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! One of my pet peeves is oily carrot cake; people go crazy with the vegetable oil and there’s just no need. 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.
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!
- 1 ⅔ cups white sugar
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp all-spice
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp ginger
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp salt kosher
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 lb carrots
- ½ cup pineapples canned
- 16 oz cream cheese room temp
- 12 oz butter room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ lb confectioners sugar
- 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 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 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.
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!
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!!!