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    Home » Budget Recipes

    The Ultimate Carrot Cake Recipe

    Published: Mar 30, 2018 · Modified: Jul 19, 2022 by Jessica Fisher

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    Looking for the Ultimate Carrot Cake? This be it! Soft and tender cake is topped with light and fluffy cream cheese and sprinkled with chopped nuts for a super delicious treat.

    This is one of the Best Dessert Recipes for Easter. Be sure to include Easter Bunny Cinnamon Rolls and Easter Pretzels for a fun, holiday accent.

    Ultimate Carrot Cake | Life as Mom this …

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    I must admit that when I find a recipe I like, well, it’s a keeper. It eventually finds a place in our family traditions, and I’m hard pressed to move it or try something new.

    For instance, every Thanksgiving and Christmas I make Pretzel Berry Dessert. Every year. And only at the holidays. We don’t usually eat it any other time. But, when we do? We scarf down the pan in no time at all.

    That’s one of the wonderful things about recipe traditions. If a certain dish belongs to a specific holiday, it’s okay to go whole hog on it because, after all, it’s only once a year.

    It’s the same for us at Easter. After Easter Dinner is this. My Easter dessert is one that I rarely make any other time of the year. Not because we don’t like it. Au contraire! We love it. But, it just has a place of honor on Easter Sunday. It is The Best Carrot Cake Ever.

    Over the years, how I decorate the Ultimate Carrot Cake ever has evolved. We turn the cake into an Empty Tomb, complete with Playmobil action figures to celebrate the Resurrection.

    Carrot cake decorated as an empty tomb with guard and women

    The Carrot Cake itself is moist and luscious. The original inspiration comes from a recipe from Fine Cooking, but I’ve tweaked it over the years, changing the oils, eliminating currants, and omitting nuts from the cake itself. We now use almonds instead of walnuts on top of the cake, to accommodate a walnut allergy.

    While I initially loved the low-sweet factor of the original cream cheese frosting, my peeps and I currently favor one with a little more powdered sugar and a lot of whipping to make it light and fluffy.

    This is the version that fits our family now, almost 15 years after I first stumbled on the mother recipe, and so we’ve made it our own. I hope you’ll love it so much that you’ll make it yours as well.

    Ultimate Carrot Cake | Life as Mom

    Carrot cake is traditionally served with Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting, but if you’d like to try something different, I recommend our Orange Buttercream Frosting.

    Kitchen tools I recommend:

    • food processor
    • glass mixing bowl
    • plastic spatula
    • 9×13-inch pan

    Once you make this cake, I’d love for you to come back and give the recipe a starred rating in the comments. Thanks so much!

    A piece of cake on a plate

    Ultimate Carrot Cake

    Looking for the Ultimate Carrot Cake? This be it! Soft and tender cake is topped with light and fluffy cream cheese and sprinkled with chopped nuts for a super delicious treat.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 226kcal
    Author: Jessica Fisher

    Ingredients

    • 16 oz carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces or 1 pound baby carrots
    • 2 ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
    • 4 egg
    • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
    • ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
    • 1 cup neutral oil
    • 1 batch Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting
    • ½ cup chopped nuts

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.
    • In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the carrots very finely. Transfer to a small bowl and rinse the food processor bowl. You’ll use it again.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
    • In the food processor, mix the eggs and sugars until blended. With the machine running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream until well combined. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir gently to combine. Fold in the carrots; stir to combine.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool on a rack before frosting.
    • Once the cake is completely cool, frost the top with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle the nuts on top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

    Notes

    You can make this cake ahead of time, and store at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Once frosted, it needs to be stored, covered in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 4795IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Tell us what you think! Your reviews help us develop better recipes and give newcomers the confidence to try your favorites. Scroll down to leave a starred comment.
    Ultimate Carrot Cake | Life as Mom

    Originally published April 9, 2009.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amber

      April 23, 2023 at 10:13 am

      5 stars
      This carrot cake was so delicious!

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        April 24, 2023 at 10:28 am

        It’s my fave. I’m glad you like it, too!

        Reply
    2. kay

      May 22, 2018 at 10:49 am

      5 stars
      This cake is delicious. I’ve made it several times as the base for the classic Easter bunny with bowtie shaped cake made of two nine inch round cake pans. The delicious cream cheese frosting associated with this recipe is just enough to frost the bunny cake.

      I would like to know though if anyone has tried to bake this recipe as regular sized cupcakes. What would be the temperature and time? My daughter has requested a “Roots and Wings” theme for her graduation party so I’d like to bake carrot cupcakes.

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        June 26, 2018 at 1:30 pm

        Sorry for the delay in reply. Did you end up making the cupcakes? I’d guess 18 to 20 minutes.

        Reply
        • kay

          February 03, 2019 at 10:40 am

          Yes! I checked at 15 minutes, but they did end up at 18 minutes. Everyone loved them. I topped them with your Fluffy Cream Cheese frosting and store bought confectioner’s decoration carrots that I bought during the after Easter sales.

        • Jessica Fisher

          May 03, 2019 at 4:31 pm

          Thanks for sharing your results!

    3. Gloria

      January 07, 2018 at 6:03 pm

      would this cake and frosting do well if I stacked it for a 2 or 3 layer ? thanks.

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        January 08, 2018 at 7:31 am

        Should be fine.

        Reply
    4. Hoosier Homemade

      April 09, 2009 at 1:59 pm

      That cake looks awesome! Thanks for hosting!
      ~Liz

      Reply
    5. Katie @ goodLife {eats}

      April 09, 2009 at 1:40 pm

      I haven’t posted or photographed either of these because that was before the time of goodLife {eats}, but my two favorites are strawberry rhubarb pie or lemon curd trifle with fresh berries.

      Here is the original link for the trifle recipe:

      http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/lemon-curd-trifle-with-fresh-berries-recipe/index.html

      Reply
    6. Sherry

      April 09, 2009 at 12:34 pm

      Carrot cake is one of my husband’s favorite cakes!! 😀

      Reply
    7. Brianna @ Heart(h) Management

      April 09, 2009 at 10:08 am

      Yum. I bet my MIL would love that recipe!

      Reply
    8. Lynn

      April 09, 2009 at 5:48 am

      This cake sounds yummy. The only special Easter dessert I’ve made is a cake baked in my cute little lamb cake pan. After you unmold it, you frost it with white frosting and coconut so it looks all sheep-like. I don’t make this every year, though I do leave my cute little cake pan out on display all year . . . but heck, maybe I should make it this year 🙂

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Jessica! I'm a 4x cookbook author and 6x mom. I know what it is to be in a hurry and on a budget. I believe anyone can prepare delicious meals -- no matter what's on their plate. I've been featured on Good Morning America, PBS News Hour, and NBC.

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