This delicious carrot cake is almost too easy to believe and my gosh is it good! The batter has toasted walnuts shredded carrot (of course), pineapple and lots of spices! The cake is very moist but not at all oily! It’s all topped with cream cheese frosting and a scattering of toasted walnuts for some extra crunch!
If you haven’t had cream cheese frosting then boy are you missing out! I’m not sure how to describe it but it’s just so tasty AND ALWAYS BETTER FRESH! This is a variation of one of my first posts for Preppy Kitchen; I’ve made this cake a few times since and finally thought it was worthy of a repost.
How do you make a carrot cake moist from scratch?
- Follow my recipe! You can alter the spice profile but I love the cardamom, allspice, ginger and cinnamon in this cake. They’re such a great team that work really well in fruit-based cakes, and yes I know carrots aren’t fruits!
- Whipping up cream cheese frosting is transformative. Super-easy but beyond addictive. You’ll be slathering it on everything…
- I almost forgot the raisins! Normally I just detest them but once baked in a cake they’re totally fine and add some nice concentrated sweetness to the batter.
Recipe Notes
- My cake has equal parts sour cream and veg oil, making for a moist, not greasy, cake.
- If you’re not a fan of pineapple you can either sub minced apple in for it or skip it altogether.
- You can make this as cupcakes or as a layer cake but I’ll warn you that cream cheese frosting, while delicious, is soft and not great for stacking cake layers. You might need a ring of buttercream at the edge and middle to stabilized the cake.
How to Make a Carrot Cake
- Add butter and parchment paper to a sheet cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Grate carrots. Dice pineapples.
- Add flour to a raison and walnuts. Toss to coat.
- Beat the sugar, oil, sour cream and eggs together in a large bowl. Add the vanilla.
- Zest an orange. Add to the wet mixture.
- In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl down. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.
- Fold in the carrots and pineapple. Add to the batter and mix well. Pour batter into the well buttered cake sheet pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans set over a wire rack.
- Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined.
- Add the confectioners sugar and mix until smooth.
- Using an ice cream scooper, add frosting to the cake and smooth out.
- Garnish with walnuts.
If you’ve tried this carrot and walnut cake then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Carrot and Walnut Cake:
A moist and delicious carrot sheet cake topped with amazing cream cheese frosting. Adding my favorite spices to the batter really took this cake up a notch!
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS:
For the Cake:
- 1 ⅔ cups white sugar 165g
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour 300g
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1g
- ½ tsp all-spice 1g
- ½ tsp cardamom 1g
- 1/4 tsp ginger 500mg
- 2 tsp baking powder 8g
- 2 tsp baking soda 12g
- 1 ½ tsp salt 8g, kosher
- ¾ cup sour cream 184g
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil 180ml
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla 5mL
- 1 cup raisins 150g
- 1 cup chopped walnuts 125g, toasted!
- 1 lb carrots 450g
- ½ cup pineapples 100g, canned
- zest from 1 orange
For the Frosting:
- 16 oz cream cheese 452g, room temp
- 12 oz butter 340g, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla 5mL
- 1 ½ lb confectioners sugar 550g
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add butter and parchment paper to a sheet cake pan.
Beat the sugar, oil, sour cream and eggs together in a large bowl. Add the vanilla.
In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl down.
Toss the raisins and toasted walnuts with 1 tablespoon flour.
Fold in the raisins and walnuts.
Fold in the carrots and pineapple. Add to the batter and mix well.
Pour batter into a buttered pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. Set over a wire rack.
For the Frosting:
Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined. Mix cream cheese and vanilla until just combined. Add the confectioners sugar and mix until smooth.
Using an ice cream scooper, add frosting to the cake and smooth out.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you're not a fan of pineapple you can either sub minced apple in for it or skip it altogether.
- You can make this as cupcakes or as a layer cake but I'll warn you that cream cheese frosting, while delicious, is soft and not great for stacking cake layers. You might need a ring of buttercream at the edge and middle to stabilized the cake.
- When making sheet cakes I always line my baking tins with parchment paper for an easy release and more tender edge.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
Lemon Lavender Poppy Seed Pound Cake
MUy rico ese cake de zanahoria gracias por esas recetas tan ricas q prepara
Thanks for the recipe.. i’ll try this at homr..
Kinta,
You are so welcome! Hope you enjoy this yummy cake!
John
I love following you on Instagram! My son has been begging for me to make him a carrot cake. He is not a fan of pineapple. If I substitute apples for pineapple, what kind of apple do you recommend? Do you recommend fresh apples or can I use canned apples?
Kristin,
Thank you so much! I love honey crisps, but any apple is fine! I recommend grating it or mincing the apples! Let me know how the cake turns out!
John
I made this cake last night and OMG it’s the best carrot cake I’ve made! I’ve been on the search for the perfect carrot cake and this is it! Really ! Even my husband who is very picky approved.
Thank you so much John!
Can’t wait to make Lovely lemon layer cake 🙂
Ana,
I am so happy you liked it!! I love this cake!
John
Hi,
What size is the cakepan?
Greetings from the Netherlands,
Saskia
Saskia,
The pan is 13×15 or 33cm x 38cm! Hope you get to give it a try!
John
This will be my birthday cake!
Awesome! Happy birthday!
John
Hello!
I followed the same recipe for the frosting but mine was liquid and runny. I did heated the cream cheese just a bit in the microwave. Any special instructions to make it more consistent?
Thank you!
Givanka,
If your frosting is runny, add more confectioners sugar! This will fluff it up!
John
Hi John, how can you make cream cheese frosting pipable? Thanks!
Hi Jhonn …As I said before my husband and I made this recipe and aside the good time we spend baking together…this recipe is amazing…my husband ,me and family..and.all my friends at work LOVED it..the flavor…(first time using cardamom) the moisture and sweetness…..thank u for all your great work…my skills as baker had improve thanks to you…Now I’m gonna try the pumpkin pie recipe…God bless you…
Hey Jorge,
That is so nice to hear! I’m happy you appreciate the recipe and so glad you used cardamom for the first time! I hope you enjoy the pumpkin pie just as much!
Happy baking!
John
I made this cake this morning and I couldn’t wait to tast it and I was like “omg it’s the best carrot cake I’ve ever made” thank you so much I really love it, this will be one of my best favorite cakes.
Thank you 😀
Hadeel,
Thank you so much! I am so happy you liked the cake! I thought the cream cheese frosting was the best part! 🙂
John
Greetings from Argentina!!!
Hi John, I’ve made a couple of your cakes to rave reviews from my family. Can’t wait to try this recipe. I wanted to make it as a layer cake for father’s day. Should I double the recipe for 2x 9” round pans?
Hi John,
This is hands-down the best carrot cake I’ve ever tried. My family LOVED it. I doubled the recipe to make a 9” layer cake. In retrospect, I didn’t need to. The regular recipe would have been more than enough! BUT now I have delicious carrot cake muffins/cupcakes to enjoy.
All of your recipes have been stellar. So straightforward and beyond delicious. Thank you!
Karen,
So happy you liked it!
John
Hi!! Dear John.
I’m from Thailand (southeast Asia) I made more carrots cake and this is the best ever!!!!!!!!
but I have a bit problem about when I made half recipe,the result does not work.What do you think about that?
Thank you so much
Hello!
I am sorry to hear that. Whenever your decreasing a recipe you have to make sure to decrease the pan size, otherwise the cake might not rise.
Happy baking,
John
I have made this cake several times and always received rave reviews. I came to your site this morning to get the recipe again and I notice that you also have a Carrot – Pineapple Cake. That sounds delicious, too, and now I have to decide between them. Such a dilemma… 😉
Hi Jhonn …As I said before my husband and I made this recipe and aside the good time we spend baking together…this recipe is amazing…my husband ,me and family..and.all my friends at work LOVED it..the flavor…(first time using cardamom) the moisture and sweetness…..thank u for all your great work…my skills as baker had improve thanks to you…Now I’m gonna try the pumpkin pie recipe…God bless you…
Hi Jorge,
Thank YOU! I’m glad you both enjoyed this cake!! Let me know how your pumpkin pie turns out! 🙂
Happy baking!
John
My husband and I had great time baking this recipe.everyone LOVED the cake.BEST CARROT CAKE EVER…the moist, the flavor (first time using cardomomo) the frosting…my baking skills had improved thanks to your tips…I have mad other recipes and everytime everyone love them….God bless you🙏🙏🙏
I made this recipe yesterday and I am in love!!! Is the best carrot cake I have ever tried!! This recipe is a keeper! Love from Puerto rico 🇵🇷
Hi Erika,
Thank you for the feedback, I’m very happy you loved this cake! I could eat the cream cheese frosting PLAIN! LOL
Best,
John
I just made a half batch of the carrot cake and it turned out perfectly. Loved that it was such an easy recipe, thank you!
Hey Danae,
I’m happy you made this cake! It is SO easy to make and so scrumptious. Thank you for your feedback!
Best,
John
What do you think of substituting peacans instead of walnuts?
Great 😍
can the sour cream be omitted? would i need to increase the oil if i did? also, can this recipe be made in your classic 6”inch pans?
thank you!!!