Carrot Cake Recipe

This carrot cake recipe is truly one of my favorite recipes! It’s easy to make, perfectly moist and utterly delicious. It is made with fresh carrots and topped with an easy homemade cream cheese frosting.

Making a carrot cake from scratch is so easy that after you did it once, you’ll want to make it over and over again. You can make both cake and frosting — 100% just by hand!

This carrot cake is deeply moist and filled with toasted walnuts. Most of its flavor comes from brown sugar, carrots, walnuts, raisins and bananas. 

The cake is dense so that each forkful is packed with all the different ingredients, combining all the flavors in one bite. Plus, as the homemade cream cheese frosting seeps into the cake, it adds in a mix of sweet and savory flavor to the cake. 

If you don’t have time and need to make ahead, this carrot cake is the best option! The taste and texture won’t be compromised, in fact, the flavor intensifies as time passes.

This carrot cake is so full of flavor that it’s almost impossible for your family and friends to stop at one piece.

How to make (step-by-step)

This carrot cake recipe is pretty easy. Let’s walk through the process together.

Step 1: Mixing the ingredients

Turn on your oven and preheat to 350°F or 180°C. Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Make sure to mix the flour so that the salt, baking powder and baking soda is evenly distributed. 

Place the sugar, eggs, sunflower oil, carrots, bananas and walnuts in another bowl. Give it a little mix. Next, add in the prepared flour mixture into it. Beat the mixture until smooth.

Step 2: Baking

Grease and line the base of a 9-inch/23cm springform cake pan with butter. My cake pan is non-stick, so I usually skip the lining paper.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until well risen and golden brown. 

Remove and leave aside the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and peel off the lining paper. Transfer the carrot cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 3: Making the Frosting

Begin by placing the cream cheese and vanilla essence in a bowl. Beat it well to soften. 

Once that is done, beat in the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is smooth. 

Swirl the frosting over the cake and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top. Leave the cake aside in a cool place for 30 to 60 minutes. This will allow the frosting to harden slightly before serving.

Recipes Questions & Quick Tips

how to keep carrot cake from sticking to the pan?

Line your cake pans with baking lining paper or parchment paper. You can use a pencil to trace the bottom of the cake pan and cut the circle. Make sure to grease the pan and the parchment paper. This will guarantee the cake won’t stick!

Can I bake this ahead of time?

The biggest advantage of making carrot cake is that you can make them ahead of time without worrying about the taste fading away. That’s because carrot cake tastes better with time, especially after 1 full day. The flavors of the cake mingle and the delicious cream cheese frosting seeps into the cake.

How do you store the carrot cake? 

Due to the cream cheese frosting on the cake, it is recommended to be kept in the fridge. This will last 5 to 6 days. However, you can also store it in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days, as long as your kitchen isn’t hot.

Related Baking Recipes:

• Bakewell Tart Recipe
• Mini Pizza Recipe + Homemade Pizza Dough

Continue to Content

Yield: 16

Carrot Cake Recipe

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This carrot cake recipe uses carrots, banana, walnuts and raisins. You are going to love its super moist crumb, delicious flavors and homemade cream cheese frosting!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Additional Time 40 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup dark brown sugar (175g)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sunflower oil (175ml)
• 1 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots (150g)
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed (130g)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (55g)
• 1/4 cup raisins (40g)
• 2 1/4 cup plain flour (280g)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder

For the Frosting

• 7oz cream cheese (200g)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup icing sugar (115g)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (25g)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 9-inch/23cm springform cake pan. Place the sugar, eggs. sunflower oil, carrots, bananas and walnuts in a bowl. Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat the mixture until smooth.
2. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until well risen and golden brown. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and peel off the lining paper. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. To make the frosting, place the cream cheese and vanilla essence in a bowl and beat well to soften. Beat in the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time, until smooth. Swirl over the cake and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top. Leave in a cool place for at least 30 minutes the frosting to harden slightly before serving.

Notes

• For the carrots: You can either grate fresh carrots using a box grater or put them in a food processor that has a shredding disk.
• The more coarsely you grate the carrots, the more texture this cake will have. If you prefer a smoother texture, grate the carrots a little more finely.
• It’s easier to frost the carrot cake when it’s slightly chilled. You can put it in the fridge for 10 minutes before frosting.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 338Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 22gProtein: 5g

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