Carrot Cake
on Feb 18, 2023, Updated Jul 09, 2024
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I was first introduced to carrot cake when I moved to Canada 🇨🇦 in grade school. Growing up in Bulgaria and Greece, I had never had a cake made with carrots, zucchini, or bananas. My family and I initially thought vegetables in cake was an odd concept, but after one bite, we all fell in love. And I’m confident you will love the natural sweetness and subtle earthiness that freshly grated carrots 🥕 brings to this delicious cake. I’ve added my Modern Nonna twist to make this a bit more nutritious and wholesome with nuts, healthy avocado oil in place of butter, and loads of carrots.
Why You’ll Love Carrot Cake
My Carrot Cake recipe is easy to prepare, incredibly moist, and not too sweet. Cinnamon and nutmeg spice up the batter, evoking cozy autumnal feelings 🍂. Freshly grated carrots brighten up the flavor and transform the cake a beautiful orange color 🧡. Chopped walnuts add an unexpected crunch and added nutrition. Everything comes together in one bowl and bakes up in a loaf tin, for easy snackable slices 😉.
How to Prepare Carrot Cake
👩🍳 Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
🥚 In a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
🥛 Then, add the oil and milk and whisk again. Stir in the grated carrots using a silicone spatula.
💪 Next, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg if using and stir until you have a thick pourable batter. Fold in the crushed walnuts, if using.
🔥 Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give it a tap or gently shake to distribute the batter evenly. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the loaf clean. Let the loaf cool completely before icing.
😋 To make the icing, in a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter. Using a hand-held electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix again. Add the powdered sugar and combine, using a silicone or rubber spatula. Mix until silky smooth.
🍰 Spread the icing evenly onto the cake, slice, and enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip
Cool the cake completely before you add the icing. I like to chill my icing in the fridge for about 10 minutes so it’s easier to spread. 🎂
Variations and Substitutions for Carrot Cake
- Instead of walnuts, try your favorite nut, such as cashews, almonds, or pistachios. 🥜
- If you have a nut allergy, skip the walnuts and add raisins, shredded coconut, and/or pumpkin seeds instead.
- Milk not a part of your diet? 🥛 You can use any plant milk of choice, such as almond or oat milk. You can also use a dairy-free cream cheese for the icing as well.
- The cream cheese icing is optional. If you want a lighter, lower calorie cake you can absolutely skip this step.
- Make these into muffins or cupcakes! The bake time will be 15 to 20 minutes total; keep a close eye on them so they don’t over-bake.
- Use any neutral oil you like. You can also use coconut oil but it will give the cake a hint of coconut flavor. 🥥
Similar Recipes
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Best Served With
- Coffee or tea 🫖
- Other loaf cakes, like my Clementine Cake or cookies with a brunch
Common Questions
While 1 cup of flour weighs 130g in my kitchen, it might weigh anywhere from 120 to 145g in your kitchen and there’s a few reasons for that. The weight of ingredients may vary due to the brand of ingredients, the brand and style (wet vs dry) of measuring cups and spoons, and the technique for measuring into cups: scooping and leveling versus spooning the ingredients into the cup measure.
Certainly, this recipe will work in a 6 inch cake pan.
I have not tried making this recipe with a gluten-free flour, such as almond flour. If you substitute please add a little at a time and stir in between each addition until you have a thick pourable batter. Check out the comments below for some suggestions on making this a gluten-free cake.
Although I have not tried making this recipe egg-free, you can try experimenting by using a chia egg, flax egg or various vegan alternatives.
When using baking powder, always check the expiration date. Expired baking powder will not help your recipe rise in the oven, and you’ll have a sad, deflated cake. You can test if your baking powder has expired by adding ½ teaspoon baking powder to ¼ cup hot water. If the water bubbles up, it’s not expired; if it does not bubble, it’s expired and should be tossed.
Yes, the unfrosted cake can be frozen either as a whole loaf, or individually wrapped slices. Wrap tightly in parchment paper, followed by tin foil or plastic wrap and store inside a tightly sealed plastic bag or food container.
I have found the flavors of this cake are perfectly balanced without salt. However, you may choose to add a pinch of salt to the batter.
The Easiest Carrot Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- ½ cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 large carrots, grated
- 1 + ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, (make sure it's not expired*)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, (optional)
- ½ cup walnuts, crushed (optional)
Cream Cheese Icing
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened to room temp
- ¼ cup butter, softened to room temp
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- Add the oil and milk and whisk again. Stir in the grated carrots using a silicone spatula.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg if using and stir until you have a thick pourable batter. Fold in the crushed walnuts, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give it a tap or gently shake to distribute the batter evenly. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the loaf clean. Let the loaf cool completely before icing.
- To make the icing, in a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter. Using a hand-held electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix again. Add the powdered sugar and combine, using a silicone or rubber spatula. (I switch to a spatula here because the electric mixer will send the powdered sugar flying all over the kitchen.) Mix until silky smooth.
- If the icing is too soft, put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up, before spreading it on the cake.
- Spread the icing evenly onto the cake, slice, and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kindly advise whether 2X or 3X is appropriate for a 9×13 cake. Thanks! Your recipes have been an absolute gift!
Hi Janine, a 9 x 13 inch cake is going to be large! It will need about 14 cups of batter to fill a pan that size. This recipe makes about 4 cups of batter. Hope that helps!
Excellent.Very simple receip,added raisins and next time will add coconuts.
My friend who loves carrot was very impressed.
Highly recommend.
Thank you for this wonderful review, Fetia! 🎂
This is so recommended! Girl you definitely have some baking talent.
I love baking and trying new recipes out so I can make my own recipe and you’re so inspiring!
Keep up the hard work!
Loves Jenny~
Oh my goodness, thank you Jenny! ❤️🥹
Will this fit is a 7inch round cake tin?
Hi Chanel, it should fit, but the cake will be quite tall. I would recommend baking it on top of a baking sheet, to catch any drips. It may need more baking time, due to being taller and round.
I only have self raising flour is it still tye same amount
Hi Stevie, self-rising flour contains baking soda and salt. Feel free to use that and omit the baking powder.
Hello, i just made this yesterday and i love your recipe! I just found your website and it’s the first recipe i tried. I’m so happy that you included metric & ml. measurements and other specifications regarding the eggs and flour. And the comments helped a lot too as i didn’t had regular/all purpose flour, so i used 60 gr. of almond flour with ~150 gr. whole wheat flour until i reached the thick batter from your video (so helpful!). I also used 100 gr. coconut sugar, a little all spice and just decorated for color with pumpkin seeds. The taste is amazing and so moist, i feel autumn in my tummy and i cannot stop eating. I will make again and again.
Thank you Kate, and welcome! In my newer recipes, to find the metrics, scroll to the bottom of the ingredient list, and there will be an option to toggle between “US customary” and “metric”. Carrot cake looks delish!
Hello, i just made this yesterday and i love your recipe! I just found your website and it’s the first recipe i tried. I’m so happy that you included metric & ml. measurements and other specifications regarding the eggs and flour. And the comments helped a lot too as i didn’t had regular/all purpose flour, so i used 60 gr. of almond flour with ~150 gr. whole wheat flour until i reached the thick batter from your video (so helpful!). I also used 100 gr. coconut sugar, a little all spice and just decorated for color with pumpkin seeds. The taste is amazing and so moist, i feel autumn in my tummy and i cannot stop eating. I will make again and again.
Your gram measurements are off.
Hi Sam, please let me know if you see a specific error! Keep in mind that due to using different brands, gram measures can differ across kitchens. Also if you measure from imperial cups and then weigh the grams, the weight can differ due to how you measure the cups: scooping vs spooning in the contents. Thanks!
no salt necessary?
a pinch is up to you! I didn’t add any and it was delicious regardless
Hi traci, just making my second batch in two days. I made cupcakes, & used brown sugar instead of the granulated, ( reduced the amount). The first batch just disappeared 😂.itis such an easy recipe thank yo. Gina from perth, Australia
Hi Gina in Perth! 🙂 So glad you loved it and that the substitutions worked for you!
I found this recipe online and decided to make it for myself and the result was delicious. The cake was soft and taste and the icing was amazing.
You are talented.
Thank you, Jhamna! So glad you enjoyed it. ❤️