Recipes and Cooking Best-Loved Carrot Cake 4.2 (67) 4 Reviews Our carrot cake recipe is delicious on its own, but becomes irresistible once topped with homemade cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of chopped pecans. By BHG Test Kitchen BHG Test Kitchen The Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen has been in continuous operation for nearly 100 years, developing and testing practical, reliable recipes that readers can enjoy at home. The Test Kitchen team includes culinary specialists, food stylists, registered and licensed nutritionists, and other experts with Bachelor of Science degrees in food science, food and nutrition, or culinary arts. Together, the team tests more than 2,500 recipes, produces more than 2,500 food images, and creates more than 1,000 food videos each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Sheena Chihak, RD Sheena Chihak, RD Instagram Sheena Chihak is a registered dietitian, former food editor and current edit lead for BHG with over 15 years of writing and editing experience for both print and digital. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on February 24, 2023 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: BHG / Ana Cadena Hands On Time: 30 mins Bake Time: 35 mins Cool Time: 2 hrs Total Time: 3 hrs 5 mins Servings: 12 Jump to Nutrition Facts This is the classic carrot cake recipe you crave—just baking pantry staples, shredded carrots, and a rich cream cheese frosting. If you'd like to change up the classic cinnamon flavor notes, swap it for ginger in the Carrot-Ginger Cake Variation recipe below. The 19 Best Cake Stands of 2023 for Birthdays, Holidays, and More Oil-based cakes like this carrot cake recipe, are usually moist with a dense crumb. They use baking powder and baking soda for leavening and you can mix them by hand without the need of an electric mixer, like you need for butter-based cakes. The tops of baked cakes will never come out of the oven flat and even. To make a prettier layer cake, use a long serrated knife to carefully saw the uneven portion off horizontally. Turn the cut top upside down so you can frost the side that's less crumbly. 16 of Our Best Carrot Cake Recipes to Celebrate Spring Year-Round Ingredients Carrot Cake 2 cup all-purpose flour 2 cup sugar 2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) ½ teaspoon salt 4 eggs, room temperature ½ teaspoon baking soda 3 cups finely shredded carrot* (lightly packed) ¾ cup cooking oil ½ cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (optional) Cream Cheese Frosting 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened ½ cup butter, softened 2 teaspoon vanilla 5 ½ - 6 cup powdered sugar Directions Carrot Cake BHG / Ana Cadena Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans ; line pans with waxed paper and grease the pans. Set aside. BHG /Ana Cadena In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon (if desired), salt, and baking soda; set aside. BHG / Ana Cadena In another bowl combine eggs, carrot, and oil. *The carrots need to be finely shredded by using the fine shredding surface of a box grater, so they stay evenly distributed in the cake and won't sink. BHG / Ana Cadena Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir until combined. BHG / Ana Cadena Pour batter into the prepared pans. BHG / Ana Cadena Bake in the preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. If desired, sprinkle chopped pecans over frosting. Cover and store cake in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cream Cheese Frosting BHG / Ana Cadena In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. To Toast Pecans: Spread nuts evenly in a shallow pan and bake at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice (watch closely, they go from toasted to burnt very quickly!) How to Store Carrot Cake: After frosting, you can store the carrot cake in the refrigerator up to 3 days. So you can make up to 3 days in advance, or store any leftovers this way. Carrot-Ginger Cake Variation: Prepare as above, except omit the cinnamon; add 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger or 3/4 tsp. ground ginger with the eggs, carrot, and oil. Frequently Asked Questions How many carrots do I need for 1 cup of shredded carrots? In general, one carrot = 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot. This recipe requires about 6 carrots. Why should my eggs be room temperature? Eggs will incorporate more air into your baked goods if they are not refrigerator-cold. For safety, don't leave eggs sitting out for more than two hours. Simply let them stand on the counter for 30 minutes and they'll be an appropriate temperature for adding to the recipe. Rate it Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 711 Calories 30g Fat 108g Carbs 6g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 12 Calories 711 % Daily Value * Total Fat 30g 38% Saturated Fat 10g 50% Cholesterol 112mg 37% Sodium 350mg 15% Total Carbohydrate 108g 39% Total Sugars 90g Protein 6g Vitamin C 1.8mg 9% Calcium 60.6mg 5% Iron 1.4mg 8% Potassium 173mg 4% Folate, total 56.4mcg Vitamin B-12 0.3mcg Vitamin B-6 0.1mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.