Easy Carrot Cake Recipe

This easy carrot cake recipe is tender, moist, and incredibly flavorful! Layer with my favorite cream cheese buttercream frosting for an epic one-bowl cake! No mixer required!

Time for the easiest carrot cake to make its grand entrance! It is so easy you can make it in one bowl with only a whisk. I have a real soft spot for carrot cake. It is my husband’s favorite type of cake (and he’s my favorite human). This one is a moist, tender, cinnamon cake packed with carrots, raisins and walnuts! 

If you are a carrot cake purist, you can omit the raisins like I do in the best carrot cake recipe, which is so good that it beat Bobby Flay. Save those plump raisins in the cupboard for your chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. If you’re looking for a breakfast-friendly take, these carrot cake scones have you covered! And once you fall for its ease and texture, you’ll love this moist applesauce cake next.

Professional Tips

• Grate your own carrots for the best flavor. It is always best to buy carrots (bonus points for horse carrots) and grate them yourself. The packaged pre-shredded kind have variable amounts of moisture. Shred your own, and squeeze out the excess moisture. I recommend the same for my best carrot cake recipe. 
• Pre-whisk your dry ingredients. Technically you have to use a second bowl momentarily, but pre-whisking your dry ingredients is very advantageous. It distributes the leavening and spices in the flour and allows for the fastest incorporation with the wet ingredients.
• Let your cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan. This is the perfect amount of time to wait before turning out your cakes. Otherwise, even with properly prepared pans, the layers might not come out in one beautiful piece.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a tender, soft cake.
• Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder allows for a much more even rise than baking soda alone.
• Cinnamon
• Kosher Salt: Kosher salt will amplify all the other flavors and really make this cake stand out.
• Eggs: Whole eggs help emulsify the oil into the batter, creating a moist (not greasy) cake.
• Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil makes this cake exceptionally moist. I emulsify it into the sugar and eggs to make the batter extra moist and not greasy. Be sure to choose a neutral oil because there is enough in this cake that you will taste it if you use olive oil or a blend.
• White Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this cake. It is here for the more obvious flavor reasons, but also to aid in leavening, moisture, texture and stability.
• Light Brown Sugar
• Grated Carrots: I use freshly peeled, grated and squeezed carrots for carrot cake. I also use horse carrots if I can find them. They are bigger, juicier, and more flavorful than the skinny ones in the bags! If your grocery store has loose fresh carrots, chances are they are horse carrots. Use a box grater or food processor for even sizes!
• Walnuts: Walnuts are optional here. When I use them I lightly toast them first to bring out their best flavor.
• Raisins
• Cream Cheese: I use original Philadelphia Cream Cheese for all my baked goods including frostings and buttercreams. You can use reduced fat, but don’t use whipped cream cheese because it will make the buttercream too soft and it won’t be stable.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter for frostings and baking in general, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. In frostings and buttercreams, the butter is there for stability. It will firm up when cold.
• Powdered Sugar: Confectioners’ sugar is useful for frosting because it is a fine powder, so it creates a smooth, silky buttercream without the application of heat.
• Lemon Juice
• Vanilla Extract

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Experiment with mix-ins! You can omit the raisins and walnuts or substitute them for another dried fruit or nut of your choosing. You could even add a little pineapple, like I have in my hummingbird cake!
• Go for a cupcake rendition. This cake is also lovely in a cupcake version. Check out my carrot cake cupcakes for more in-depth info such as adjusted bake time.
• Swap out the buttercream. I’m a sucker for cream cheese buttercream, but this cake would also taste delicious with lemon buttercream frosting or caramel swiss meringue buttercream! 
• Use different spices. You could add nutmeg (⅛-¼ teaspoon), vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, or homemade apple pie spice to this recipe!

How to Make Easy Carrot Cake

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Prepare the Cake:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350℉ conventional. Prepare cake pans with parchment paper and nonstick cooking spray.

Step 2: In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. With the whisk running, slowly pour in the vegetable oil and stir until completely emulsified (you can’t see any oil). It will deflate a bit but should still look like a light, yellow cloud.

Step 4: Whisk in the sugars, then fold in the dry ingredient mixture.

Step 5: Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins.

Step 6: Divide between the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out with only a few clinging crumbs.

Step 7: Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool upside down. Let cool completely.

Prepare My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting:

Step 8: Cream together cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth.

Step 9: Add lemon juice and vanilla extract. If it gets too warm, chill it—just pop the whole bowl and attachments in the fridge for an hour.

Step 10: Beat with the paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Breathe. It’s just buttercream.

Assembly:

Step 11: Once the cake is cool, layer with buttercream! 

Step 12: For the easiest slicing, chill before serving. This cake is also delightful at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cake recipes, like this elegant white cake recipe!