The Best Carrot Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (313 g)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (140 g, softened)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar (200 g)
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (110 g)
- 3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (178 ml, at room temperature)
- 2 cups finely shredded carrots (220 g, at room temperature)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (336 g, softened)
- 12 oz. cream cheese (340 g, cold)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 cups powdered sugar (780 g)
- Orange and green food coloring (optional)
- Chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth and slightly fluffy.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture, mixing until smooth.
- Fold in shredded carrots.
- Divide batter among prepared cake pans and bake for 36-41 minutes.
- Let cakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Whip butter until pale and fluffy, then add cream cheese and mix until combined.
- Sift in powdered sugar, mixing until smooth and fluffy.
- Add vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
- Divide frosting and tint with food coloring if desired.
Assembling the Cake:
- Level cake layers, then crumb coat and chill for 30 minutes.
- Apply final layer of frosting, chilling in between coats if needed.
- Pipe carrots and stems onto cake with colored frosting.
- Decorate with chopped walnuts and additional frosting swirls.
- Serve and enjoy!
