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Moist Carrot Cake Recipe: How to Make Carrot Cake

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Nov 11, 2024 • 3 min read

Learn how to make carrot cake with an easy cream cheese frosting.

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What Is Carrot Cake?

Carrot cake is a sweet cake made with shredded carrots that’s typically decorated with cream cheese frosting. In Europe during the Middle Ages, carrots were used as a sugar substitute in cakes when sugar was expensive or hard to come by. In addition to their sweetness, carrots add moisture to this cake recipe.

7 Tips for Making Carrot Cake

Make the best homemade carrot cake by following a few simple tips.

  1. 1. Use a food processor. Grating carrots on a box grater is doable, but you can save time and energy by using the shredding attachment to grate your carrots. You can also grate the carrots ahead of time and refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to a week.
  2. 2. Grease and flour the pans well. Since carrot cake is very moist, it can easily stick to the pan. The best solution is to grease your cake pans, line them with parchment, grease them again, and then flour them.
  3. 3. Resist overmixing the batter. When adding the last ingredients, slow down your mixer or incorporate your carrot cake mix with a rubber spatula to avoid an over-mixed, tough cake.
  4. 4. Cool your cake before frosting it. Heat will cause the cream cheese frosting to melt, so allow your cake to cool completely before frosting it.
  5. 5. Toast the pecans. Toasting the pecans will add depth of flavor to your carrot cake.
  6. 6. Swap the oil for brown butter. Carrot cake is typically made with vegetable oil, but substituting the oil with brown butter (butter that has been heated on a stove until golden brown) will result in a toasty, nutty flavor.
  7. 7. To make carrot cake cupcakes, reduce the cooking time. You can use any carrot cake recipe to make cupcakes so long as you reduce the baking time to 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin before frosting them.

Moist Carrot Cake Recipe

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makes

1 2-layer 9-inch cake

prep time

45 min

total time

2 hr 30 min

cook time

45 min

Ingredients

For the cake:

For the cream cheese frosting:

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  2. 2

    Lightly grease two 8- or 9-inch cake pans with butter or nonstick cooking spray and line them with parchment paper. Then grease the pans with more butter and dust them with flour.

  3. 3

    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.

  4. 4

    Spread the pecans in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet or baking pan and toast them until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let them cool.

  5. 5

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil, white sugar, and brown sugar together on medium speed until smooth.

  6. 6

    Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time and beat the mixture until smooth.

  7. 7

    Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low (or by hand with a rubber spatula) until just combined.

  8. 8

    Add the carrots and toasted pecans and mix on low (or by hand with a rubber spatula) until just incorporated.

  9. 9

    Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pans and gently smooth the top of the cakes with a rubber spatula.

  10. 10

    Bake—rotating the pans halfway through for even baking—until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

  11. 11

    Transfer the pans to a wire rack to let them cool slightly. When they’re cool enough to handle, turn the cake pans upside down onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely, about 1 hour.

  12. 12

    Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until completely smooth.

  13. 13

    Reduce the mixer to low speed and gradually add the confectioners' sugar.

  14. 14

    Once the confectioners' sugar has been completely incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very smooth and creamy.

  15. 15

    Add the vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

  16. 16

    When the cakes are completely cool, place one layer on a cake plate and top it with about 1 cup of cream cheese frosting. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting to the edges. Place the second cake layer upside-down on top of the first.

  17. 17

    Cover the entire cake with a very thin layer of frosting to trap crumbs. (This is known as the "crumb coat.") Then use an offset spatula to frost the cake with the remaining frosting.

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