The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Nothing screams "SPRING" like Carrot Cake! This one is simple to make, super moist and flavorful, and is finished off with the CREAMIEST cream cheese frosting! I'm also sharing all my tips and tricks for frosting a naked cake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert, Easter

Keyword Easter Desserts, Easter Dessert for a Crowd, Best Carrot Cake Recipe, Best Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time 1 45

Cook Time 25

Cake Cooling 3

Total Time 2 10

Servings slices

Calories 729kcal

Author Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Cake

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 and 3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed 380 grams
2/3 cup granulated sugar 150 grams
1 cup vegetable oil 224 mL
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp full fat sour cream, at room temperature 80 grams
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 and 2/3 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out 366 grams
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 and 1/3 cups milk, at room temperature I use 2% - 320 mL
3 cups finely grated carrots - see note About 6 large carrots - 300 grams. Weigh this out for the best accuracy as size varies!
1 cup walnuts, chopped I love using pecans instead! Nuts can be omitted if needed. 100 grams

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter
3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
6 cups powdered sugar Start with 5 cups and add more until desired sweetness is reached
1 tbsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
pinch of cinamon
18 oz full fat cream cheese, cold Use the block style

For Decorating

extra walnuts or pecans, for garnish optional

Instructions

Prep: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease three 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans with shortening (use a paper towel and make sure to get into all the crevices well). Add parchment rounds , making sure to grease over them with shortening as well. Then, dust the pans with flour, tapping it around so the shortening is coated entirely. Tap out the excess flour. This will ensure your cake pops out perfectly after baking!
Make the Cake Batter: Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds on medium high speed. Add sugars and beat on medium high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, 1 minute. Whisk in the oil, sour cream, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and begin folding in with a silicone spatula until halfway incorporated, then pour in the milk, grated carrots, and chopped nuts. Continue gently folding together just until the last streaks of flour disappear into the batter. If there are a few lumps, that's fine.
Bake: Divide the batter between your three 9-inch pans, and bake for 24-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. Let cakes cool in pans on cooling racks for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen and invert cakes onto cooling racks to cool completely.
Note: If using 8-inch pans, the bake time will be a few minutes longer.
Make the Frosting: In a large mixing bowl, cream softened butter. Add the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, mixing between each addition until well combined. Add heavy cream as needed to help it come together. Beat in the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Beat in the cream cheese last. (This prevents a weepy frosting.)
Assemble Cake: Place one cake layer down on your cake stand placed on a cake turntable, and frost with 1 and 1/4 cups of frosting, spreading it as evenly as possible. Place the second cake layer on top, and pop in the fridge for 1015 minutes so the layers won't slide around. Frost on top of the second layer in the same manner. Place the third layer upside down on top (this makes a perfectly flat top!) Smooth any frosting sticking out between layers over the outside of the cake, and add a bit more as a crumb coat. Chill for 20 minutes or until set. Then, use the remaining frosting to cover the top of the cake and dot the crumb coated sides of the cake in random places, all the way around. Use a cake smoother/scraper to smooth the frosting by holding it against the side of the cake, and slowly turning the cake and pulling the cake smoother towards you while turning the cake the opposite direction. Continue until desired "naked cake" effect is reached.
Create swirls on the top of the cake with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle chopped nuts around the base and on top of the cake as desired. Chill the frosted cake for at least 20-30 minutes (or more if your frosting got very warm/weepy) to ensure everything is set before slicing.
Serve + Store: Slice the cake and enjoy! If it was chilled longer than 1 hour, let it come to room temperature for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving. Store the leftover cake in an airtight container or cake carrier in the fridge for 3-4 days. Press plastic wrap over the cut portion of the cake to add extra insurance against it drying out (although it does stay moist for days!). Individual slices can also be double plastic wrapped and kept in a tupperware, or frozen in this way for up to 1 month.
Thaw frozen slices in the fridge overnight before enjoying.
Make Ahead Tips: The frosting and cake layers can be made a day in advance.
Cake Layers: Make cake layers and let cool completely. Place each on a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Store at room temp for up to 24 hours before frosting & serving.
Frosting: Cover frosting tightly and keep in fridge - let it sit out a little bit before frosting the cake so it's not solid as a rock. Re-mix it with the electric mixer to get it back to a spreadable consistency.

Notes

Carrots: If you have a food processor, use the grating attachment to quickly and easily grate your carrots!

Pan Size Options: This recipe yields three 8-inch or 9-inch round cake layers, one 9x13 sheet cake (use a deep 9x13 pan, like for brownies, not a 9x13 cookie sheet), two 8x8 or 9x9 square cake layers, which can be served as two mini cakes or each square layer can be sliced through width-wise to make two, two-layer mini cakes. You can also make cupcakes with this recipe - I believe the full batch will yield about 48, and a half batch will yield about 24 cupcakes. I don't think this cake is sturdy enough to be baked as a bundt cake.

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