Easy Carrot Cake Recipe

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This Easy Carrot Cake recipe is always a crowd favorite! With delicious warm spice flavors and rich cream cheese frosting, it’s a great choice for any party or celebration!

If you’ve never made carrot cake from scratch, this simple and incredibly delicious layer cake recipe is so easy and is perfect for your first time.

This fabulous moist cake is filled with all of the things we love most about carrot cake. It has plenty of ground cinnamon, brown sugar, crunchy toasted pecans, grated carrots, and the best part – tons of sweet, rich, and tangy cream cheese frosting.

Add this amazing recipe to your list of favorite Easter Desserts or bake it for your next birthday party, special dinner, or any occasion when you really want to wow a crowd!

Why We Love This Recipe

It’s easy yet impressive – There’s something about a cake made from scratch that always impresses people, and this one is a showstopper. With double layers and creamy homemade frosting, this incredible cake looks and tastes like it came from a professional bakery.

It’s a crowd favorite – It’s no surprise that carrot cake is many people’s favorite cake, and the carrot cake recipe is the best! Full of nuts, carrots, and spices that perfectly compliment the decadent cream cheese frosting, this cake is so full of flavor that it’s sure to get rave reviews.

It makes great leftovers – Some cakes don’t taste quite as good the next day, but thanks to the fresh carrots, this cake retains its moisture and tastes amazing the next day or even a few days later – if it lasts that long!

What’s Needed to Make Homemade Carrot Cake

For the Cake

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Salt
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Vegetable oil
Brown sugar
White sugar
Vanilla extract
Eggs
Grated carrots
Chopped pecans

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Heavy whipping cream
Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract

How to Make Easy Carrot Cake

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two round 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Step 3: Using another large mixing bowl, whisk vegetable oil, vanilla, eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar until the ingredients are combined. Set aside.

Step 4: Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing between each addition. Mix until the flour mixture is just incorporated, taking care not to over mix.

Wet and dry ingredients for carrot cake recipe

Step 5: Fold grated carrots and one cup of pecans into the cake batter.

Adding shredded carrots and pecans to carrot cake batter

Step 6: Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. The cake will be finished baking when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pans comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to until it cools completely to room temperature.

Step 7: While the cake layers are cooling, place one cup of chopped pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes until toasted. Set aside.

Step 8: To make the frosting, cream together powdered sugar and cream cheese using a stand or hand mixer. Continue until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Step 9: Add vanilla and continue to mix until combined.

Step 10: Put heavy whipping cream in a separate bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until peaks begin to form. Add to the cream cheese mixture.

Heavy whipping cream with cream cheese mixture

Step 11: Use a spatula to fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well incorporated.

Step 11: Frost the cake as desired, then sprinkle the toasted pecans on top.

Tips & Tricks for the Best Carrot Cake

If you don’t have a food processor, box grater or don’t want to grate your own carrots, you can buy a bag of already shredded carrots and give them a quick chop before stirring them into your cake batter. But keep in mind that whole carrots tend to have a bit more flavor and moisture, so it’s preferable to grate them if you have the time.

When assembling your cake layers, it helps to carefully slice off the top rounded portion of the layers, so they are completely flat. You can do this with either a cake leveler or a sharp knife. This will allow your layers to stack neatly and make your cake easier to frost.

To get a smooth and creamy frosting, be sure that your ingredients are room temperature before mixing. This prevents you from having little lumps of unblended butter or cream cheese.

This frosting uses a super versatile basic cream cheese frosting recipe which you can use on other cakes as well. It’s particularly good with pumpkin spice and red velvet cake. Also, feel free to use it for those occasions when you’re using a boxed cake mix but want to add your own frosting for a homemade touch.

Carrot cake with black and white napkins

How Do I Store Carrot Cake?

You can store this cake in the fridge for about 5 days. Just make sure to cover it with plastic wrap or store it in a sealed cake carrier so it doesn’t dry out.

Can I Freeze Carrot Cake?

Yes, you can keep it for 4-6 months in the freezer. For the best results, be sure the cake has been chilled first in the fridge to allow the frosting to harden. Then wrap first in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil or a freezer bag.

Slice of carrot cake with full cake in background

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Easy Carrot Cake Recipe

Why We Love This Recipe