My all time favourite Carrot Cake recipe - loaded with grated carrot, crushed pineapple, crunchy walnuts and smothered in cream cheese frosting, this will become your favourite carrot cake recipe too!
Hands up if you love carrot cake?! Carrot cake seems to be synonymous with Easter and spring, but there's just one problem with that. Down under it's autumn! And while I can make up the connection with carrot cake and Easter (Easter bunnies eat carrots I guess?) the spring thing has me thrown. If you ask me, carrot cake with all the cosy warm spicy flavours just screams autumn to me, which actually works out much better!
Even if you have a tried and true carrot cake recipe, which most people do, I really think you should try this one. I had a carrot cake recipe and it was pretty good. But it wasn't perfect. So obviously, I wasn't satisfied. And because I decided that I really needed to have my recipe perfected by Easter, I've done all the trial and error for you and eaten waaaay too much carrot cake in the last few weeks. But is there such a thing?
The first one I made was too dry. The second was waaaay too dense and...wet. The third one is this one and it's perfect. It was a real Goldilocks & the Three Bears cake testing situation!
The thing about carrot cake is that it needs to be moist (sorry!) and packed full of flavour. Dry carrot cake is not something I'm interested in and neither is a cake that is a bit boring. This cake delivers on both counts. It is super moist thanks to the combination of brown sugar, yoghurt, oil and eggs and the crushed pineapple! If you don't usually add pineapple to your carrot cake, please try it! And I really went to town with the spices. I didn't want this to be just any old carrot cake, we are talking maximum flavour and cosy spiciness. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and ground cloves and plenty of them.
I added just the right amount of flour to set the cake without making it too dry, a bit of both baking powder and baking soda to get just enough rise and salt to enhance the flavours. The final ingredient and obviously the most important - 2 whole cups of freshly grated carrots. You want about 2 medium/large carrots to get this much. Oh and of course I added chopped walnuts for a bit of crunch.
The cream cheese frosting is silky smooth and has the perfect ratio of cream cheese to other ingredients so that it actually tastes like cream cheese! I hate it when something claims to be cream cheese frosting and you wouldn't even know it was an ingredient. There's also a little bit of lemon juice, a touch of salt and vanilla extract to ramp up the flavour and balance out the sweetness.
This does make a pretty large cake so I like to bake it in an 8" (20cm) cake tin and split the cake in half to make 2 layers - this way you get twice the frosting on the cake! And who doesn't love a layer cake...they look so fancy! But by all means leave it as a single layer cake if you prefer. You can also bake it in a larger tin to give you a thinner cake, just keep an eye on the baking time - you won't need to bake it quite so long (see notes in the recipe).
Side note, if you want to split it and you make layer cakes often, I would highly recommend investing in a cake leveller. I only recently purchased one and I can't believe how amazing they are. I used to get so frustrated with using a knife and always cutting the cake crooked. It doesn't matter for something like this as the more rustic the better, but for some cakes, it makes them look so much neater. They are less than $10, so they don't break the bank either.
Once you've made and iced the cake, put it in the fridge to allow the frosting to set for around 30 minutes before slicing. This will make it easier to slice and will keep them looking neat. I would also recommend making the cake the day before you need it. I think it actually improves overnight - it gives all the flavours time to mingle and get even more delicious!
Store any leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, but I bet it won't last that long!
Made this? Tag me on Instagram @thekiwicountrygirl and hashtag it #thekiwicountrygirl.
My Favourite Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups (280g) flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp each ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (110g) white sugar
- 1 cup oil (canola, vegetable, coconut etc)
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup plain unsweetened Greek yoghurt (or plain yoghurt)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated carrot (about 2 medium/large carrots)
- ¾ cup crushed pineapple (from a can, with most of the juice drained and discarded)
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 250 g block of cream cheese, room temperature
- 115 g butter, room temperature
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Remove the cream cheese and the butter for the frosting from the fridge and set on the bench to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line the bottom of an 20cm/8" round cake tin and spray the tin with non-stick cooking spray. (see note 1 for using a bigger tin)
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the sugars, oil, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots, pineapple and walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes, keeping an eye on it after 45 minutes as cooking times can vary. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. I often let it cool for around 30 minutes and then put it in the fridge to speed up the process.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl using a stand or hand held mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and add the lemon juice, vanilla and salt and mix on low speed until combined and then on high speed for 2 minutes. If the frosting is too runny for you, either put it in the fridge for 30 minutes before icing the cake or add another ¼ cup of icing sugar.
To assemble
- Slice the cooled cake in half horizontally using a large knife or cake leveller and place the bottom half of the cake on the serving plate. Spoon half of the frosting on top, and spread it right to the edges. Stack the top half of the cake on top and spread the rest of the frosting over. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. The frosting will set and it will make it easier to slice.
- If you have made the cake the day before (recommended for maximum flavour) remove the cake from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving to allow it to come back to room temperature.
- Store the cake covered in the fridge for 5 days.
Notes
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If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!
Heather Rogers says
As a New Zealander I can confirm that this is an ACE recipe. Carrot cake should have nuts, fruit, carrots and spices. Moist and delicious.
Mon says
I haven't made a carrot cake for years and did a Google search looking for the best rated and landed here. Well, the reviews didn't lie. The cake is straight forward to make and best of all doesn't contain sultanas. It is delicious with just the right amount of icing. I did use the juice of one lemon as I couldn't taste it with the one teaspoon and next time I will increase the spices a little.
Vera says
This is delicious a large cake so having the icing in between makes the difference although the is moist esp adding crushed pineapple 🍍 make this quite often feeds a lot
shanti says
Have made this cake recipe twice in the last 10days!
Moist and delicious, a go-to winner.
Lynne says
This looks delicious apart from walnuts, yuck lol. Can i just leave them out or should i replace with something else to make sure quantities of wet/dry are correct still, or wont it matter?
Cant wait to try this 😊
Laura says
You can just leave them out!
Mary Kater says
I made this cake for a work colleague and they absolutely loved it! In fact, he thought it was so lovely, soft and fresh, he shared some with others but took most of it home! An amazing carrot cake. Thank you for sharing 🤩
Nanajee Travels says
Very nice and easy
Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!
Anna says
This recipe is incredible! I’ve made it several times now and it never disappoints. I was just wondering has anyone tried making this with gluten free flour? Asking for a coeliac 🙂
Nicola says
Has anyone tried this recipe using coconut oil? I recently made a carrot cake using another recipe and it was way too dense and slighty dry and wondered if it was because I used coconut oil vs other vegetable oils.
Lolita says
Hi Laura,
I am writing to you from Sydney, Australia. Thank you for such an easy and doable recipe. I was wondering though if this can be made in a 24cm bundt cake tin without the layer of cheese cake.
Thank you
Regards,
Lolita 🤤
Laura says
You can absolutely bake it in a Bundt tin! Not quite sure what you mean about the layer of cheese cake though sorry!!
Visekota says
I baked this in a Bundt tin and 45 minutes its was nicely cooked through..
Had everything except the ginger. Lovely moist cake.
Thank you
Lynda Earl says
I keep coming back to this one...best carrot cake I've baked in all my years. Well done!
Ann says
I didn't have yoghurt or pineapple when making this, so added sultanas instead and 1/4 cup of milk with about 2tspns cider vinegar in it. I think I will add some lemon zest next time too. Lovely moist cake.
Stephanie W says
This is a crowd favorite definitely. Beautiful and moist. Full of flavor and easy to make. My favorite Carrot cake for sure.
C D King says
One more update. I couldn't eat all the cake at once, so I sliced and froze a big portion of it. For some reason I sliced it thinly like a loaf. Turns out that it was a handy way to do it and it was even better when thawed out one slice at a time. Just about to make a second one.
Christine says
The cake turned out delicious but mine took a good 70 minutes before it was cooked through and not gooey in the middle Used an 8" tin, oven temp is correct. Drained the pineapple in a sieve but should I have really squeezed the extra juice out so it was drier?
Laura says
Hi Christine, that definitely will help next time, otherwise baking it for longer to get it baked all the way through is perfectly fine!
C King says
Update on my previous post.. it took about 90 minutes for my cake to cook through. I was worried that it might dry out but it is delicious, moist and light. I was worried that might be too sweet but it isn't. I'll probably forgo the frosting for the sake of my waistline!
CDK says
Up to 50 minutes in the oven. Still very gooey inside. Crossing fingers it will come out as good as everyone else's after cooking longer. Will update.
Laura says
Sounds like you had success! Is your oven taking longer than usual to cook other things? 90 minutes seems like a very long time even for this cake! It might even be worth getting the temperature checked on it if you are having trouble with other things too! But anyway, I'm pleased it worked out for you!
Sigrun says
Did this cake for my sons birthday. Have a tin, about 33 cm long and 24 wide and did 1.5 x the ingredients but skipped the walnuts. It was just perfect for the time you gave up (tested every five min after 35 min). Super nice and moist. Really love this cake. Next time, when I don't have to worry about other peoples kids, I will include the walnuts.
Heather says
Just what I’m looking for, a traditional NZ carrot cake with plenty of spice, walnuts and a good icing.