Carrot Cake

Easy, perfectly spiced carrot cake with delicious creamy cream cheese icing.

Carrot cake

Carrot cake is one of the most underrated cakes there is. When you think of cake you probably immediately think chocolate or vanilla or even almond (wedding cake). But you never hear people jumping to pick a carrot cake for their special occasion(except of course…Easter!) Don’t get me wrong, the other flavors are delicious but I mean come on, carrot cake has got so much going for it!

With Easter right around the corner I figured it was the perfect time to go all out and make a great carrot cake recipe for you guys. When I took a bite of this cake it was perfectly moist, packed with spices and the velvety cream cheese icing really brought it all together.

The Carrots

I used whole carrots! I washed and peeled them and then grated them on my cheese grater. A week later I went to the store for an unrelated dinner recipe and bought some already shredded carrots and thought to myself wow I should have done this last week when I was making my cake! I think I may do that next time and might save myself a few steps. Although it really didn’t take too much time to wash, peel and grate the carrots, just a thought!

The Design

Any beautiful cake design wouldn’t be possible without the help of our handy dandy piping bags and tips! For the colors I used Wilton Gel Icing Coloring.

Once I was done using the bulk of the icing for the tops and sides of the carrot cake, I divided the remainder into 3 bowls then added a little bit of coloring to each bowl until I was satisfied with the color. I put each color into a separate piping bag (the disposable ones are the best when using multiple colors so the clean up is less of a hassle).

Next, I chose the tips I wanted to use for each different color and made sure to test the design I had in mind on a plate before piping directly on the cake to make sure it was what I wanted to do!

Designs on cakes are not as intimidating as they might seem. It just take a little practice and playing around with to get the hang of it. The most important thing is to have fun with it and get creative because you never know if it will be your next master piece.(Also if you totally mess up its relatively easy to correct by just wiping away the icing and smoothing it over and restarting!)

Ingredients you’ll need for Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Brown Sugar
• Granulated Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Nutmeg
• Ground Clove
• Ground Ginger
• Eggs
• Vegetable or Canola Oil
• Vanilla Extract
• Carrots
• Coconut (optional)
• Pecans (optional)

Cream Cheese Icing

• Softened Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt
• Powdered Sugar
• Gel food coloring (optional)

How to make Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

• Preheat oven to 350
• In a large mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients
• In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, oil and vanilla extract
• Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients
• Once well incorporated add in carrots, coconut and pecans
• Pour batter into greased pans
• Bake for 30-32 min or until tooth pick comes out clean
• Let cake cool completely before icing

Cream Cheese Icing

• Cream together butter and cream cheese then add in vanilla extract and salt
• Gradually add in powdered sugar and mix until smooth

IF YOU MADE THIS RECIPE I’D LOVE TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS SO PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW AND DON’T FORGET TO TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM @DAY_LILLY_

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Carrot Cake

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 People

Equipment

• 9" Cake pans
• Standing or hand mixer
• Piping bags (optional)

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups Flour
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Ground Clove
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger
• 6 Eggs
• 1 cup Veggie or Canola Oil
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 4 1/2 cups Grated Carrots
• 1 cup Shredded Coconut Optional
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans Optional

Carrot Cake

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1.5 cups Softened Butter 3 sticks
• 24 oz Cream Cheese 3 8 oz packages
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Salt
• 12 cups Powdered Sugar

Instructions

 

Carrot Cake

• Preheat oven to 350
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar and all of the spices
• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla extract
• Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients
• Once it is all combines stir in carrots, coconut and pecans (if you chose to use them)
• Separate batter into three circular 9" greased cake pans and smooth out evenly with spatula
• Bake cakes for 30-32 min or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean
• Remove cake and let cool completely before icing

Cream Cheese Icing

• With a hand or standing mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth then add in the vanilla and salt
• Gradually add in powdered sugar one cup at a time and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl

Assemble and Decorate

• Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat lay surface
• Evenly cover the top of one layer of cake, stack the next layer and repeat
• Spread half of the remaining icing evenly around the top and sides of the cake, saving the rest for decoration if you desire
• I separated the remaining icing into three bowls and used green and orange gel food coloring for the carrots and leaves and used piping bags to decorate!

Keyword birthday cake, carrot, carrot cake, cream cheese icing, dessert, easter