The first time I made this carrot cake, it was for a big pre-Easter get together at my parents’ house. It was pretty much immediately devoured except for two little slices I was able to save for my in-laws. On the way home we dropped off the cake to them, and before I even got the kids in bed I had a text from my mother in law — the connoisseur of carrot cakes — thanking us for the cake and swearing it was the best she’d ever had! Best compliment ever! This cake is absolute perfection and pretty much foolproof! Three moist layers of the best carrot cake you’ve ever tasted (plus that frosting topper!) and no crazy ingredients or tricks, just straightforward easy-to-follow steps that will make this the best carrot cake recipe you’ve ever made!
Why This Recipe Works
Shredded carrots — It’s an absolute must that you use shredded carrots in this recipe. Why? Well, because shredded carrots will bake into the cake quickly (you don’t want to crunch into carrots, right?) and shredding them will release a lot of the moisture into the cake batter which is key to making this carrot cake recipe super moist. Easy ingredients — A three-layer carrot cake might seem intimidating but I promise it’s really not. And, it’s made all that more easy when you use simple ingredients that you probably already have like flour, sugar, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Applesauce — Now, if you’ve never added applesauce to a cake mix before, this might be a game-changer for you. I add it for two reasons: To cut back on the oil and it makes the cake more moist and chewy and a little bit denser. Cream cheese frosting — I’d argue that this moist carrot cake recipe just doesn’t work with any other kind of frosting. It has to be cream cheese because the slight sourness of it offsets the sweetness of the cake and just works so well, no other icing could compare!
How to Make this Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
How to Make the Carrot Cake
How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
Assembling the Carrot Cake
Expert Tips
If you don’t have three round cake pans, don’t worry. You can bake one layer at a time if you only have one pan. Or, if you want to make a larger sheet cake, use a large, 12″ x 18″ x 3″ rectangular cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. Bake for 5-minute increments thereafter until a toothpick comes out clean. You can buy pre-shredded carrots, but I find that they are often already dried out while they’re sitting in the bag waiting for you to purchase them. I much prefer to shred my own carrots on a box grater for best results. If you don’t have an airtight container that will fit a whole cake, you can put the cake on a large plate, and then put some toothpicks or bamboo skewers into the top of the cake and plastic wrap around the cake and skewers/toothpicks. This method will keep the plastic wrap from touching the icing and pulling it off when you remove it.
Is Butter or Oil Best for Making Carrot Cake
While butter appears as an ingredient in many cakes, carrot cake is one where you should skip the butter and use vegetable or canola oil instead. Why? Well, oil keeps the carrot cake nice and moist for longer than butter. No one likes a dry carrot cake. When in doubt – go oil in this delicious cake.
More Amazing Carrot Recipes
For more amazingly mouthwatering delicious cake recipes check out my posts for Cream Cheese Lemon Crumb Cake, Zucchini Sheet Cake, Oatmeal Cake with Vanilla Sauce, and Strawberry Poppyseed Cake.
Carrot Cake Bars Roasted Honey Garlic Glazed Carrots Cream Cheese Swirled Carrot Cake Bars Carrot Cake Muffins
Did you make this Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!
