Easy Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe

5 from 14 votes

Easy Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe

This best carrot cake recipe creates a homemade treat that rivals bakery-quality carrot cakes. It is my mother-in-law's moist carrot cake recipe; everyone goes wild whenever she makes it! It's a tried and true family recipe loved by all. It's an incredible dessert for any occasion. Enjoy!

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carrot cake

Servings: servings

Author: Elena Davis

Ingredients

For the Carrot Cake:

4 eggs room temprature
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil canola oil, or non-flavored oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups carrots finely grated (about 5-6 medium carrots)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese softened (1 block-style package)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt about 1/4 teaspoon
4 cups confectioner's sugar adjust to taste

Topping:

½ cup chopped pecans for topping optional

Instructions

For the Carrot Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a
9x13-inch cake pan.
Grate carrots with a box grater and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the vegetable oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix well until the sugars are fully dissolved.
Add the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and ground cinnamon to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Fold in the finely grated carrots until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared 9x13-inch cake pan, spreading it evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Start checking at 35 minutes; cooking times may vary slightly due to the type of pan and oven.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Add the vanilla extract and salt. Mix until well combined.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Adjust the amount of powdered sugar to achieve your desired sweetness and consistency.
Once the cake has cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the top of the cake.
Garnish the cake with chopped nuts, if desired.
Cut into squares and enjoy your delicious, super moist carrot cake!

Notes

For Cupcakes: You can convert this recipe into cupcakes. Adjust the baking time to approximately 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. It makes about 24 cupcakes.

For Layer Cake: To transform the recipe into a layered cake, divide the prepared batter among three 9-inch round cake pans and bake accordingly. Let the cake layers cool, then spread cream cheese frosting between each layer and on top.

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