This is the BEST Carrot Cake you will ever have: ultra soft and moist, loaded with the perfect amount of carrots, nuts and coconut, and covered in the most delectable brown butter cream cheese frosting. And the best part? It is incredibly easy and fuss-free to make.
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
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WHY IS THIS THE BEST CARROT CAKE?
There are so many great carrot cake recipes on the internet, so what makes this one special? Here is my case:
- This carrot cake is proud to be a carrot cake. It is not trying to hide what it is. It is LOADED with carrots, and shows them off. It is made for carrot cake lovers
- It has lots of other goodness in it. Gone are the days from our childhood when we shied away from nuts or texture in cakes. This carrot cake has walnuts, shredded coconut, and pineapple - all in perfect quantities
- It is SO incredibly moist and soft. Just because it's loaded, doesn't mean we should have to sacrifice on these critical textural requirements
- It is slathered in a delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting. This cake has the perfect ratio of cake to frosting, and the frosting is not too sweet. Browning the butter gives the frosting a nutty flavor which complements the carrot cake perfectly
- It is EASY to make! The cake itself is all mixed by hand in a simple dry / wet ingredient method. In fact, the hardest step is probably shredding the carrots, which should tell you something
WHICH SPICES SHOULD YOU ADD TO CARROT CAKE?
There are many different combinations of spices you can add to carrot cake. Ultimately, this totally depends on your own preference and comfort level with spices, but here are the ones I like adding the most:
- Cinnamon: This is the backbone of carrot cake, providing warmth and sweetness, and not optional (in my opinion). It is also added in the most generous quantity (2 tsp)
- Nutmeg: Nutmeg adds a nutty, slightly sweet warmth which complements cinnamon very nicely, so I always add a small quantity (a little goes a long way!)
- Cardamom: Cardamom adds floral, citrusy notes to the cake, and balancing the warmth from cinnamon and nutmeg
Here are other spices you can use in place of, or in addition to, the nutmeg and cardamom:
- Ginger for a zesty kick to balance the sweetness
- Cloves for a deep, aromatic quality (it is very potent so use a small quantity)
- Allspice to complement all other spices with its rich, warm flavor
TIPS TO PERFECT THIS CARROT CAKE
This is quite a simple, straight-forward recipe, but there are some things you should do to make sure you get the most delectable cake possible:
- Weigh out the ingredients with a scale instead of using measuring cups, especially the flour. It's common to stuff too much flour into a measuring cup, which will make the cake dry. If you must use a measuring cup, fluff up the flour and transfer it into the cup one spoon at a time, and don't pack it tightly
- Use freshly grated carrots. This is the most important ingredient in this cake, and you DO NOT want to use pre-shredded carrots! They are incredibly dry and do not contain the amount of moisture or flavor found in fresh carrots
- Toast the walnuts. This takes only 7 minutes and can be done while the oven is pre-heating, but makes the biggest difference in flavor
- Never overmix the cake batter. Always whisk slowly and only until the ingredients are combined and you don't see lumps of flour remaining
- Don't overbake the cakes. Check with a toothpick around the 25 minute mark, you want it to have light, moist crumbs on it (the toothpick should NOT be fully clean)
- Let the cakes fully cool down before you handle and frost them. They are quite soft and delicate. I like to keep them in the fridge for 1 hour before I work with them
TIPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT BROWN BUTTER CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
A brown butter cream cheese frosting is the perfect frosting for carrot cakes made with brown butter, cream cheese, vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. It has the fresh tangy flavor from cream cheese, is perfectly sweet, and has a nutty caramel-y flavor from the brown butter.
Here are some tips to get this frosting just right:
- Use high quality, full fat cream cheese
- Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature
- Use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, instead of the balloon whisk attachment, for a smooth texture
- Keep scraping the bowl
- Sift in the powdered sugar
- Do not over-whisk. Mix only until fluffy and creamy
- Refrigerate until it is the right consistency!
VIDEO TUTORIAL
Here is a short video tutorial for this recipe that I recommend watching:
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="uHqABfoN" upload-date="2024-09-19T05:10:19+00:00" name="BEST Easy Carrot Cake" description="How to make the best carrot cake" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]
PROCESS WITH PHOTOS
The detailed recipe is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but let's go over the steps with photos to help you visualize everything.
Sift together all the dry ingredients, and whisk them until combined:
Separately, whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth:
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk gently until combined:
Add the carrots, pineapple, walnuts and coconut, and gently fold until the batter comes together:
Divide between 3 8" cake pans, and bake:
Make the brown butter cream cheese frosting, and frost and layer the cakes once cooled down:
Decorate the cake however you like, serve and enjoy!
IDEAS TO DECORATE CARROT CAKE
There are many ways to decorate carrot cake, and all are great! The beauty of cream cheese frosting is that it looks good even when it is not fully smoothed out like a buttercream. So you can simply slather it on and be good to go.
But if you want to go that extra step with decoration, here are some ideas in increasing order of difficulty:
- Add chopped walnuts and carrot swirls, either on the sides or on top. For the carrot swirls, simply use a peeler on carrots and then twirl them
- Add shredded coconut on top of the frosting to add more coconut flavor
- Make swirls on the frosting on top of the cake. Heat up a spoon under hot water and press it down onto the frosting while rotating the cake on a turntable
- Pipe little carrots onto the cake. This is a common decoration technique I have seen many food bloggers use before, such as Cozy Kitchen and Butternut Bakery. Take a few tablespoons of the remaining frosting and mix in orange food color, and another few tablespoons and mix in green food color. I love these gel food colors from Ann Clark. Then use a piping bags with tiny snips in them to pipe on mini carrots
- Decorate with candied carrot peels. This is the most involved decoration technique as it does take some time and patience. Here is a tutorial
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No, I highly recommend using freshly grated carrots in your carrot cake. They make a huge difference.
Yes, you may skip the coconut if you don't like it, but the texture will not be the exact same.
Yes, you may skip the walnuts if you don't like them, but the texture will not be the exact same.
The pineapple is important not just for flavor but also because it reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise. If you cannot add pineapple, I recommend adding ⅔ cups of crushed oranges, or ⅓ cup of buttermilk instead.
While browning the butter adds a lot of flavor to the frosting, you can definitely skip it to save time and make a plain cream cheese frosting. Just make sure to use room temperature butter instead.
Yes, you can use a 9x13" pan to make a sheet cake. It will be thicker than the cake layers so increase the baking time accordingly.
If you want to make a cake which is half the size of this one, you can use half of all quantities and bake in 3 6" cake pans instead of 8" cake pans.
Yes, you can prepare this carrot cake ahead of time. Cover it with cling wrap after frosting (let the frosting firm up in the fridge first) and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Keep the cake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
RELATED RECIPES
If you like this recipe, also check out the following!
BEST EASY CARROT CAKE RECIPE
- Total Time: 75 min + cooling time
- Yield: 12-14 servings
Description
The BEST soft and moist carrot cake loaded with nutty goodness and covered in a delectable brown butter cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (290g)
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar (250g)
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar (133g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cardamom
- 1 ⅓ cup vegetable oil (300g)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups freshly grated carrots (360g)
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts, toasted for 7 min at 350F (80g)
- ⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (40g)
- ⅔ cup crushed pineapple from can with juices (180g)
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226g)
- 2 8 oz packs cream cheese, room temperature (16 oz or 453g)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (360g)
Instructions
Carrot Cake:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (conventional, no fan) and line 3 8" cake pans with parchment paper and spray
- Grate the carrots if you haven't already. Place the chopped walnuts in the oven for 7 minutes in a baking sheet to toast them if you haven't already
- Add the flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom to a large bowl. Whisk together all the ingredients until combined and no lumps remain
- In a separate bowl, add the oil, eggs and vanilla. Whisk for 1-2 minutes until very smooth
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry, and use a hand whisk to mix everything together. This will be quite a thick batter, don't worry and do your best to combine the ingredients without over-mixing until just combined
- Remove the whisk from the bowl, and add the carrots, toasted walnuts, shredded coconut and crushed pineapple to the batter. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold until all the ingredients are combined. The moisture from the carrots will make the batter more runny
- Divide the batter evenly between the 3 8" cake pans
- Bake for 25-27 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out with light, moist crumbs (no wet batter). Remove from the oven
- Let the cakes cool down in the pans for 15 minutes. Then carefully take them out, wrap them in cling wrap, and chill in the fridge for 1 hour
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the butter to a saucepan and cook and stir over medium-low heat until it melts and turns brown in color. This can take a few minutes. Make sure you don't burn the butter; stop cooking as soon as you see brown specks on the bottom and a nutty aroma develops
- Let the butter cool down until it becomes semi-firm / soft. You can do this at room temperature or in the fridge depending on how much time you have
- Add the room temperature cream cheese, cooled down browned butter, vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture looks smooth. Scrape the bottom and edges of the bowl
- Add the sifted powdered sugar slowly, 1 cup at a time, while whisking on medium speed. Stop whisking once the sugar is dissolved and a fluffy cream cheese frosting is formed
- If the frosting is too soft / runny, refrigerate for a few minutes until it reaches a spreadable consistency
Assembly & decoration:
- Working one cake layer at time, carefully trim off the dome and slather with a generous amount of the cream cheese frosting until all three layers are stacked on top of each other
- Cover the cake with a thin layer of the frosting (crumb coat), spreading it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate for 15 minutes
- Add the remaining frosting and decorate the cake however you like (see ideas in blog post above)
- Serve & enjoy!
Video Tutorial:
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="uHqABfoN" upload-date="2024-09-19T05:10:19+00:00" name="BEST Easy Carrot Cake" description="How to make the best carrot cake" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]
Notes
- If you prefer more frosting in your carrot cake, multiply all quantities in the frosting with 1.25 or 1.5
- If short on time or not a fan of brown butter, skip the browning step and use room temperature butter for the frosting instead
- Keep the cake covered and refrigerated, and eat straight from the fridge
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Zee says
Zoha, this was the best carrot cake I've ever had!! Such a simple recipe and totally agree that it is a proper carrot cake. The frosting was finger licking good. P.S. Your cake looks truly spectacular.
Zoha says
Thank you so much!!!! 🙂 So glad you liked it
Umaimah Safwan says
hey zoha,
I want to have a slight change in frosting part but need your guidance. I want the frosting to have ganache-like consistency so in order to achieve that, I want to use cream cheese spread instead of block. what should be the quantity of cream cheese spread? Also, if I'm making it in a loaf pan(8*3 inches) so should I cut the recipe in half?
sorry for so many questions:)
Zoha says
Hi Umaimah! I am afraid using a cream cheese spread won't give you a ganache like consistency, it will just be more runny than this frosting. I'd recommend sticking with the recipe for the best outcome 🙂 I think half the batter might cause the loaf pan to overflow, since it's quite a small loaf pan. Maybe try 1/3? I haven't tried it myself so can't say for sure
Merva says
Wow! The title of this recipe was definitely accurate, this was easy to follow and one of the best carrot cakes I’ve had. I’m not a fan of raisins in my carrot cake so I loved this recipe off the bat. The frosting is delicious and, in combination with the cake, makes for the perfect bite. Thank you!
Zoha says
You made my day, Merva. Thank you 🙂
Basant Waleed says
Baked this delicious cake for my husband’s birthday and it turned out amaaaazing everyone loved it and it was the best cake I ever made! Thank you Zoha for this cake
Zoha says
yayyyy thank you Basant!!!
Faheema says
Tried this recipe today. Cake was super moist and delicious!
Zoha says
Thank you so much, Faheema!
Bea says
It's simply delicious!! I halved all the ingredients in the recipe and it still came out super moist and tasty. The instructions were very easy to follow and any doubt I had was already dealt with in the recipe. I only had two tiny problems: 1. halving ingredients such as salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices because I don't have measuring spoons and I had to search individually on the internet how many grams they corresponded to. 2. The frosting came out very runny and it was a little bit hard to work with but it was totally my fault. I'm from Europe and from reading the comments here I found out there is a difference between cream cheese spreads and blocks. I've only ever seen the spreads here and so I got that instead. It was still very yummy but the next time I make it I will check if I find any blocks in the supermarkets. Aside from that, it's an easy 5/5!!
Zoha says
Hi Bea! Thank you for trying out the recipe and for your lovely review. I don't share quantities of small ingredients in grams because unfortunately most scales aren't sensitive enough to accurately measure less than 10g, I personally think spoon measures are best for that. And yes, cream cheese is not great in the UK! 🙁 I've had the same problem when baking there. You can replace half of the cream cheese with mascarpone, though. I hope things turn out better next time.
Zubin says
Hey how did you half the egg? The recipe says 3 eggs so what did you do to half it?
Jas says
THE BEST carrot cake I’ve ever had! It was absolutely delicious! The pineapple, toasted walnuts and spices were perfect! The cake was so moist and the cream cheese frosting was so yummy and easy to make (I used room temperature butter instead of browned butter because I was too scared to try). Thank you Zoha for leaving such helpful tips on your recipe and step by step pictures for amateurs like me to follow. I will never try any other carrot cake recipe, this is a forever recipe in my books now.
Zoha says
Awh, thank you so much, Jas! This review truly warmed my heart.
Fathima Ally says
The cake was a hit, so soft and moist
Zoha says
Thank you, Fathima 🙂
haajarah chaudhry says
lovely cake, all you recipes are super nice.
I wanted to ask how long can we store the icing in the fridge as I made extra or can we freeze it and for how long?
Zoha says
Thank you Haajarah! You can freeze it for up to 1 month, or keep in the fridge for 1 week!
Maryem says
The best and the easiest carrot cake I've made !! and mind you, I've tried a few. I made this for my daughters birthday - and it was truly a showstopper! everyone loved it, and took whatever they could home for enjoying later!
I multiplied the frosting .5, but don't think it was needed. the original amount Zoha has suggest is enough to frost and decorate the cake!
Zoha says
AWWWW thank you SOOOO much, Maryem!!! 🙂 You made my day
Asma Amer says
That turned out perfect. But can I use almonds instead of walnuts?
Zoha says
Yes for sure!
Shah says
Looking forward to trying this recipe iA! What is the breakdown between pineapple flesh and juice? One can is approx 440g where I am based so how much of the juice should I add to form 180g?