This is the best carrot cake to make for Easter. It is a two layer cake with cream cheese frosting. This cake is moist and full of delicious spices. It is easily the best carrot cake recipe around.
I tested a bunch of carrot cake recipes to get the BEST cake. This one has the best blend of warm spices, moist cake layers, and a tangy cream cheese frosting to top it off. It gets rave reviews every time and includes tips to help you get the best results.
For more great spring cake recipes, try Nutella Cake, Moist Chocolate Cake, and Cookie Dough Cake.
Jump to:
Why This Perfect Carrot Cake Recipe Works
- Moist cake layers- This moist carrot cake is soft and melt in your mouth good. It is a joy to eat.
- Perfect flavor- This cake uses a carefully tested combination of spices for the best flavor.
- Cream cheese frosting- Cream cheese frosting is traditional on carrot cake for a reason. This frosting is the perfect creamy topping for the cake!
Ingredient Notes for Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe
Here are some notes on the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter- Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
- Oil- Use canola oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil.
- Eggs- Pull the large eggs out 2 hours before baking to get to room temperature.
- Buttermilk- Use full fat or reduced fat buttermilk. Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
- Sour cream- Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
- Cream Cheese- Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
- Powdered sugar- Make sure this is sifted to avoid gritty frosting.
- Carrots- Make sure to grate fresh carrots. Pre shredded carrots from the grocery store are too large and hard. If you leave the shredded carrots out for a long time they dry out too much.
- Food dye- Use a high quality food gel dye as a cheaper food dye requires a larger amount and may affect the taste.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Dairy free- You can use your favorite dairy free options for this recipe!
- Gluten free- I haven't tested this gluten free. Let me know if you do.
- Buttermilk- You can also do 1 cup of milk with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.
Step By Step Instructions - Carrot Cake
Here is how to make and bake the cake layers for the best carrot cake.
STEP 1: Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, spray two eight-inch cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. Spray them again with the spray.
STEP 2: Grate carrots. Grate the carrots using the finest side of your box grater until you have 2 ½ cups packed.
STEP 3: Dry ingredients. Mix the all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
STEP 4: Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, sugar, sour cream, buttermilk, grated carrots, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
STEP 5: Combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them until the batter is smooth.
STEP 6: Bake cake. Pour the cake batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake them for 22-25 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
STEP 7: Cool. Let the cakes sit in the hot pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step By Step Instructions - Cream Cheese Frosting
Here is how to make the cream cheese frosting for the best carrot cake.
STEP 1: Sift powdered sugar. Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Set it aside.
STEP 2: Beat butter and cream cheese. Beat the butter and cream cheese together for 2 minutes on high speed until it is cream. If there are any chunks scrape them back in and mix again.
STEP 2: Add powdered sugar. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix it on low speed until it is combined. Then, add the remaining half and mix on low speed until combined as well.
STEP 3: Add vanilla. Add the vanilla and mix it in on high speed until the frosting is creamy.
STEP 4: Food dye. If you would like to pipe carrots on top of the cupcakes then separate 2 tablespoon into a bowl and ¼ cup into another bowl. Dye the 2 tablespoon green and the ¼ cup orange.
Assembling Cake
Here is how to assemble and decorate the best carrot cake.
STEP 1: First layer. Place the first cake layer down and spread 1 cup of frosting over top.
STEP 2: Second layer. Place the second layer of cake upside down so the flat side is on top.
STEP 3: Crumb coat. Frost the entire cake in a light layer of frosting. Place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to set it and lock the crumbs in.
STEP 4: Frost. Frost the cake completely.
STEP 5: Pipe carrots. I used a Wilton 6 tip for the carrots and a Wilton 67 tip for the leaves. Pipe the carrots all over the cake.
Expert Baking Tips
- Properly measure the flour- Make sure the flour is spooned and leveled. If you stick the measuring cup directly into the flour, it will compact the flour. Compacted flour can cause the cake to be dry.
- To easily remove the cake from the pan, make sure to first spray the pan with baking nonstick spray. Then, line bottom with parchment paper and spray it again to make sure that the paper does not stick to the bottom of the cake too much. If you miss any spots with the spray they can stick and tear the cake so be thorough.
- For high altitudes add 2 tablespoon of flour to the cake batter.
FAQ
Yes you can make the cake ahead of time! Once the cake layers are done cooling, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Then, freeze up to 30 days. Pull them out 1 hour before decorating.
Yes you can. You can use a 9 inch cake pans, but it will be thinner. You can also use 6 inch cake pans for thicker layers.
Yes it can! This recipe will make roughly 24 carrot cake cupcakes. You can halve the recipe for 12 cupcakes.
Recipe Variations
- Added nuts- You can add chopped walnuts or pecans into the cake batter or on top.
- 3 layer cake- You can use 3 cake pans for a 3 layer cake. The bake time will be lower as the cake layers will be thinner.
Special Tools
- Cake pans: I use Wilton 8-inch cake pans.
- Parchment paper circles: I used 8-inch parchment paper circles for the bottom of the pan. I love to use the premade circles, so I don't have to cut it out of regular parchment paper.
- Baking spray: I use the nonstick spray that has flour in it.
- Offset spatula: I use this to easily spread the frosting or fillings.
- Cake turntable: I use this nice Ateco cast iron turntable because it is high quality and it spins seamlessly. Some other turntables are a little jerky when they turn.
- Cake scraper: I use a metal scraper to get smooth cakes.
- Piping bags: I like these 18- inch piping bags since they hold more.
- Piping tip: I love this Wilton 1M to pipe frosting. This recipe uses Wilton 6 and Wilton 67 for the carrots.
Storing and Freezing
Store this carrot cake in an airtight container like a cake carrier. Store in the fridge up to 5 days.
You can freeze the carrot cake in individual slices. Place the cake slices in an airtight container and freeze up to 30 days.
Other Easter Recipes To Try
Try these spring recipes too!
- Lemon White Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Carrot Bread
- Strawberry Brownies
- Strawberry Vanilla Cake
Make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats. To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
The Best Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 3 ¼ cup All purpose flour
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 cup Oil canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup Brown sugar packed light or dark
- ½ cup White granulated sugar
- ½ cup Sour cream room temperature or greek yogurt.
- ½ cup Buttermilk room temperature
- 2 ½ cups Grated carrots 5 medium carrots.
- 4 Large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 cups Unsalted butter room temperature
- 16 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 3 cups Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- * Optional orange and green food dye
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with baking nonstick spray. Line the bottoms with 8-inch parchment paper circles. Spray again.
- First, grate the peeled carrots. Use the smallest hole in your grater. It should be a packed 2 ½ cups of grated carrots.2 ½ cups Grated carrots
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.3 ¼ cup All purpose flour, ¼ cup Cornstarch, 2 teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- In a separate bowl, mix the oil, brown sugar, sugar, sour cream, buttermilk, grated carrots, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until combined.1 cup Oil, 1 cup Brown sugar, ½ cup White granulated sugar, ½ cup Sour cream, ½ cup Buttermilk, 4 Large eggs, 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the two cake pans. Bake for 22-25 minute. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the cake sit in the hot pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Set aside.3 cups Powdered sugar
- Using a mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed for 2 minutes until creamy. If any chunks remain, scrape the bowl and beat again.2 cups Unsalted butter, 16 oz Cream cheese
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
- Add in the vanilla and mix on high speed until creamy.1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- If you want to pipe little carrot on top of the cake. Place 2 tablespoon of frosting in one bowl, and ¼ cup frosting in another bowl. Color the smaller amount green and the other bowl orange.* Optional orange and green food dye
Assembly
- Place the first cake layer down, Spread 1 cup of frosting over the cake. Top with the second cake layer, with the bottom of the cake facing up.
- Spread a light layer of frosting around the cake. Freeze for 15 minutes. This is the crumb coat layer.
- Frost the rest of the cake.
- I used Wilton tip 6 for the carrots and Wilton tip 67 for the leaves. Pipe little carrots all over the cake.
Whitney says
This was my first Carrot Cake and I’m soo happy I came across this recipe! It was a HIT with the fam on Easter. Tastes phenomenal!
Starr Figueroa says
Can you use olive oil in place of vegetable oil?
Stephanie Rutherford says
Yes it can!
Sarah says
Tasted wonderful, but baking soda turned carrots green
Judy DeFrias says
Where is the cupcake recipe???
Stephanie Rutherford says
You can turn this cake into cupcakes. Half the recipe and bake for 20-24 minutes. It will make 12 cupcakes. Make sure to half the frosting.