Easy Carrot Cake

5 from 49 ratings

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!

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Cooling25

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Author: Chef Lindsey

Ingredients

Carrot Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
4 cups carrots shredded and squeezed
½ cup walnuts toasted and chopped
¾ cup raisins

The Best Cream Cheese Buttercream

21 ounces cream cheese room temperature
18 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350℉ conventional. Prepare cake pans with parchment paper and nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
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.
Whisk in the sugars, then fold in the dry ingredient mixture.
Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
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.
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:

Cream together cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth.
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.
Beat with the paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Breathe. It’s just buttercream.

Assembly:

Once the cake is cool, layer with buttercream!
For the easiest slicing, chill before serving. This cake is also delightful at room temperature.

Notes

Yield - 8 or 9 inch cake 3-layer cake. You can also make a two layer cake without adjusting the recipe!

Flavor Tips - Use horse carrots if you can find them. They are bigger, juicier, and more flavorful than the skinny ones in the bags!

Variations - You can omit the raisins and walnuts, or substitute for another dried fruit or nut of your choosing.

Storage - Unfrosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Frosted cake should be refrigerated after 3 days.

Nutrition