Carrot Cake Recipe

This Easy Carrot Cake recipe is the only one you’ll ever need! Covered in cream cheese frosting, homemade carrot cake comes together quickly with no fuss. I think you’ll agree this is the best carrot cake recipe ever!

I’m sometimes hesitant to claim anything I make is the absolute “best”. This carrot cake with cream cheese frosting however absolutely earns that honor!

Carrot Cake Recipe

I love a good carrot cake recipe from scratch, and this homemade carrot cake recipe with applesauce is probably one of my all time favorite cake recipes. Above all the flavor and texture combination created in this cake are simply divine.

While carrot cake is a must have Easter dessert, this is one to enjoy year round. And like any good carrot cake should, this one is topped with an irresistible cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Carrots – I prefer to grate my carrots versus using pre-grated carrots in this recipe.
• All-Purpose Flour – While I think that all-purpose flour is perfect for this cake, I have also made it with white whole wheat flour. I have not tried it with a gluten free flour, but if you have one you enjoy using in baking, I think it would likely work well in this recipe.
• Oil – Oil is what gives carrot cake it’s signature moist texture. I typically just use a canola oil for this carrot cake. If you would like to use a different oil, just make sure it’s one with a mild taste. Because there is a fair amount of oil in this recipe, something like a robustly flavored olive oil will change the flavor.
• Applesauce – Applesauce is a fantastic ingredient to really take that delectable carrot cake texture to the next level. I recommend using an unsweetened applesauce, but feel free to use a cinnamon applesauce.
• Cinnamon – Carrot cake is all about that spicy flavor, thus this recipe calls for a generous two tablespoons of it.

Optional Mix Ins – While I make this carrot cake recipe without nuts, mix-ins such as chopped walnuts, pecans or raisins can be added to the batter just prior to pouring batter into pans. This recipe can accommodate about one and one half cups of mix-ins. I recommend tossing the nuts or raisins in flour prior to putting them into the cake batter. This helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• Cream Cheese – Make sure you use the brick style cream cheese, not the type that come in a tub. It’s also very important to let it soften and come close to room temperature. When cream cheese is too cold, you will end up with lumpy frosting.
• Whipping Cream – While I prefer whipping cream for this recipe, you can easily replace it with half and half or even milk.

How To Make Carrot Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
2. Using a separate bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add oil and vanilla extract to eggs. Stir to combine.
3. Add shredded carrots and applesauce to the mixture and stir to combine.
4. Fold the wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Do not over stir.
5. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. I highly recommend adding parchment circles to the bottom of the pans for easy cake removal.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool cake for approximately 10 minutes in pans, then transfer cake to wire racks to cool completely prior to frosting.

How To Make Carrot Cake Frosting

A note about this frosting recipe. It makes a lot of frosting. Enough to generously frost this layer cake, and gives you leftover frosting for piping on carrot cake decorations.

You can easily cut the frosting recipe in half if desired. You will then have enough to cover the cake in a thin layer of frosting, or make it as a “naked cake” leaving the sides unfrosted.

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together softened cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. 
2. With mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar, mixing well. Add in vanilla, salt and whipping cream. Beat mixture on medium for approximately three minutes. If frosting is thicker than you prefer, you can add an additional tablespoon of cream or milk.
3. Frost cakes as desired.

Tips and Advice

Storage: Due to the cream cheese frosting, store this carrot cake in the refrigerator. It’s good for 4-5 days when kept covered in the fridge. You can also freeze, in an airtight container, for up to three months.

Carrot Cake Decoration

I’ve always found decorations for carrot cake a bit of a challenge. It doesn’t feel like a “sprinkle” cake to me.

Personally I either leave it frosted, plain, add some chopped nuts, shaved carrots, or decorate by piping on some frosting carrots. They are shown here and are very easy to create. The frosting recipe makes enough frosting that you will have enough leftover to color and decorate as I have shown here.

Color a bit of the frosting orange, and some green, then use a piping bag, or a sandwich bag with a small bit of the corner cut off, to pipe on “carrots”.

Another fun decorating option is candied carrot curls. They make for a particularly pretty cake topping. Cupcake Project has a great tutorial on making candied carrot curls, if that appeals to you.

Carrot Cake FAQ

Delicious Easter Recipes

Looking for more recipes for a delicious Easter dinner? Here are some of my favorites!

• Glazed Spiral Ham
• Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
• Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls
• Green Beans Almondine
• Easy Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
• Glazed Carrots
• Carrot Cake Cookies

More Great Carrot Cake Recipes

By the way, I have a few other carrot cake recipes that are beyond delicious. In addition to this recipe, check out my other carrot cake recipes. Do you prefer a sheet cake instead of a layer cake? This Carrot Sheet Cake recipe is similar, but is especially easy to transport due to being made in a sheet pan.

It doesn’t get much cuter than bite-size Carrot Mini Bundt Cakes.

Need a lighter cake instead of a decadent one? For this reason you might want to try my light version of this cake. Applesauce is increased in this recipe and as a result you have a lighter cake.

In addition to today’s recipe, I also have a Carrot Bundt Cake recipe. This delicious cake has some rather surprising ingredients in it. It’s lighter and healthier, nevertheless it’s still the rich and delicious cake one expects with carrot cakes.

My carrot cupcakes are similar, however they offer built in portion control! By the way, I won’t judge if you eat two at a time.

After all of these great recipes, run to the store soon and buy some carrots! And by the way, I can’t wait for you to try this amazing, but above all delicious, carrot cake recipe!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 2015. Recipe notes updated February 2020 and March 2022.