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 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp each ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg
- ½ tsp 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 tsp 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 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp 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
Nutrition
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If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!
I have made this cake 3 times now and every time it is PERFECT! The best recipe ever, thank you so much:)
Delicious and easy to follow recipe
When I printed this recipe out, it mucked up the quantities - you might need to change that somehow on your site
eg)
0.15 tsp
0.2 tsp
0.03 cup
Hi Penny, thank you for pointing that out, I will look into it now! Laura
We had the best ever carrot cake, when we went on holiday last year up the coromandal. We visited the local cafe every day during our holiday for the coffee and a piece of their delicious cake. It was so fantastic, we vowed we would return to that same holiday spot again next time we had a mini break, just for the carrot cake.
We discovered your recipe when we were looking at making a cake for my hubbys birthday last weekend - carrot cake being one of his favs....
Your recipe was so easy to make (even though I think I under cooked it...). But it was voted by all our family members as "at least as good, if not better than the carrot cake from the cafe! " Thank you for sharing your recipe, which will now be my go-to carrot cake recipe.
Carrot cake has always been a favorite in our family and this is the best recipe ever! Works well in a bigger tin too, single layer. I have also frozen the cake, both with icing and without and it tastes just as good.
This is the best recipe I have used the cake is delicious . I rate this a 5 stars it’s now the household regular .
Hi this is super easy, moist cake to make perfect yummy recipe. I had small eggs so used 4 instead of 3 large and used 1 of the kids youghurts ( lemon) instead of the Greek yoghurt....didn't have pineapple or walnuts. Used mixed spice and cinnamon and raw sugar instead of been and white. Icing was perfect just topped with pumpkin seeds and grated lemon rind. Thank you for sharing♥️
Fantastic recipe ... even using different ovens and slightly different ingredients here in Belgium! Have made it 3 times here and it has always come out perfectly!
Moist and easy to make
Made this for my Partners birthday, everyone raved about it!
Awesome recipe 10/10.
Easy and deliciously moist cake... so good! Had no walnuts but still delish.
Just the best carrot cake I’ve made! Lots of very positive comments from kiwi country folks and they’re not always easy to please lol!
I absolutely love this recipe. Made 2 in one day, one for my family and another a day ahead to be for dessert for Mother's day. Thank you very much for this amazing recipe.
Hi Laura,
Finally I found perfect carrot cake recipe . I will use this recipe again . Thank you for sharing perfect carrot cake recipe.
HI Viani! I am so happy you loved this cake as much as we do! 🙂 Laura
I have now cooked this cake twice since lockdown, we’ll I have to say recipe is so easy to follow and the end product is delicious 😋
This is the nicest cream cheese icing ever in all the carrot cake recipes I have come across
Thankyou kiwi country girl 👍
I am so happy you love it so much! I could eat the icing with a spoon, it's SO good!! Laura
Made this for my hubby's birthday, omg it's so delicious. Never using another recipe again this is prefect and easy to make.
So happy to hear that Della! Thanks for commenting 🙂 Laura
Hi Laura,
So thrilled I found your blog!
This carrot cake recipe looks amazing. Did you ever try to use the pineapple syrup for extra moisture?
Just asking, as moist cakes are loved in our household.
Thanks
Hi Storm! So happy you found my blog! I don't usually as I find that the cake is plenty moist enough without the juice, but by all means add some if you like - my motto is always try it and see how it goes! 🙂 Laura
This carrot cake looks so good! I love the addition of crushed pineapple...plus it has such a beautiful presentation too! lovely recipe
Thanks Albert! I love carrot cake with crushed pineapple...it makes it extra tasty! 🙂
Hi Laura, I have just discovered your blog (yay!) and this carrot cake caught my eye. I adore carrot cake so always make it year round. The last few years I have been using Annabel Langbein"s recipe which is delicious, but your photos and write up have me keen to try your recipe asap 🙂 Happy Easter!
Hi Mon, I'm so glad you found my blog! I make carrot cake all year round too, it's my favourite. And I often use Annabel Langbein's recipes...they're so great! I hope you love this recipe as much as we do - let me know if you try it, I'd love to know how you get on! Thanks for commenting 🙂 Laura