This easy carrot cake recipe is one of our favorite desserts! It's wonderfully moist and warmly spiced. Tangy cream cheese frosting takes it over the top.
Jack declared this carrot cake recipe the best he’s ever tried. Coming from him, that’s high praise, because carrot cake is his favorite dessert of all time!
I don’t disagree with him though. I think this carrot cake recipe is just about perfect! It has a wonderful moist crumb and warm depth of flavor from spices, vanilla, and brown sugar. This cake is chock-full of freshly grated carrots, and while it’s delicious plain, it really shines with a thick layer of tangy cream cheese frosting on top.
This carrot cake recipe is easy to make with basic ingredients. It’s simple enough to be an everyday dessert (two 9-inch round cake pans are the only special equipment you’ll need!), but it’s totally celebration-worthy too. I’m making it for Jack’s birthday in a few weeks, and it would be perfect for Easter or a festive spring brunch. I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy carrot cake recipe:
- Carrots, of course! Always grate the carrots yourself instead of buying pre-grated ones at the store. Freshly grated carrots have a lot more moisture and tend to have a finer texture. I typically use the large holes of a box grater to shred carrots, but the grating disk of a food processor works too!
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much into your measuring cups.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the cake puff up as it bakes.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar – For sweetness.
- Vegetable oil and applesauce – I adapted this classic carrot cake recipe from my healthy carrot cake and vegan carrot cake, both of which are spins on my mom’s go-to carrot cake recipe. All of them share a secret ingredient: applesauce! It adds a subtle fruity sweetness and makes the cake wonderfully moist. Vegetable oil perfects the moist texture too.
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla – For warm, spiced depth of flavor.
- Chopped pecans or walnuts – I like to fold some nuts into the cake batter for crunch. I also sprinkle them over the frosted cake for a pretty garnish. Feel free to skip them if you prefer your carrot cake without nuts!
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Carrot Cake
You can find the complete recipe with measurements at the bottom of this post, but for now, here’s a step-by-step overview of how it goes:
Start by preparing your pans. Lightly grease them with vegetable oil or cooking spray, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. While you’re at it, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Next, make the batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until well combined, then mix in the applesauce and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredient to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix! It can make the cake dense.
Fold in the carrots and pecans.
Next, bake the cake layers. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans. Transfer them to the preheated oven and bake until the tops spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting for Carrot Cake
While this cake is lovely plain, it’s especially delicious with cream cheese frosting on top.
My cream cheese frosting recipe is easy to make with brick-style cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Heads up that you’ll want the butter and cream cheese to be at room temperature when you make the frosting. I usually let them sit on my counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour before I make it.
Mix up the frosting while the cake cools, and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
Here’s how I frost this carrot cake:
- Level the top of the bottom layer. This step is optional, but it helps create a nice-looking layer cake. Use a large serrated knife to trim off the domed top of one of the cake layers, creating a flat surface. I love snacking on the cake scraps. Chef’s treat!
- Frost the bottom layer and assemble the cake. Slather the leveled surface of the bottom layer with cream cheese frosting. Place the top layer on top.
- Frost the top layer and garnish. Slather the top of the cake with more frosting, and garnish it with walnuts or pecans, if desired.
I typically don’t frost the sides of the cake because a) it’s easier and b) I like seeing the carrot-y layers peek through. But if you want to, feel free!
Best Carrot Cake Recipe Tips
- Grate the carrots yourself. I’m repeating this one more time because it’s important! For the best carrot cake, grate the carrots yourself. Store-bought shredded carrots are too dry and tough to use in this recipe.
- Change up the mix-ins. Everyone has an opinion about what belongs in carrot cake. Feel free to adapt this recipe to use the add-ins you love! If you’re not a fan of nuts, go ahead and skip them. Want to add raisins? Fold 1/2 cup into the batter. Can’t have carrot cake without pineapple? Use canned crushed pineapple instead of the applesauce.
- Get ahead. If you don’t want to bake and frost this cake in the same day, you can do the baking in advance. Tightly wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature for up to 2 days before frosting them, or freeze them for up to 3 months. Once you frost the cake, it keeps well for about 5 days in the fridge.
More Easy Baking Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these delicious desserts next:
Easy Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pans
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots, about 9 ounces
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, plus more for garnish
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the eggs and whisk until well combined, then whisk in the applesauce and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the carrots and pecans.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the tops spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake, then invert onto a large plate or baking sheet. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
- Optional step: When the cakes are completely cool, use a large serrated knife to slice off the domed part of one of the cakes to create a flat top. Use this cake as the bottom layer in a layer cake.
- Frost the flat surface with cream cheese frosting, then place the second cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake, if desired, with the remaining frosting. Top with more pecans, slice, and serve. (Alternatively, enjoy this recipe as two single-layer cakes.)
? Apple sce? Is homemade acceptable?
Idon’t have the round tins. Can I use loaf tins instead?
I adore this carrot cake recipe and look forward to trying the vegan version!
My first time making a carrot cake — it was delicious! So moist and full of flavor. I don’t think I can ever buy a store bought carrot cake again.
I made this cake and it was delicious. I am a disaster baker usually and this one actually turned out! Thanks! Frosting was delish too.
I’m glad you loved the cake!
This recipe is so moist and delicious! I think using oil instead of butter really helped keep it nice and moist, and it was all so simple to throw together! I did throw in some extra cardamom and fresh grated ginger. I was a bit skeptical of the applesauce, but it honestly did not make it taste like apples and just kept it so ridiculously moist! My new fall fave
I’m glad you loved it!