The best homemade carrot cake made from moist, spiced cake layers loaded with fresh carrots and crunchy pecans, filled and frosted with sweet cream cheese frosting.
When it comes to cake recipes, you can’t beat the classics. This perfect homemade carrot cake is an oldie, but definitely a goodie! It’s a simple, flavorful cake made from thick layers of tender spiced cake loaded with sweet carrots and pecan crunch. Filled and frosted with rich and creamy cream cheese frosting, the flavors in this carrot cake positively sing.
This recipe is quick to make and easy to customize. You’ll always find an occasion to serve it!
Carrot Cake Ingredients
The secret to stick-to-your-fork moist carrot cake lies in a few key ingredients. I’ve included notes below. Remember to scroll to the recipe card for the full measurements and recipe instructions.
- Flour
- Sugar – This recipe uses both granulated sugar and brown sugar for added moisture.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. You can also use pumpkin pie spice, which contains many of the same spices.
- Baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- Vegetable oil – Or another neutral oil, like canola oil, for an ultra-moist cake.
- Butter – Melted. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Carrots – About 3 medium-sized carrots, or enough to make 3 cups when shredded.
- Pecans – Chopped pecans to add to the batter, plus more for garnishing the finished cake. They can be raw or toasted. Walnuts are another good option.
- Raisins – Optional, if you’d like the added texture.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter – Softened to room temperature.
- Cream cheese – When making frosting, it’s important to use full-fat cream cheese that comes in bricks, rather than the spreadable tub kind.
- Vanilla
- Powdered sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar.
- Milk – You can use whole milk or 2% milk.
How to Make Carrot Cake
You’ll begin by baking your carrot cake layers. Here’s a quick and easy step-by-step:
- Combine the dry cake ingredients. Start by mixing together the flour and both sugars, along with the remaining dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients. Next, beat in the oil and melted butter, followed by the eggs, one at a time. Finally, mix in the vanilla.
- Add carrots and pecans. Fold the grated carrots and chopped pecans into the cake batter, making sure that they’re distributed throughout.
- Bake. Transfer the batter to two greased and lined 8” cake pans. Bake the carrot cake layers at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes, then let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes.
- Cool. Remove the cakes from the baking pans, and move them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before you frost them.
Assembling and Frosting the Cake
Once the cakes are cool, you’re ready to make a batch of velvety, spreadable cream cheese frosting:
- Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then add vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk.
- Whip the frosting until it’s light and spreadable.
- Assemble. Top the first cake layer with an even layer of frosting, and place the second cake layer over top.
- Frost the cake. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with extra pecans, then serve!
Tips for the Best Carrot Cake
Follow these tips and tricks for carrot cake success every time:
Use freshly shredded carrots.
The #1 tip for making carrot cakes? Grating the carrots fresh at home. Just like making zucchini cake, this is the best way to ensure a moist, flavorful crumb. Avoid pre-grated, packaged carrots as they’re harder and drier.
Grease and line your cake pans.
Lining the pans with parchment paper and giving them a spritz with cooking spray makes removing the cakes so much easier.
Make the cakes ahead of time.
For the absolute best flavor, make your cake layers a day ahead and assemble the cake the following day. This allows the flavors and spices to mingle, and the moisture to distribute.
Test the cakes for doneness.
The easiest way to do this is to stick a toothpick into the center of the carrot cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cakes are done! If the toothpick comes out streaked with batter, the cakes will need a little longer in the oven.