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
A crying shame this recipe is a top google hit, the cake was very average to say the least, pretty much the same recipe as the other top hits, no exploring the spice realms, and way way to much sugar (880g) there was just nothing to cut through that sweetness, if you want an exciting carrot cake with zing, this recipe is not for you, google spiced carrot cake and look for recipes with ground ginger, orange zest etc, an icing with a ratio of maximum 2 -1 fats vs sugar
I’m making this today and the only thing I don’t have is the pecans. I have walnuts, can I use them and if so, do I toast them too? Thank you. I’m having company tonight and I thought I would surprise them with this cake.
Hi Chris, absolutely! Feel free too swap for the same amount of walnuts and you can toast them, too. Hope the cake is a hit!
Hello Sally,
Can i try same ingredients for banana nut cake?
Hi Ferhan, we recommend following this banana cake recipe instead. Enjoy!
Hello,
Just to thank you so much for this best, amazing , delicious carrot cake. Its our best cake ( we do it for birthday bit also classic day): always a succes.
Tomorrow its the bithday of my daughter, and she want it with a mermaid theme. I have to add blue colour in the topping and few decoration made with sugar pasta.i hope it will stick on it….if so i will try to send u a pic.
Keep following u with your receipes.
Thanks
Hope the cake is a hit for your daughter’s birthday, Myriam!
I loved this recipe! I made it this week for a friend’s birthday and now my husband has requested this be HIS birthday cake from now on. Would recommend chopping almonds smaller, the bigger pieces interfered with the cake leveling step but all around a show stopping cake! P.S. the frosting is TO DIE FOR. so good
My coworker requested a carrot cake for his birthday. having never made one before, i happened upon Sally’s recipe. Glad i did. Carrot cake isn’t normally a ‘go to’ for me as they are usually too oily, lacking in spice flavor, or dry. Not having vegetable oil on hand, i used the coconut oil option and doubled the spices. My coworker is an excellent baker, so i knew i would face some scutiny. his comment, “nailed it”! Another coworker claimed it was the best carrot cake she’d ever had. I’de have to say it was pure perfection! Thank you Sally, for sharing this delight!
This turned out great, even with the changes I made.
I made in a 9x13pan. Made only half the frosting. Swapped pecans for walnuts. Swapped yogurt for applesauce. Topped the frosted cake with toasted walnuts and coconut flakes.
Two thumbs up from me and coworkers. I have now been tasked with making it for my work’s Thanksgiving event next month.
Sally – this recipe is absolutely delicious! I made this for my father’s birthday and it was so very good. Very moist and full of flavor. I toasted the pecans instead of using walnuts and I am so glad I did. This is my favorite carrot cake recipe! I could have eaten the frosting all by itself! Light and delicious! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
I love this recipe so much! I was looking forward to make you carrot cupcakes recipe, I noticed the carrot cupcakes doesn’t has cloves, that make a huge different or are they very similar to this carrot cake in taste and texture?
Hi Ambar! We usually add some ground cloves to carrot cake recipes (like this one), but it’s quite potent and we don’t like how it overpowers the other flavors in cupcakes. However, you can certainly feel free to add them to the cupcakes if you’d like! Otherwise, the cupcakes are very similar in taste and texture to this carrot cake — just simply yields less batter for fewer cupcakes.
I made this cake for my son’s Birthday! It was a hit so moist and full of flavor . The frosting is not too sweet just right, but I used so much the layers slide away in the cake taker. All good though, it will be a family favorite for years to come.
This just replaced my former recipe! SO fluffy and not wet and oily inside. The edges are lightly crispy! Super easy to frost. Total winner. I didn’t have applesauce so I strained a can of pears and pureed them, worked perfectly. I feel like this could hold a lot more carrot if you are so inclined.
I love this recipe! So glad you suggested making the carrot cake in a loaf pan. Great idea!
Can you tell me how many loaf pans I’ll need for this recipe?
Hi Donna, you can divide this batter between 2 or 3 9×5 inch loaf pans.
I think the frosting should have called for 8 oz cream cheese and not 16 oz of cream cheese. My icing was too soft and the layers wouldn’t stay together. I had to add more confectionery sugar.
I love this recipe, although I struggle with the cake not being fluffy, it’s a little flat. I live at 5,000ft and wondered if there is an adjustment I can make or suggestion that would help me. Thanks!
Hi Becky! We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I made this recipe for a meet-up and it was a huge hit! I also want to say that I love this website! It literally taught me to bake during quarantine and now I’m a full on baker. I have never had a bad recipe from here, even if I made mistakes. Thank you so much for this amazing compilation of recipes and knowledge!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Eddie — we’re thrilled you’ve been enjoying our site!
Another Sally success! I made this recipe as a 9×13″ cake for a fall picnic we were going to. It’s delicious and super easy!!! I did a test bake a week before the event without nuts (I didn’t have any at the time). The result was absolutely perfect. For the event itself, I included the pecans and the resulting cake was more crumbly than I would have liked. I’ll be leaving the nuts out in the future, but the taste is amazing either way. Also, I’m not a huge cream cheese frosting fan myself but this one is spectacular. FYI…I try to minimize sugar when I bake so I used monk fruit sugar alternative for the cake and Truvia powdered sugar blend for the frosting. No one seemed to notice or care. 🙂
Hello Sally,
Can I prepare the frosting and the cake in advance and assembly them the day after? Do I have to put the frosting in the refrigerator?
Thank you.
Antonio
Yes, absolutely! See Make Ahead Instructions in the Notes for details.
I made this recipe last Easter it was so delicious my family and friends are requesting for me to bake it again this weekend since is my husband birthday. I add the crushed pineapple and wow even my daughter that is a picker eater ate a big slice. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Sally,
First…I love your website. You have the best compilation of dessert recipes ever! I will be 74 years-old in December and although I have done nearly all the cooking since I was married (my wife LOVES that I love to cook), I never did a whole lot of baking, sticking more to entrees, etc. However, after finding your website I HAVE become “addicted”. I just need to be sure I don’t “overdo it” and I make sure to spend enough time on the treadmill and walking the golf course to avoid ending up looking like “The Pillsbury Doughboy”, or “The Michelin Tire Man”. I have become especially enamored of your “Blueberries And Cream Pie”. I have made that 4 times in the last few months…a great summer dessert!
I have just one comment I would like to share. I have a carrot cake recipe that I have been making for at least 30 years, from “The Proper Bostonian Cookbook”. It it has fewer ingredients than yours but, aside from that, is not enormously different re. the basic ingredients in your cake. One addition I made the second time I made it was to macerate the carrots in a half-cup of Bacardi’s light rum, for 20-30 minutes before adding them to the wet ingredients. The rum provides extra moisture and a wonderful flavor. I mention this only because I thought it might be something worth your consideration, the next time you are in “the laboratory” .
Thank you Roger! So glad you enjoy my recipes and the blueberry cream pie is one of my favorites, too. I love the tip about soaking the carrots, something I’ve never tried before. Thank you for sharing!
I was wondering will the cake be ok if I freeze it for a week until I need to use it? Should I thaw it in fridge or the countertop?
This his has an awesome recipe! love the softness it has! Instead of the applesauce I used plain yogurt and worked well as far as I know. Any thoughts on this?
Personally I like them a little less oily. Besides this recipe has less oil than others I tried, can I lower the amount of oil? by how much? which will be the result?
Appreciate all you kindness!
You could try replacing some of the oil with applesauce but it will change the texture of the cake. Let us know what you try!
Looking to use this recipe for a wedding cake but I notice the suggestion is to use it for the bottom tier. Is this too dense to use for the top tier of a two tier cake?
As long as the bottom tier is sturdy and properly supported, carrot cake can work great as a top tier!
Hi Sally! In the recipe it doesn’t say to use the eggs at room temperature! Why doesn’t it matter for this recipe versus your other recipes? Im making this cake today for my husband’s birthday tomorrow!
Hi Amanda! Because this is an oil-based cake, the temperature of the eggs isn’t imperative to the texture.
Simple and DELISH!! have made it a couple of times and it always impresses! I use some yogurt and add pecans and it is truly heavenly! The frosting is unbelievably delicious.
I made a few little orange marzipan carrots to decorate the top and the impact is worth the effort! We also absolutely love the cupcake version of this recipe. It’s a must try!
Made it for my last day at work and it was such a big hit! Everyone loved it! Thanks Sally
Hi! Can I check if we can reduce the sugar in this cake? I am thinking to leave out the granulated sugar from the recipe.
Hi JZ, Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting taste and texture will be different than intended. We do not recommend omitting it entirely.
I havent tried it But itlooks awesome
I made this recipe for my birthday a couple of years ago, and everyone in my family was floored by the flavor/ texture of the cake and the deliciousness of the cream cheese frosting. I’ve made it several times since then, and now my teenage daughter wants it for her birthday this weekend. This carrot cake recipe is one of Sally’s best, and that’s a high bar. I can’t recommend it enough.
One of the best carrot cakes I have eaten. My 4 yr old daughter wanted a piece the next morning for breakfast!!
I loved this recipe so much! Could I 1.5X this recipe for 3 layer 10 inch pans making sure to only fill the pans half way?
Thanks!
Hi Nav, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions. So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
hi sally!
i was wondering if after making and frosting cake should u refrigerate it in an air tight container or can u just leave it in an air tight container on the counter ?
Hi Natalia, we recommend storing this cake in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
Hi Sally. My family and friends love it so much that it is always requested whenever there’s a pot-luck!!!
Thank you so much!!!
Hi! I am going to use crushed pineapple instead of the applesauce. Do I need to drain the excess juice for do I include the juice in the 3/4 cup? Thanks!
Hi Beth, slightly drain the canned crushed pineapple first. You want it the consistency of applesauce–-not too watery.