 9″ pans. Perhaps this is a cake meant only for 3 layers or a 9×13.
Darn, I’m sorry to hear that. If you make this again, I would try placing the carrots through a cheesecloth and giving them a good squeeze to remove any excess moisture (even if they were just shredded). Sorry, I’ve made this cake many times and have never had that happen. :(
Can’t wait to try out the recipe. Thanks Mary
We hope you enjoy it Mary!
I also used two 9″ pans, deep ones, but I used the advice of some professional bakers that I found online and after the initial 40 minutes at 350˚F, I lowered it to 300˚F for another half an hour. The cakes look fantastic and seem solid all the way through. I might start at 325˚F next time if I use two pans again so that there’s a more consistent cooking process.
Thanks for sharing with us Jena! We hope you enjoy this!
Hello my mom and i would like to try your recipe may i ask how many cups is 1lb of carrots? Im sorry we do not have a weighing scale :(
Hi Elena! 1 lb of carrots should equal about 3 cups. We hope you and your mom enjoy the cake!
What is the cooking Time adjustment for a 9″ pan?
Hi Nicole! We think it will take around 30 minutes or more, but we would still suggest setting the timer for 25 minutes and just checking from there (just to be on the safe side). We hope that helps, and that you enjoy! :)
Hey I’ve made this cake a couple of times and it comes out perfect everytime. I made a crusting cream cheese frosting because I live in the Caribbean and the heat makes the frosting runny other than that it’s a lovely cake and makes great cupcakes as well. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks for sharing with us Sarah — we’re so happy you’re a fan of the cake! :D
The cake was great, however the icing was runny and made enough for 3 cakes.
Hi Sarah! We’re glad you enjoyed the cake! We’re sorry about the icing though — that’s strange. We’ve never experienced it being runny before — could one of your measurements have been off?
I made this the other week and it was the best carrot cake my husband and I have ever eaten! I’d like to make it in cupcake form for my students and was wondering if you knew how many standard-size cupcakes this recipe makes? I have 24 students.
Wow, what a generous compliment Danielle! We’re so happy you and your husband loved it! And if you want to make cupcakes out of the recipe, you’ll definitely need to cut it in half (even cutting it in half will probably make more than 24).
Hi, It was my first time making cakes (I’m a 14 year old).
And I messed up with the salt. I read tbsp. instead of tsp.(Yes, I’m a fool)
Is there a way to fix it or I have to throw it away? :(
Sorry if i made a mistake , english is not my first language.
Hi Ana! Oh no, we’re so sorry! You are definitely not a fool though, we have done things like this a zillion times (it’s easy to misread something). Unfortunately though we’re afraid this isn’t salvageable as that’s just a whole lot of salt. We hate for you to have to throw it out but we just can’t think of anything that could fix this. :(
Thank you! I threw it away and made it again. It was delicious!
I think that we learn from our mistakes. :)
I’m making these into cupcakes for my niece’s graduation party. What would the bake time adjustment be for cupcakes? Thanks!
Hi Charlene! You’d want to cut the recipe in half (even then it will still make quite a lot of cupcakes)! Also, they will probably bake for 12-15 min (possibly even a bit longer). We hope this helps and that they’re a hit at your niece’s party! :)
Could you tell me about baking in loaf pans what would you recommend for cooking time. Thank you!!!
Hi Rebecca! If you wanted to use a loaf pan for this, you would need to cut the recipe in half (it makes a lot)! It might even be enough batter to fill up two loaf pans. As far as the baking time, it will probably need about an hour or so to bake (possibly 75 minutes). We’d suggest setting a timer for 45 minutes and checking every 5-10 min after that. We hope this helps and that you enjoy! :)
Hi, could you give me the quantity of carrots in cups?
Hi Lih! 1 lb of carrots should equal about 3 or 4 cups. We would suggest weighing the carrots at the grocery store if you can though. We hope you enjoy the cake!
Wow! So easy to make and super delicious. I’ve made it twice and it came out perfect each time. Everyone loved it. This is a keeper!
Thanks Ami — we’re happy it was a hit! :)
I’ve made this recipe twice before, and absolutely loved it! I’m going to make it again soon and was wondering if this recipe would work in a bundt cake pan? What would you suggest for baking time and/or temperature adjustments? Thank you!
Thanks Anthony — we’re so happy you’re a fan of the recipe! As far as trying this in a bundt pan, as long as your bundt pan is big enough (it should be able to hold about 15 cups of batter), then this should be fine. You may have a bit of batter left over (be careful not to overfill the bundt pan), but if that’s the case, you could always bake a few cupcakes as well. :) We hope this helps!
This recipe looks absolutely AMAZING! I have learned that I tend to like crushed pineapple and shaved coconut flakes in my carrot cake – do you think I would need to alter anything else in the recipe if I added these to it?
Thanks Katie! You can add a 15oz can of crushed pineapple (drained) — we would recommend gently folding it into the batter. And you should be find to add the coconut as well! We hope you enjoy!