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    Home > Recipes > Cakes + Cupcakes

    The BEST Carrot Cake

    Published: Apr 3, 2021 | Updated: May 6, 2022

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    Carrot Cake Chef Farr.
    Carrot Cake Chef Lindsey Farr.

    This is the BEST Carrot Cake. It is a light, moist cinnamon cake with the perfect amount of carrots! 

    Jump to Recipe
    This is the BEST Carrot Cake. It is a light, moist cinnamon cake with the perfect amount of carrots!

    Come for the cream cheese frosting and stay as a carrot cake lover! I used to think that I didn’t like carrot cake, but, like dating, I just hadn’t met the right carrot cake yet. I’m saving you all the trouble of dating around and just introducing you to your perfect match. After all, what are good girlfriends for? ?‍♀️ 

    YouTube video

    This isn’t the easiest carrot cake; and like all good things, it is worth the extra effort. That is a pastry chef promise. I am not here for superfluous extra steps. Ain’t got time for that: life is hard enough as it is, amiright? 

    Now those of you who have been around here for a minute might recognize this carrot cake recipe and method. I did use it for these carrot cake cupcakes. I got so many questions/emails/DMs about baking it into a cake that I thought I would save us all the headache and just give it the post it deserves!

    This is the BEST Carrot Cake. It is a light, moist cinnamon cake with the perfect amount of carrots!

    This carrot cake is incredibly versatile. I have baked it into cupcakes {duh}, cakes, sheet cakes, carrot cake entremets, roulades, and multi-tiered birthday cakes. The only tricky bit is the baking time. Unless you and this cake know each other intimately, it can be hard to tell when it is done. There really is no coming back from an underbaked cake ? 

    I’ve got you. 

    This is the BEST Carrot Cake. It is a light, moist cinnamon cake with the perfect amount of carrots!

    But, what makes this the BEST Carrot Cake?

    So glad you asked! Some of the tricky bits are what make this cake better than all the other. 

    • It is a whole egg foam cake. I know, you’re like, “Lindsey, you’re speaking pastry nerd.” A whole egg foam cake is when you whip up whole eggs with sugar until they are tripled in volume and hit the Ribbon Stage. This makes the batter extra light and soft. Rather than dense.
    • How do you know if it is at  the “Ribbon Stage”?  You know an egg foam is at Ribbon Stage when you stop the mixer, take the whisk and draw it across the top of the bowl, and it will briefly hold a ribbon of batter on top before falling back into the foam. 
    • In addition to the extra aeration from the egg foam, this is a liquid fat mixing method. Once the egg foam hits peak fluffiness, we slowly drizzle in vegetable oil to create an emulsion. It is the same concept as hollandaise sauce or mayonnaise. Be sure to add the oil slowly, allowing it to emulsify completely before adding more. This will ensure that the final cake is moist from the oil, fluffy from the eggs (and baking powder), and not greasy. 
    • There is basically just enough batter just to coat the carrots and nuts, if you choose to add them. Don’t be scared. Power forward with the knowledge that you are making the best carrot cake ever. You want to fold quickly and expeditiously so that you don’t deflate the batter that you just worked so hard to make. 
    • Speaking of carrots: squeeze thy shredded carrots! Do you know what happens if you don’t? Goo. Goo happens. That is not a technical term but I think you get the picture. Also use gloves or you will have orange hands like me in the video ?
    • Orange is better than green though, and when carrots come in contact with baking soda directly, they turn green. Unless it is St. Patty’s Day, green carrots and beer aren’t cool. Honestly, it’s debatable if green beer is ever cool. ?Just sayin’. 

    Let’s Do This!!! 

    Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Buttercream on marble cake stand

    The BEST Carrot Cake

    Chef Lindsey
    This is the BEST Carrot Cake. It is a light, moist cinnamon cake with the perfect amount of carrots!
    PRINT Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 45 minutes
    Cook Time 25 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American, British
    Servings 14 people
    Calories 374 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • 2 cups all purpose flour (or pastry flour if you have it)
    • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 3 eggs
    • 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
    • 1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 4 teaspoons lemon juice
    • 1 cup shredded carrots (packed)
    • ½ cup toasted walnuts (chopped, optional)
    • Cream Cheese Frosting (Recipe for the best!)
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 350˚F convection and spray and line 2 cake pans with parchment.
    • Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
    • Add the lemon juice to the vegetable oil and set aside.
    • Squeeze out the excess juice from your carrot using cheesecloth or paper towels; discard or drink it! So healthy!
    • In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. This is when the batter will hold a ribbon on its surface before slowly disappearing.
    • With the mixer running on high, slowly pour in the vegetable oil mixture and whisk until completely emulsified (i.e. you can’t see any oil)
    • Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the dry ingredients all at once, just until streaky.
    • Fold in the walnuts and carrots until there are no more lumps of flour and the batter is just combined. Please don’t over mix. If you think it’s done, it is.
    • Divide between the two pans, using a scale to make sure they are even if you are feeling extra or just want to ensure they bake evenly.
    • Bake 25 minutes or until you can gently press on the center and feel resistance. It shouldn’t feel like liquid under there!
    • Cool 5 minutes in pan then turn out onto wire rack and cool upside-down. Yes, upside-down! Let cool completely before frosting.

    Video Instructions

    YouTube video

    Notes

    This recipe yields one, 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake. It can also be baked in a small jelly-roll pan or quarter sheet pan.
    Yield: Makes 2 layer, 8” Cake
    Keyword birthday cake, cake, Carrot Cake Recipe
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cheflindseyfarr
    This is the BEST Carrot Cake. It is a light, moist cinnamon cake with the perfect amount of carrots!

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    Hi, I'm Lindsey! I am the baker, recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Chef Lindsey Farr. I believe in delicious homemade food and the power of dessert! 

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