With its outstanding spice flavor, super moist crumb, and velvety cream cheese frosting, this is truly the best carrot cake. Use brown sugar and toasted pecans for deeper flavor.
I don’t call it carrot cake. I call it “birthday cake.” It’s my one and only choice on my big day. I’ve adopted this tradition and make my own carrot birthday cake each year. And, of course, we never limit it to only once per year. This is always my top choice for Easter dessert recipes and I love making it for spring brunches, baby showers, and our community’s new bake sale.
In fact, this recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
And, finally, I firmly believe that the ONLY thing that competes with carrot cake is a batch of carrot cake cupcakes.
What Does This Carrot Cake Taste Like?
This carrot cake sets the standard for carrot cakes everywhere. It’s deeply moist and filled with toasted pecans (or walnuts, if you prefer). Most of its flavor comes from brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and carrots. Ginger adds the most delicious zing, but it isn’t overpowering at all. The cake is dense, but each forkful tastes super soft and extra lush. If made ahead, the flavor intensifies and the cream cheese frosting seeps into the layers, creating an even more tender bite.
So if you’re looking for a make-ahead cake whose taste and texture won’t be compromised, make this! It’s a total classic and 1 taste converts everyone, even those silly people who “don’t like carrot cake.” Who ARE you people?! 😉
Let’s Make It!
This carrot cake is pretty easy, but let’s walk through the process together. You can also use this detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post and video as a guide.
Begin by toasting pecans in the oven. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake for about 6–8 minutes. Toasting the nuts is optional, but you won’t regret doing it. Toasting pecans creates an unparalleled deep nutty flavor—I love using them in my hummingbird Bundt cake and pecan pie cheesecake, too. Let the nuts cool down for a couple minutes, then start the carrot cake batter. Begin with 2 mixing bowls. Whisk the dry ingredients together in 1 bowl, then the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine the two, along with shredded carrots and half of the toasted nuts. You don’t even need a mixer for the cake batter!
Instead of a layer cake, you can bake this recipe in a 9×13-inch pan. It’s also perfect as the bottom tier for a homemade wedding cake!
How to Make Carrot Cake Moist
If it isn’t stick-to-the-back-of-your-fork moist, it’s just not worth it. So I worked to create an EXTRA moist carrot cake. Don’t skip these ingredients:
- Brown Sugar: I’ve come across a lot of carrot cake recipes that are sweetened with mostly granulated sugar. That’s great, but granulated sugar doesn’t do much for the cake besides sweeten it. Brown sugar not only sweetens cake, it produces so much flavor and moisture. It’s just… the best!
- Oil: Cakes need fat to make them soft and tender. When preparing cakes without super strong flavors such as vanilla cake and white cake, I prefer to use butter as the fat. Butter also gives them flavor. But for cakes like chocolate cake and carrot cake that have flavor from other ingredients, I find flavorless oil is the best choice.
- Applesauce: To prevent the cake from tasting too moist (wet) and oily, I add some applesauce. You could even use crushed pineapple, too! These flavors pair beautifully with brown sugar and spices.
- Freshly Shredded Carrots: My #1 tip for carrot cakes is to shred whole carrots at home. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry. You need about 4 large carrots for this recipe. And when you grate them, you’ll notice how wet they are. That is PRIME moisture for your baked cake and you don’t want to skip it! Same principle applies when using zucchini in my zucchini cake, too.
Cream Cheese Frosting
The carrot cake frosting? Well, that’s easy too. It’s so smooth, tangy, and glides on the cake seamlessly. I call it spreadable cheesecake and it tastes unbelievable with this cake’s deep spice flavor.
Ingredients: You need brick-style cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. The salt helps offset the sweetness.
If you’re looking to pipe decoration with this cream cheese frosting, chill it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour first. This guarantees the creamy frosting will hold its shape.
And if you’re not a fan of cream cheese frosting, these vanilla frostings will work just as well: vanilla buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, and not-so-sweet whipped frosting.
There’s no emotion quite like the sadness you’ll experience when that last slice is gone!
Carrot Cake Success Tips
- Line your cake pans with parchment. Place your cake pans on a large sheet of parchment paper. Trace the bottom of the cake pan with a pencil, then cut the circles. Grease the pan and the parchment paper. Parchment paper rounds guarantee the cakes won’t stick!
- Make it ahead. One of the BEST parts about carrot cake is that it gets better with time, even after 1 full day. The flavors mingle, the moisture prevails, and the cream cheese frosting sets into the layers. It’s ridiculously good! You can make and frost the cake 1 day in advance. Keep it covered in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Use freshly grated carrots. Grate them yourself for the freshest, best result.
My Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With its outstanding spice flavor, super moist crumb, and velvety cream cheese frosting, this is truly the best carrot cake. Use brown sugar and toasted pecans for deeper flavor. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) chopped pecans or walnuts (1 cup for cake, 1 cup for garnish)*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226g/240ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)*
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) smooth unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups (260g) grated carrots (about 4 large)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Toast the nuts: Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread the chopped pecans (or walnuts) on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 6–8 minutes, or until fragrant. Give the pan a shake halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10–15 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Grease two or three 9-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla until combined and no brown sugar lumps remain.
- In another large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the ingredients together until just combined. Fold in the carrots and 1 cup (about 120g) of the toasted nuts. (The rest of the nuts are for garnish.) Pour/spoon the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If using three cake pans, this takes about 20–25 minutes. If using two cake pans, this takes about 30–35 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to help loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy. If the frosting seems a bit thin and runny, refrigerate it for 30 minutes before using.
- Assemble the cake: (For extra help with this step, see this video & post on how to assemble a layer cake.) First, using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, slice a thin layer off the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake layer on your cake turntable, cake stand, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with 3/4 to 1 cup (180–240g) of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer, upside down, and spread the same amount of frosting as on the first layer. Top with the third layer, right side up, and spread the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Garnish with the remaining toasted nuts. Refrigerate the cake for at least 20 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting. If you refrigerated the cake for longer than 4 hours, take it out of the refrigerator 2 hours before serving so it can mostly come to room temperature.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I like to use a cake carrier for storing and transporting.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, covered, and stored at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared, then covered and refrigerated overnight. When ready to decorate, let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 15 minutes, then give it one more mix with the mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute before frosting cake. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See this post on how to freeze cakes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Box Grater | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Wooden Spoon | Silicone Spatula | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Nuts: Feel free to omit the nuts for a nut-free carrot cake. No other changes to the recipe required.
- Applesauce: Instead of applesauce, you can use 3/4 cup crushed pineapple if desired. Slightly drain the canned crushed pineapple first. You want it the consistency of applesauce—not too watery. You could also use 3/4 cup mashed bananas, sour cream, plain yogurt, or canned pumpkin puree.
- Carrots: My #1 tip for carrot cakes is to grate whole carrots at home. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry.
- Oil: If using melted coconut oil, make sure all of the other cake batter ingredients (carrots included) are room temperature. Otherwise, the melted coconut oil will begin to solidify before the batter goes into the oven.
- Cream Cheese: Use bricks/blocks of real cream cheese, not cream cheese spread in a tub.
- 9×13-Inch Cake: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13-inch pan and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Carrot Bundt Cake: Use a 10–12-cup generously greased Bundt pan. Bake for 55–75 minutes. All ovens and Bundt pans are different, so that’s why the bake time varies. Keep a close eye on it.
- Add-Ins: If you’d like to add raisins or coconut, reduce the pecans to 1/2 cup (or leave them out). Add 1 cup of raisins or shredded coconut. Stick to around 1–1.5 cups total add-ins. Or you can leave the cake plain without any add-ins.
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20–22 minutes. Yields about 24 cupcakes. Or try my carrot cake cupcakes recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi!
I’m not a fan of ginger at all. Could I skip it? Thanks!
Hi Nav, the ginger isn’t overpowering at all, but you can simply omit it or replace it with more of the other spices.
Made this recipe for the first time over the weekend. Delicious!!!! Definitely one of the best carrot cakes I’ve ever had. Moist and flavorful!!! One trick I added was with the raisins—I plumped them in water beforehand which gave them a nice flavor and lightly coated them in flour so they would be evenly spread throughout the batter. Total game changer!!! I’ll definitely be making this cake again!!! My colleagues also LOVED this cake too!!!
I always try Sally’s recipes if one is available. This one is amazing! I don’t think I will ever have the need or desire to find a different carrot cake recipe.
I made this with a gluten free 1 to 1 flour and it turned out amazing perfectly done delicious so moist it was gone within a day!
How do you adjust this recipe for Denver, CO High Altitude?
Hi Kate, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I love the cake recipe, it is delicious but whenever I try and make the cream cheese frosting, following the exact recipe, it comes out really runny and no amount of extra icing sugar thickens it up?? Any idea why this might be happening?thanks
Hi Rachel! Make sure you’re using full fat block cream cheese. If you use the one sold in a tub it will be too runny.
Hi! This recipe looks amazing, but applesauce isn’t readily available where I live. What can I use instead, and how much of the substitute should I use? Some places say Greek yogurt could work, could you offer any insight?
Hi Mishti, 3/4 cup crushed pineapple, mashed bananas, sour cream, plain yogurt, or canned pumpkin puree can be used in place of the apple sauce. See recipe notes for more details.
Haven’t made this yet but am wondering if I can replace the oil with butter instead?
Hi Andrea, we recommend following the recipe with oil. It makes for an ultra moist cake and really lets the spice flavors shine through. We do not recommend butter in this cake batter.
Hi Sally,
Can I make this recipe with sucralose instead of sugar by substituting sugar with sucralose? Do I need to make any other changes?
Hi Yugal, we haven’t tested it with sucralose; but if you try it, please let us know how it turns out!
Can you make this in two loaf pans?
Hi Deborah, here’s our carrot loaf cake recipe – enjoy!
I mixed applesauce and sour cream to a total of 3/4 cup. Added extra spices and cardamom to taste. And I whipped the eggs with white suger until doubled in size before resuming other steps .
Was amazingly moist and yummy. Thank you .
I made this recipe yesterday for my best friend’s birthday. Carrot cake is her favorite. The cake was such a hit with her and her party guests.
Sally you are always my go to girl for recipes. I’ve written to you a few times and you are always great about responding.
Thank you again
Really good cake! I would definitely say it’s the best carrot cake I’ve ever baked.
I added some candied ginger, nice little zing every other bite.
Thank you for adding the ingredients in weight, makes it so much easier to make.
Hiya, i’d like to make this (or your cupcake version) but i have seen others with orange zest. Would you recommend adding this and if so, how? Thank you! x
Hi Ana, you can certainly add zest to the cake. Feel free to add your desired amount in with the other wet ingredients. Enjoy!
I made this for the first time yesterday, for a friend having a birthday. It smelled so good while baking, that I decided to made a second cake for my family.
The flavor is great, but this is the driest carrot cake I’ve ever had. Usually carrot is so moist! Both of my cakes turned out dry and crumbly.
Hi Dawn, is it possible that your cakes were slightly over baked? Even just a minute or so longer than needed can dry out a cake — even very moist ones like this! Be sure to spoon and level or use weight measurement to measure your flour, too. Too much flour can dry out cakes. This post of how to prevent dry and dense cakes might be helpful to review as well. Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try!
This is my favorite carrot cake of all time. It’s 100% perfect as written. I make it in two 9 inch pans. It’s always my dad’s birthday cake request and it NEVER fails (except when I am not wearing my glasses – then we might have a problem)! I made it again for his birthday today, but I wasn’t wearing my glasses and I accidentally grabbed the cayenne instead of the cinnamon (my spices are alphabetized and they’re right next to each other in the same type of bottle). And guess what – we actually kind of like it!! As I was transferring the batter to the pans I was trying to figure out why it was spicier than usual. I thought Wow, that freshly grated nutmeg really packs a punch! And then I saw the bottle on the counter which I hadn’t yet returned to the cabinet. I went back and stirred in the required cinnamon, and you know what, it is really kind of interesting!
Thanks for having such reliably excellent recipes, and especially thanks for including the weights instead of only volume measurements! Baking by weight has changed me from a person that hated to bake to a person that loves to bake!
I adore this recipe! I’ve made it 4 times now including a big birthday picnic for a group with…fancy taste buds. It went down so well and I had nothing but compliments. Making it again this weekend for a garden party too
The only issue is the cream cheese, but the block type isn’t available in the UK so I’ll have to find a way to make the frosting thicker
Hi What is baking soda? We have bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cream of tartar ? Thank you
Hi Rumana, baking soda and bicarbonate of soda are one in the same. You need baking powder and baking soda for this recipe.
My cake was so moist that it completely fell apart!! I made 3 rounds and they came out of the pans easily but then broke right away. I left them be overnight (covered) hoping they’d recover and it looked like I might have been safe. First two layers went well and then the top later came. Once the frosting was put on top it started splitting and spilling over the edges!
I have no idea what I did wrong. The only change I made was that I used crushed pineapple instead of applesauce and toothpicks were clean when brought out. Good news is – it is delicious but not sure how to salvage it to serve!?
Hi Lisa, your cakes could have been slightly underbaked. These are moist cake layers but shouldn’t fall apart. You could always crumble them into cups for a cake parfait/layered dessert. So sorry you had trouble with this recipe!
I made a carrot cake for a birthday last week that did not turn out well. Since I still had carrots I made another one today using your recipe. I used walnuts and threw in currants to equal 1 1/4 cups and store bought cream cheese frosting. It is absolutely delicious but will use your recipe for frosting next time. Certainly made up for not-so-good cake last week.
How much batter for 3 6 inch pans?
Hi Kaolu, we recommend using this batter from our Simply Carrot Cake Cupcakes instead. It yields the perfect amount for 3, 6 inch pans. And it’s adapted from this cake recipe! You can use the baking instructions found in this 6 inch cakes post.
This would be my favourite Carrot cake recipe. I had family recipe tears ago but lost it. This is the closest thus far. My husband loved it. Maybe I’ll cut back a tad on the sugar. Used lemon essence instead. Thank You
I want to use a 9×13 glass dish. Bake at the same temp?
Yes – see recipe notes for 9×13 baking instructions. Enjoy!
Hi…what would be the substitution if you use cake flour please? I am excited to try this recipe. Thank you. JC
Hi JC, we don’t recommend cake flour for this recipe. It’s too light to hold up heavier ingredients in this cake. Best to stick with all purpose flour here!
Can this cake be made into a large sheet cake for 30 guests? What are the measurement conversions please?
Hi Lisa, see recipe notes for 9×13 directions or here is everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions if scaling for a larger size. Hope the cake is a hit!
Thank you! Let’s see how it goes!
This cake is absolutely perfect. I made the cake exactly as written yesterday morning and stored it in the fridge overnight before transporting it to a Mother’s Day party today. The frosting was delicious and a good consistency to decorate with, so I advise people to disregard the other comments about runny frosting and give it a try…immediately!
this is my mums favourite carrot cake! made it for her for mother’s day, thank you!!
This cake was really, really good! Used a 9 X 13 pan. I’ll be making this cake a lot!
This recipe is amazing.
Seriously, if I hadn’t made it myself I’d think there was some sort of witchcraft that made this cake taste so good.
Hi! Could you make the batter a day before baking it? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca, we don’t recommend it. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, the leaveners are activated and it’s best to bake the batter right away. You could bake it one day and serve the next!
Hi, I’m from Italy and I’m curious to try this recipe… could you please help me understand if I want to use three circular pans which size should I choose for the quantity of ingredients of your recipe? It seems big… could it possibly be a diameter of 24 cm (10 inches)? I’ll wait for your reply, thank you so much in advance.
Hi Giovanna! We’re happy to help. This recipe as written is for either 2 or 3, 9 inch pans. You could use a 10 inch pan as you mention, but they would yield very thin layers. 9 inch pans would be best, if you have access to them. Hope this helps and that you love this cake!