An easy carrot cake recipe is one of those all time amazing desserts that tastes so good and makes a great statement piece when you serve it. Everyone should have a simple, delicious and classic carrot cake recipe like this so you can make it when the urge strikes. This classic carrot cake is so quick and simple to make and I will walk you through all the steps to make the absolute best carrot cake!
About this classic carrot cake recipe
If you grew up eating carrot cake, you know how amazing it tastes and we can all agree the cream cheese frosting makes it. If you did not grow up eating carrot cake (or know someone who hasn't) then it may sound weird the whole idea of carrots and cake.
This is a simple carrot cake recipe with no pineapples and I personally prefer it this way. This carrot cake is moist and fluffy and doesn't need the pineapples to help with that.
If you are skeptical about eating carrot cake, I promise you, you are not actually tasting the carrots. This is like a sugar cake of heavenly goodness with the carrots blending right into the batter and the best part is it is so easy to make.
Jump to:
- About this classic carrot cake recipe
- Ingredients for carrot cake
- Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting
- Making the cake batter
- Shredding the carrots the right way, and why it makes this the BEST classic carrot cake
- Making this ahead of time
- How to decorate
- Classic Carrot Cake with and Without Nuts
- What our readers are saying
- Tips for this recipe
- How to serve carrot cake
- FAQS
- More Delicious Cake Recipes
- Easy Classic Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients for carrot cake
This carrot cake is very simple and only requires basic baking items (aside from the carrots and cream cheese frosting) to put it all together.
- Whole carrots (not pre shredded). Shredding your own carrots for homemade carrot cake is so important. Don't buy pre-shredded.
- Eggs. I always use large eggs for baking.
- Oil. I like to use a light flavored vegetable oil. Vegetable oil will keep the carrot cake moist.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar is fine here.
- All purpose flour. Try to find unbleached flour if you can.
- Walnuts (optional) for the topping only. Depending on how classic you want the carrot cake, you can add these or leave them out.
- Vanilla Extract. Look for a high quality extract. Pure vanilla extract works best for this carrot cake recipe.
- Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon and carrots are a favorite pairing. You cannot have carrot cake without this.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting
Now I think most people will agree that the best part about carrot cake is the frosting. So of course, this easy carrot cake recipe has a delicious classic cream cheese frosting and it is so easy to make.
- Room temperature cream cheese. You can bring the cream cheese to room temperature by placing it on the counter about 1 hour before you are ready to use it.
- Room temperature unsalted butter. Same as the cream cheese above, place on the counter about 1 hour before you are ready to use it.
- Powdered sugar. When making this carrot cake, I do like to sift the powdered sugar to make sure there are no lumps. This is totally up to you.
- Vanilla extract.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is a match made in heaven and you just cannot have one without the other. The cream cheese frosting is so easy to make and so good.
Making the cake batter
Making this easy carrot cake is so easy. You only need one bowl. Just follow all of the steps below and you will be rewarded with an amazing carrot cake that you can enjoy for so many occasions.
- Prepare 3 - 8 inch cake pans (or 2- 9 inch cake pans). Even though is is an easy carrot cake recipe, you still want to make sure to oil and prep those cake pans! The better your cake pans are prepared, the easier the carrot cake will be to remove from the cake pans after baking.
- Now add all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl. This is the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. This allows the dry ingredients in the carrot cake to be well incorporated before adding in the other ingredients.
- Next you will add your wet ingredients and mix it all together. I like to use large eggs when making this carrot cake recipe.
- Then you will shred your carrots on the fine side of a grater (Like below) and then add that right into your batter. Please be sure to read why we do this below. It makes all the difference in the carrot cake final product.
- Then you add your freshly shredded carrots to your batter and mix until just incorporated.
Then go ahead and pour the carrot cake batter into your prepared cake pans making sure there is an even amount in all of them. Remember to first prepare your cake pans by buttering and flouring the pans.
This will ensure that the carrot cake releases from the pan easily after baking.
- Baking the carrot cake- Just place the carrot cake into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Allow the carrot cake to cool for about 15 minutes before adding the cream cheese frosting.
Very easy! I promise anyone can make this easy carrot cake and it will come out amazing.
Just follow all the steps listed in the recipe and you will have success.
Shredding the carrots the right way, and why it makes this the BEST classic carrot cake
The great part about this delicious and easy carrot cake recipe is it is so simple to make and made in one bowl. There is no special creaming or sifting that you need to do.
This is such a simple carrot cake recipe! I promise you it will come out amazing.
How to shred the carrots for the carrot cake
The one important step that you need to make sure you follow with this carrot cake recipe is to grate your own carrots and not buy pre-shredded carrots.
When you shred your own carrots (vs buying them that way,) they will be moist and not dry. Make sure to shred them right before you are ready to add them to the batter.
This step will ensure you have a delicious and moist carrot cake.
I also like to shred my carrots with a box grater and I use the fine shred side. I find that the coarse shred side is just too coarse and it leaves large shreds in the batter.
You want the carrots to blend into the batter during baking.
Making this ahead of time
Now even though this is an easy carrot cake recipe, I still like to simplify things for myself and make the cake portion a day ahead of time.
This way I am not making a cake and frosting all in one day. To do this, I let the cake completely cool and then stack the layers between sheets of parchment paper.
The parchment paper really helps keep the moist carrot cake layers from sticking so if you do decide to make it ahead of time, do not skip this step!
I will just store the carrot cakes on a cake stand on my kitchen counter. You can also store it in the fridge if you prefer.
How to decorate
Frosting carrot cake
Now let's talk decorating! I am always the first one to tell you that I am no wizard when it comes to cake decorating.
This is also a really simple carrot cake recipe so we are not going to be too elaborate with the decorating.
You will see with all my cakes from my Basil Olive Oil Cake to my Italian Berry Cake that I have lots of work arounds to compensate for my lack of decorating skills.
This carrot cake is no exception. I used the naked cake frosting method for this carrot cake recipe.
This method of decorating a cake is where you add the frosting all around the sides and then scrape most of it away, leaving an almost naked cake.
Topping this easy carrot cake
For the topping on this carrot cake, I like to use walnuts (which I have toasted) to add a little interest to the top.
If you are great at decorating, the sky is the limit with what you can add to this. Cute frosting carrots, piping work, etc. Do not let my limits, limit you 🙂
As you can see it all works out even with limited decorating on the cake. The beautiful part of this cake is when you slice through it and see those beautiful layers!
Look at the closeup (below) of one of the slices of carrot cake! This is why I do like using three 8 inch cake pans instead of 2 - 9 inch pans.
I also like that there is more cream cheese frosting with 3 layers!
Classic Carrot Cake with and Without Nuts
Now when making a classic carrot cake recipe, walnuts (or pecans) are usually found in the cake. I have some members of my family who don't like nuts in their cake so I leave them out of this recipe.
I like to decorate the outside of my carrot cake with them making it easier for those who dislike nuts, to pick them off. For us who like the nuts, we just leave them on top and take a little bit with each bite 🙂
Definitely give this easy classic carrot cake a try and see why this classic cake is so loved. Make it at Easter, for a birthday, when you need to use up excess carrots or just because.
What our readers are saying
My husband’s eyes popped open so wide so with his first bite he loves carrot cake and had had tons and he said this was the best cake he’s had hands down!
Ashley from Pinterest
My go to carrot cake recipe. Always looks and tastes great!
Nicola from Pinterest
Best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten, my friends loved it, just perfect!
Neren from Pinterest
Tips for this recipe
Converting this carrot cake to carrot cake cupcakes
You can easily make this carrot cake into carrot cake cupcakes. First you will need to half the recipe (this will yield 12 cupcakes).
You will follow the recipe the same way and instead of pouring the batter into 3 cake pans, just add the batter to a prepared cupcake tin.
For the baking time, bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out smooth.
Storing your carrot cake
Now no one loves cream cheese frosting that has been sitting in the fridge (well maybe some of you do) because it hardens back up and is not soft like we like it. When storing your carrot cake, you can keep it out for most of the day (the first day) but after that it does need to go in the fridge.
This carrot cake is moist and it is made with dairy so it will need to be refrigerated after the first day.
You can still have that soft and lofty carrot cake experience if you cut yourself a slice and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes or so.
Freezing Leftover Carrot Cake
I usually do not have any leftover cake that does not get eaten by the second or third day but we are a family of four. If you are not able to eat an entire cake, you can freeze your cake very easily even with the frosting on it.
To freeze the carrot cake, the first thing I like to do is gently place some plastic wrap around my cake. This plastic wrap is the first layer of protection against freezer burn.
After wrapping the cake, I find a container that fits the carrot cake nicely without pressing on the top or sides and place it upright in my freezer.
The carrot cake stores well without any freezer burn issues for up to one month this way.
To thaw: Just remove it from the freezer into your fridge overnight to thaw gently.
How to serve carrot cake
This easy carrot cake makes a great stand alone cake without any special occasion but it also makes a great special dessert. Here are some ways we love serving this carrot cake:
- Serve this for Birthdays as a carrot cake Birthday cake.
- This carrot carrot is a classic at easter. You cannot have Easter without a classic carrot cake.
- I bake this carrot cake in the summertime too. I know it is not ideal but nothing says summer like a good old fashioned Southern spread of food and carrot cake is one of them.
- Make this easy carrot cake for brunches or gatherings all year.
There is no wrong time to make this easy carrot cake recipe. Just make it and you will see why!
FAQS
Carrot cake is fine left out for the first day it is made but after that, it is best to store it in the fridge since it is made with dairy.
Oil is always preferred when making carrot cake because it helps to keep the cake moist.
More Delicious Cake Recipes
If you love this easy carrot cake recipe, you may also love these:
- Basil Olive Oil Cake
- Italian Berry Cake with Mascarpone
- Italian Lemon and Ricotta Cake
- Rustic Apple Cake
- Vanilla Almond Layer Cake
- Bittersweet Chocolate Cupcakes
- Super Moist Chocolate Cake
Easy Classic Carrot Cake Recipe
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups finely grated carrots About 1 pound. Make sure to use the fine side of a box grater (see post for picture).
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ⅓ cup vegetable oil (that is one cup plus ⅓ cup)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt if using regular salt, just use half the amount
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces softened cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup toasted walnut halves
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to to 350 degrees
- Add all your dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Now add your vegetable oil and vanilla to your dry ingredients and mix it all in.1 ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Next beat in your eggs one at a time into the mixture.4 large eggs
- Grate your carrots. See post for how to finely grate the carrots. I like to grate a bunch of carrots (usually about 4 large ones) and then scoop that into a measuring cup to measure out the 3 cups. You do not press the shredded carrots into the measuring cup when measuring.3 cups finely grated carrots
- Now add your 3 cups freshly grated carrots to the batter and gently mix it in until incorporated.
- Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 8" round cake pans - try to make each pan have the same amount of batter.
- Bake for approximately 30- 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cakes. If you are using 9 inch cake pans then add a few more minutes. It will be ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Take pans out of oven and let the cakes sit in pans on cooling racks to cool for approx. 5 minutes.
- Then turn out cakes carefully & let cool completely on the racks.
- Once cooled you can frost your cakes right way or store them with parchment paper in between the layers if you are making the cake a day ahead of time.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl add your softened cream cheese, room temperature butter, powdered sugar and vanilla16 ounces softened cream cheese, ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Mix on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until it is all light and fluffy
Frosting the cake
- Take ¼ of the frosting and place on one layer of the cake. Spread evenly over the cake with an offset spatula or knife.
- Place the second layer of your carrot cake evenly on top of the frosting.
- Repeat the step above with ¼ of the frosting and spreading it evenly over the cake.
- Now add your third layer of cake on top.
- Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake.
- Gently spread the frosting over the top of cake working from the middle out to the edges.
- Gently push the extra frosting from the top of the cake over on to the sides.
- Frost the sides of the cake until all the sides are covered in frosting, being careful not to drag the cake itself into the frosting.
- Once the sides are all frosted, gently scrape away a little of the frosting from sides until you can start to see the carrot cake.
- Touch up any imperfect frosting areas on your cake.
- Now add your toasted walnuts to the center of your cake.1 cup toasted walnut halves
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
To make carrot cake cupcakes.
First you will need to half the recipe (this will yield 12 cupcakes). To do this easily just toggle the serving size in the recipe from 8 slices to 4 slices. You will follow the recipe the same way and instead of pouring the batter into 3 cake pans, just add the batter to a prepared cupcake tin. For the baking time, bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out smooth. To Freeze Leftover Cake: The first thing I like to do is gently place some plastic wrap around my cake as the first layer of protection against freezer burn. Then I find a container that fits the carrot cake nicely without pressing on the top or sides and place it upright in my freezer. It stores well without any freezer burn issues for up to one month this way. To thaw, remove the cake from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight to thaw gently.Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Sophia says
This is our go to carrot cake recipe! I’ve made it a dozen times and it always comes out amazing.
Melissa says
Love hearing that!
Lana says
Very easy recipe. Made it in a 9x13 and it turned out great. Classic and yum!
Melissa says
Love hearing that Lana!
Nicola says
My go to carrot cake recipe. Always looks and tastes great!
Melissa says
Love to hear that Nicola! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Meg says
This carrot cake is absolutely perfect. I’ve eaten many carrot cakes and this was the best I’ve ever had.
Great recipe
Melissa says
Love hearing that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Tara says
Loved the recipe! It came out moist and delicious
Maddie says
Made this for my hub’s birthday and he loved it! So easy and delicious.
Zee says
We loved this cake! I kept it simple and used the frosting just between the layers. I received so many compliments.
Thank you!
Melissa says
I am so glad to hear that!
Alexa says
This is the BEST cake I have ever made. It is absolute perfection. Everyone loves it! Moist and delicious, and very simple! Thanks so much for this recipe.
Melissa says
Love hearing that Alexa! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Jamy says
Such a lovely recipe. It looks gorgeous and tastes delicious.
Melissa says
So glad to hear that!
Kim Reynolds says
The best cake I’ve ever made. It is moist, delicious and so easy to make.
Perfect recipe!
Melissa says
Love hearing that 🙂
Mary says
This is just like the carrot cake I grew up eating in my grandmother’s kitchen. Really good! The recipe is very easy and everyone always enjoys it.
Melissa says
Love hearing that! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Susan says
Made this for a friend’s birthday and she loved it! Came out amazing.
Melissa says
Love hearing that! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Emily says
Made this over the weekend and everyone really enjoyed it!
Melissa says
I am so glad to hear that 🙂
Izzy says
This was so tasty! Ver easy to make and everyone loved it.
Thank you
Melissa says
Love hearing that! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Joy says
Such a lovely recipe!
Melissa says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amaya says
I needed a recipe for carrot cake and tried this out and I’m glad I did! It was amazing. Everyone is asking for me to make this again.
Great recipe!
Melissa says
Love hearing that 🙂
Gemma says
This is not only the best carrot cake I’ve made but the best one I’ve ever eaten! It is truly a classic carrot cake and very easy to make
Melissa says
Love hearing that!
Gwynnie says
I am wondering if a 1 lb bag of baby carrots would be enough? This recipe looks delicious and I want to try it sometime!
Melissa says
Hi Gwynnie. 1 lb of carrots should be enough! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Deb Monteiro says
Hi!
Is there a way to make this in a 9" heart-shaped pan? How would I adjust the recipe?
Thanks,
Deb
Melissa says
Hi Debra. I haven't tried it in that shape cake pan. I would suggest to check doneness of the carrot cake earlier than the recipe states until a toothpick comes out clean.
Kev says
the carrot cake came out perfect! So delicious
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Deanna says
I have made this carrot cake at least a dozen times now and it is perfect every time! It is so easy to make and I’ve made it both as a carrot cake and carrot cake cupcakes. This really is the best carrot cake:)
Melissa says
I am so glad to hear that Deanna 🙂
Bridgette R says
This was the best carrot cake! So delicious and so easy to make.
Melissa says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Ally says
We loved it!
Melissa says
So glad to hear that Ally 🙂
Joyce says
Seriously the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten!
Lee says
This was so good!
Melissa says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Lee 🙂
Jan says
This cake was delicious. I baked it in three 8 inch pans. I topped it in the middle with chopped pecans. I put it in the refrigerator until the next day when I took it to a church social. It was excellent and all gone. It was pretty too. Thanks for the recipe.
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Jill says
I’ve tried a few carrot cake recipes and this one was so easy and it came out perfect!
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed this carrot cake recipe! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Leah says
This was so delicious!
Melissa says
Thank you!
Fran says
The best carrot cake recipe!
Melissa says
I am so glad to hear that!
Nora says
The Best carrot cake I've ever had! It is really moist and delicious and it was very easy to make. Thank you for this gem!
Melissa says
Hi Nora. Thank you so much for sharing. I am glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Lori says
Delicious
Paula says
This carrot cake recipe was the best one I’ve ever made. It was moist and so delicious!
Maria says
I made this yesterday and it is all gone 🙂 Everyone loved it
elijah says
We all love it. It is our new carrot cake recipe.
Melissa says
So glad to hear that!
Francy says
It came out perfect.
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Lila says
This was the best carrot cake I have ever had! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
RJ says
Made it and it was amazing. Followed the recipe exactly and it was so easy.
Leah says
Didn’t think i’d enjoy carrot cake but this was great!
klayde marie says
Carrot cake is the of my friend's favorite I suggest this recipe to her Thank you so much for your recipe
June says
Hi! I really want to try this. Is the oven set to Celsius or Fahrenheit? Thank you!!
Melissa says
Hi June.
It is set to Fahrenheit. If you are not in the US, just convert it to Celsius which would be around 177 Celsius.
Hope this helps!
Ali says
The best cake I have ever made!
Emilia says
This is the best carrot cake I have ever had! The fine shredding of the carrots was such a great tip too. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Melissa says
Thank you for sharing 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed it
Marlaina says
Can I add toasted walnuts in the cake too? If so how much should I add?
Thank you!
Melissa says
Hi Marlaina.
You can definitely add walnuts to the cake! I would suggest 1 cup of nuts for the cake and give them a light coarse chop so that they are not too big. 🙂
Alyaa says
Hi, I want to try and make this cake, but I have a bit of confusion on the amount of cream cheese..
"16 ounces two packages softened cream cheese." Does this mean I need 16 ounces in total, or two 16oz packages totaling to 32 ounces?
Melissa says
Hi Alyaa.
It is 16 ounces total (two 8 0z packages) 🙂
Liz says
This was amazing! I have been searching for a great carrot cake recipe and this it. After trying so many on Pinterest that did not work, this one came out perfect and my husband (a carrot cake fan) said its the best he has ever eaten.
Marsha says
Everyone loved this!
Denise says
This was exactly the carrot cake recipe I have been looking for. I love that it doe not have crushed pineapples. It was perfect.