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Hi Bold Bakers!
Carrot cake is abundant during the spring, but only truly special carrot cake gets served all year round — and that’s exactly the type of carrot cake recipe you get with my Best-Ever Carrot Cake. It’s my favorite way to make this classic dessert, and I’ll tell you why.
Unlike some cakes that have just one sweet flavor profile accentuated by frosting, this cake has an unmatched depth of flavor due to the sweet carrots, raisins, and the best addition: cinnamon. When paired with my Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting, you have a cake that’s out of this world.
It took me years to find this perfect recipe, and since every baker needs a great carrot cake recipe, I’m going to give you all my professional advice in addition to passing the recipe on to you!
What is Carrot Cake?
It is just that — a cake that includes carrots! Mine doesn’t only include carrots, though, it also includes lovely cinnamon and raisins as well, making a super moist cake that really shines when paired with my easy, Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting.
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The Secret To My Best-Ever Carrot Cake
This recipe originated from an Irish cookbook for Avoca Handweavers Cafe! Avoca Cafe is hidden off the beaten track in County Wicklow, just an hour outside of Dublin city. Whether you are a local or tourist, everyone should make the pilgrimage to Avoca for their amazing food and their endless array of freshly made baked goods that are a sight to be seen. This carrot cake recipe was published in their first cookbook in the early 2000s and I have been making it around the world ever since.
To be the best-ever cake, it has to be moist. To make a cake moist, you have to focus on the right ingredients, as always, but in perfect balance and concert. What sets this carrot cake apart is just that — how the ingredients work together.
This tried-and-true recipe uses oil to get that moistness a carrot cake deserves. It also doesn’t just have carrots, but it also uses both cinnamon and raisins! You can leave these out if you’d like, but they add a special warmth and sweetness you won’t get in other carrot cake recipes.
After years of delicious research, I’m happy to say that this is definitively the Best-Ever Carrot Cake with unmatched flavor and moistness.
What You Need To Make Carrot Cake
It’s simple to make this amazing cake, and it doesn’t take any special tools — you can even mix the batter by hand if you’d like, even though I use a mixer in my how-to video (below).
What you’ll need is probably what you already have:
- A 9in Cake Pan
- Bowls and whisks for mixing
- An oven (or toaster oven)
- All your ingredients, including finely shredded carrots and raisins for the cake, and cream cheese and butter for the frosting (which are best at room temperature)
Vegetables in Desserts
Believe it or not, vegetables already have a lot of natural sweetness to them. That means that they don’t really need to be hidden by tons and tons of sugar. Though, it doesn’t hurt to add a little extra and some frosting.
Some use baking and desserts as a way to get kids (and let’s be honest: themselves!) into eating their vegetables. Whether or not that’s your goal is totally up to you ;).
How to Make Carrot Cake
If you’re ready to make this Best-Ever dessert, it won’t get much simpler than these steps:
- Mix your wet ingredients and sugar
- In a separate bowl, mix your flour, cinnamon, and baking powder (you can leave the cinnamon out if you’d like)
- Add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix together until just combined
- Add in your finely grated carrots and raisins and mix until they’re thoroughly combined
- Grease and line your 9in baking tin
- Pour mixture into the tin and place in the oven at 340°F (170°C) for 70-80 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack. Let cool before frosting.
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How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
When it comes to carrot cake, the best way to top it is with tangy, sweet, and THICK cream cheese frosting! Get the full recipe, including measurements, for my Best-Ever Cream Cheese Frosting.
To make it, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is:
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not overbeat).
- Chill until needed.
Gemma’s Pro Tips for Making Carrot Cake
- Make sure your carrots are finely shredded, otherwise they won’t get fully incorporated and you’ll have big tough chunks of carrot in your soft cake.
- Leave the cinnamon out if you’d like, but I love it. It adds a warm, deep flavor.
- Use this recipe to also make 2 x 900g/2lb loaves using loaf tins, but make sure you reduce the heat.
- Don’t overmix the Cream Cheese Frosting, just mix until smooth and creamy.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting, otherwise, the frosting will melt and get messy.
- Watch the video below for all of my advice on making the Best-Ever Carrot Cake.
How to Store Carrot Cake
Cover and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days! Or, let everyone you love eat it all in one go and you won’t have to worry about it.
See? This cake is not hard at all, and if you’re still hesitant all you need to do is watch my easy how-to video (below) and give it a go!
Try These Other Recipes:
Don’t forget to buy a copy of my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook for even more recipes!