The Best Carrot Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
This is hands-down the best carrot cake ever! Simple and straightforward, it is ultra moist, fluffy, and incredibly delicious.
This has been our go-to carrot cake recipe for over 15 years!
One Bowl Carrot Cake Batter
This carrot cake batter is whisked together by hand in one bowl. It could not be easier!
Here are a few reasons why this cake bakes up super moist and fluffy:
- A smidgeon of brown sugar is added along with the granulated sugar for extra flavor and moistness.
- Oil and applesauce are used in the cake batter. This helps aid in the extra moist texture without adding oiliness.
- The carrots are finely shredded so they incorporate fully and completely into the batter.
Make sure to mix the batter JUST until it is incorporated. Avoid over mixing as it can create a denser, heavier cake.
Different Pan Size Options for This Carrot Cake
The batter for this carrot cake recipe can be baked in the following pans:
- One 9X13-inch baking pan
- Two 9-inch round cake pans (to frost as a layer cake, if desired)
- 24 to 30 cupcakes
The recipe can also be easily halved (for a 9X9-inch square baking pan, one 9-inch circle pan, or fewer cupcakes) OR it can be doubled if you are in the market for A LOT OF CARROT CAKE. 😉
Classic Cream Cheese Frosting
The cream cheese frosting in this carrot cake recipe is very soft and creamy.
It works great to frost the cake as a layer cake or to frost the top of a 9X13-inch sheet cake. It also works well to frost cupcakes, although the frosting is too soft to hold up to piping. It does best spread with an offset spatula or knife.
If you’ve never added a tiny bit of sour cream to cream cheese frosting, try it! The small amount adds a wonderful dimension and depth of flavor to the otherwise super sweet frosting. I never make cream cheese frosting without it.
The Best Carrot Cake Ever
I cannot overstate how incredibly delicious this carrot cake is. The crumb is perfectly spiced and the amount of carrots is just right. Like, you know you’re eating carrot cake without feeling like it is a veggie side dish instead of cake.
The cake is soft and sturdy. Moist and magnificent. It really is the best carrot cake ever.
I love chocolate desserts with my whole soul. But I am powerless to resist the charm and tastiness of this carrot cake. It is one of my favorite desserts ever!
Here are a few other rave reviews (so you don’t have to take just my word for it!):
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I make this cake every month for our charity organization fish fry and it always disappears. So delicious. Family loves it also. Made cupcakes with it today and amazing. The icing is perfect. -Jo-Ann
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My first attempt at making carrot cake. I will not need to look for another recipe, this one is the ONE!! Perfectly sweet, not over cinnamon’s. A tangy creamy frosting!! Yummy. My family even thinks ifs better the carrot cake we get at a high end restaurant! Thanks Mel for this winner -Jod
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My now most requested cake that I make. It’s amazing. –Britney
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is truly the best carrot cake. I’ve been making it at least once a year for the past 4 years, and it never fails to get compliments from family and friends. Super moist and delicious. -Pam
The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 pound medium carrots, 6 to 7 large carrots, ends trimmed (no need to peel)
- ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable, canola or other neutral-flavored oil (see note)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce (see note)
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Cream Cheese Frosting (*see note for doubling):
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (143 g) powdered sugar
- Toasted chopped pecans, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position.
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or lightly grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans (see note below for additional details on pan sizes). Set aside.
- Finely shred the carrots in a food processor or on a box grater for about 3 cups/400 g total. Set aside.
- For the cake, in a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until well combined.
- Add the oil and applesauce and whisk until the batter is light in color and the oil is thoroughly emulsified in the batter.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Mix until just a few dry streaks of batter remain.
- Add the carrots and mix until evenly combined (try not to over mix).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake until the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes for a 9X13-inch pan and 32 to 35 minutes for 9-inch round pans.
- Let the cakes cool for 5 to 7 minutes before turning them out to cool completely on a parchment-lined wire rack (this helps the cakes not stick to the rack as they cool).
- For the frosting, with a handheld or stand electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix until very-well combined.
- Frost the cake as desired. Top with toasted pecans. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Cooks Illustrated (with my notes included)
Recipe originally posted March 2008; updated February 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Love carrot cake with crushed pineapple and nuts in the cake!
Is table salt NOT kosher salt? I’ve only ever baked with kosher salt.
No table salt is not the same as kosher salt.
So you use something like Morton’s salt in this recipe?
Morton’s makes both coarse, kosher salt and table salt – so you just want salt that is really fine and labeled table salt. You can use coarse, kosher salt but I’m not sure of the exact amount you would need – usually you need a bit more than table salt.
Hi Mel- this is the BEST carrot cake recipe. I’m thinking about mass-producing it and delivering then to our family for Easter (quarantine-style.)
Does this cake freeze well?
Thanks for sharing all of your amazing recipes!
Tami
Yes, it freezes great!
Lovely cake. Love it. Thanks.
Hi tami! Did you try freezing it frosted? Curious how it worked because we want to try for this year.
This is definitely the best carrot cake recipe. I did add about 2 Tbs. of well-drained crushed pineapple and a small handful of chopped raisins to the batter. Baked it in two 9-inch cake pans. Cook time of 32 minutes was perfect. I skimped on frosting between the two layers, and ended up with just enough to cover the whole cake. A double recipe of frosting would be way too much. Next time I make it, I might take another reviewer’s suggestions to re-process the carrots after the first processing, just to get them even more finely chopped. Perfect recipe, but there is NO WAY prep time is 20 minutes. Impossible.
I just finished prepping mine and it was 20 minutes. I didn’t peel the carrots.
Want to try this as a loaf but am unsure of baking time and temperature. I’m assuming I’ll need to use 2 pans?
Hi Mel! I apologize if this has already been asked. Have you ever baked this as a loaf? Any suggestions? I’m assuming you’d probably have to use 2 loaf pans, but I’m unsure of the baking time and temperature.
I think you would need two loaf pans but I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not 100% sure.
My sister-in-law has made this cake, and it was amazing! It was a little dry when I made it, which I know is likely my fault–I’m not a great baker! Just wondering what makes a cake turn out dry? Could the size of the grated carrots affect that? Or did I add too much flour? I just want to learn for next time because I love this cake!
Usually dry cakes are due to over baking and too much flour (can also be due to overmixing, but the other two factors are more important, I think).
If you use pre-grated carrots from the supermarket, the cake may be dry. Carrots you grate yourself add a lot of moisture to the cake.
Hi Mel, thank you for the recipe! What I love about your recipes is that they are somehow always so flexible, I can tinker with them and know that the final product will still be good. The same goes for this carrot cake!
I cut the sugar in half, reduced the oil by a third, and it still turned out delicious and super moist. Good enough to eat even without frosting!
In fact, it is maybe even a teeny tiny bit on the greasy side – probably because I didn’t use enough sugar to soak up the oil? Next time I will try reducing the oil in half as well.
Thanks again for another simple, yummy and foolproof recipe!
This is a fantastic recipe! Being a whole foodie, I used whole wheat flour, sucanat as sweetener, and all organic ingredients. Even with the modifications, my whole junk food loving extended family LOVED it, They even asked for the recipe! Thanks a zillion!
Could you do this in a Bundt pan? How long would you bake it for?
Probably! I’d suggest 45-55 minutes.
I made this cake for Easter and was a hit. Everybody loved it.You were right no look further this is the ONE.
So happy to hear that, Kathy! Thank you!
I made this recipe last Easter, exactly as you wrote it. This Easter, my pregnant daughter asked me to put walnuts and raisins in it. I did as she asked, and I will NEVER leave the walnuts and raisins out again! I do appreciate your delicious smooth recipe, but the chewy-goodness of these additions… makes my family so stinkin’ happy! Also, your cream cheese frosting is RIDICULOUSLY delicious ~ YUMMM!!! Keep the recipes comin’, cutie!
Glad you guys found the perfect variation that your family loves. That’s all that matters! 🙂
Mel – I made this for Easter this year, and took leftovers to work. My boss and others told me this is the BEST carrot cake they have ever had. Thank you for another awesome recipe!! 🙂
Yessss! That made my day! Miss you, friend!
The cake is delicious! Last minute I was crazy and added a small can of crushed pineapple, drained, in one of the layers (and added some more flour to go along with it). I asked the family which layer they liked best and there was mixed reviews. It could be done, if that’s your thing. Both cakes were incredibly moist. The toasted pecans made the cake. Yum! That will never be an option at my house. I can’t wait to make this for my Mom!
I live at 6,000 feet and followed the directions exactly. My cake didn’t dome, but it raised and was cooked all the way through. I did have to bake each layer longer than the suggested 32 minutes. (just FYI)
Thanks for the detailed review, Katie!
My grandmother’s famous carrot cake has all the frills- walnuts, coconut, and pineapple. She has made this cake for more weddings than we can count! I can’t imagine trying a different recipe!
http://doubledippedlife.com/2009/10/carrot-cake.html?m=1
Dear Mel…..I followed exactly your recipe but for some reason the frosting didnt cover my entire cake. It was disappointing because i made it for Easter dinner. I am not sure why..maybe needs to double your frosting recipe. Now I have to hide part of the cake which is not covered with frosting from our guests
Darn, Kathy! I’m sorry! In the notes below the recipe directions, I give a quick note to double the frosting if making a layer cake instead of a 9X13 cake; I’m sorry if that wasn’t more prominent!
The best carrot cake I’ve ever made! I followed the recipe exactly except I doubled the frosting.
Thank you, Dona!
What altitude was this recipe made at? I am at 4700 feet.
5 stars. Yummy. Love Carrot cake
My Carrot Cake recipe is exactly the same as the one my great Grandmother gave to me many years ago, She had been making it forever. The one difference is she didn’t use 1/2 c. Brown sugar, she used all white sugar. I’m going to make with Brown sugar next time I make it. Great recipe and I have people beg me for it… I’ll just send them in your direction 🙂
I made 5 of these tonight. The first two cakes I made I used just less than a pound of carrots and the center of the cake collapsed. Crying real tears right now. Now I have to make two more tomorrow. Boo hoo. Anyway, the next three have turned out perfectly with a little more than a pound of carrots. Do not use fewer carrots. I practiced this cake and took it to my guinea pigs at work. One gal raved “IT WAS FULL OF VEGETABLES IT WAS AWESOME!” She made my day.
Oh man, Beth – so sorry those cakes didn’t work out – good reminder to the rest of us to follow the recipe to the pound, right?? You are a trooper. Glad your coworkers raved over the finished product!
And absolutely NO JIGGLE or hint of a jiggle. Actually, when it stops jiggling, wait 5 more minutes!! (This is for a 9×13 pan). I still had a dent when the jiggle was gone yesterday with all the carrots and about an hour of bake time. They are so worth it though. Can’t wait until tomorrow!
Hi Mel! I live in Colorado and I have not had great luck with cakes that have more baking powder and less baking soda- probably due to the altitude- do you have any high altitude suggestions? This looks great!
Hey Sara – I haven’t baked at high altitude in a lot of years now that I live at around 2,500 feet (used to live at 6,500 feet) but I remember a couple recommendations – to reduce the baking powder by about 1/4th and add a couple tablespoons more flour. I don’t know if that will provide no-fail results, but it should help a little. I think this chart from King Arthur Flour is super helpful! https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I am a fan of the more-the-better carrot cake with pineapple, coconuts, nuts and anything else i can come up with. That said, I have never had a carrot cake i didn’t like! I do find any carrot cake I have ever made is better the next day so I now plan on making it a day ahead.
Yes, I have to agree with the day ahead note!
Mel I am all about pure unadulterated smooth carrot only cake. Nothing added. Just beautiful carrots. And I go a step further with my carrot prep to make it even smoother. After I grate carrots in food processor, I measure. Then I put the carrots back in processor with the chopping blade to make very fine bits. Love the smooth texture this provides. Can you tell I don’t like chunks?!?!
Haha! Sounds like something I would do! Glad you’ve found a way to still LOVE carrot cake! 🙂
The Best….true story! This is the only carrot cake recipe I use & I constantly get requests for it. I always make cupcakes & they are perfect every time!
If you don’t mind, how many cupcakes did you get? Also, what temperature did you bake them and for about how long?
I have to take something to a potluck this weekend for my kids and I was thinking about making this, but cupcakes would work much better for a group of 5-10 year old boys.
You’d think I would remember more details having made them so many times….I get at least 24 cupcakes, seems like a few more. I bake at 350 but the time escapes me – I’d say start checking on them after 18 minutes.
I like raisins, coconut, and pineapple in a carrot cake and less oil with cream cheese frosting.
Thanks!
I love how there are so many different views about what the “perfect” carrot cake has to offer!
I have contemplated making this carrot cake a few times but I have a carrot cake recipe that I absolutely love that includes both pineapple and walnuts (GASP!). It always gets rave reviews with people saying it’s the best carrot cake they’ve ever eaten. I just love the moistness and flavor pineapple brings to the table. Perhaps I’ll send you the recipe in case you ever feel like trying something different (and perhaps sacrilegious!).
I love getting new recipes, Anna! If you have time, email it to me, that would be awesome. I should be more open minded about carrot cake. Haha.
I would love to try this recipe of yours, I live on the pineapple island (Hawaii) so that would be great here
Perfect carrot cake NEVER EVER has pineapple and ALWAYS has toasted walnuts and golden raisins. Then and ONLY THEN is it perfect.
I made this cake after carrot cake was requested for a birthday cake. I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed with your recipe and it was a HUGE success! The icing was so silky and smooth. Delicious!! Thanks for another great recipe Mel…keep ’em coming!
Thanks so much, Judy!
I need to make this into a wedding cake for 50 people. Any suggestions, tips,etc?
I don’t really know, Liz, without knowing what shape and size you want the cake. Do you know those details?
They have me very little instruction, other than for approximately 50 people. I was thinking a round cake, 3 or 4 tiers decorated with minimal buttercream flowers in fall colors. I think the rounds will freeze well, but a little concerned about structure. Thanks for any input you have,
Liz
I made this for Easter and it was excellent. And last Saturday I made it for a funeral luncheon and again it was very well-liked. I wanted to pipe a border rather than nuts, so I used the cream cheese frosting from Wicked Good Kitchen. that stuff is amazing.
In the cake, I used 1 cup oil and only 1 c. white sugar (kept the 1/2 c brown sugar) and it still tasted great with a pleasing texture and moistness.
I’ve never seen a cake disappear so quickly… made this for Easter dinner but we couldn’t wait that long – half of it was gone the night before! I love that the frosting wasn’t overly sweet, and the toasted pecans added the perfect finishing touch.
Just made my first carrot cake – requested by my 4 yr old – so good. Used half whole wheat pastry flour, subbed buttermilk for half the oil, and added some ginger to the spice mix. Really good cake, thx!
That’s interesting. I wonder how often you could sub buttermilk or another liquid for part of the oil. Thanks for the idea. It wouldn’t matter how carrot cake was made. In this house, we’d eat it all.
After having made this cake for years for our Easter dinner, I didn’t know what to serve for dessert this year because my family is now egg-and-dairy-free. I didn’t want to use a random carrot cake recipe, so I decided to just swap the 4 eggs for equivalent “flax eggs” (1/4 c. flaxseed mixed into 3/4 cup water, set aside in a bowl), and use Earth Balance “butter” for the butter and “vegan cream cheese” for the cream cheese. That’s a lot of swaps, and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I just wanted to report back that the cake was AWESOME, and indistinguishable from previous years’ versions once I refrigerated it. (The frosting was not as fluffy at first, but once we chilled it it was great.) Just wanted to pass along in case anyone else is looking for an egg-free or dairy-free version. I always cook mine in a bundt pan for 45ish minutes. Easy and pretty once frosted.
That’s amazing, Alicia! Thank you for sharing!
A definite keeper! Only used 1 batch of frosting for a 9 inch layer cake (frosted it in that trendy, pinterest-y naked cake style) and there was plenty of frosting to go around. Perfectly delicious! Full disclosure tho…. Am I the only one who feels like carrot cake is a fall cake? Maybe it’s just those warm spicy flavors… Maybe it’s just that I’m ready for fresh blueberries….
I made this a few years ago and loved it and decided to bake this On Thursday and my family ate it all by the next day. So I baked it again today for Easter. So I made this cake twice in one week haha. Thank you so much for such an easy and amazing Carrot cake.
Best. Carrot cake. Ever.
That is all.
I’ve been making your carrot cake recipe for my son’s birthday every year. He just turned 6 and requested carrot cake again – only to have my oven die a couple days before his birthday. But, salvation – my broiler element still worked! In case anyone ever wonders, you *can* cycle your broiler from hi/low/off to bake this carrot cake – and the cake was utterly delicious. I think its a sign of how much I trust your recipe that I had faith it would still be delicious – even in less than “traditional” cooking methods. 🙂 Thanks Mel!
That’s amazing! I don’t know that I’d ever have the guts to try that. You are amazing!
THANK YOU so much for sharing this recipe. It turned out just the way I was hoping- moist and cakey and not too dense. And the frosting was fabulous too! I made it for a party and the hostess’ all-time favorite cake is carrot, so I really needed this cake to impress. It definitely delivered. Everyone had seconds and even thirds! This is now my go-to carrot cake recipe!!
I made your carrot cake recicpe (using 9×13 pan) and I must say, this is a fantastic recipe! It was the easiest carrot cake I’ve ever made and including the carrot-food processor time, it mixed up very quickly.
But more importantly, the taste, flavors and texture are simple and delicious!
Thanks so much for your recipes, I can always count on them to be great.
I made this exactly as the recipe directed. I thought it was quite good, but my husband missed the nuts, coconut and raisins. So I cut back on the carrots and added all those other things the next time I made it. Then it was REALLY good.
I haven’t made yet so my rating is so I can ask a question but this does sound delicious — could I cut this recipe in half and bake in 9 square pan–? and could I add a can of crushed pineapple a small 8 oz can
You can definitely cut in half but I haven’t added pineapple so I’m not sure how that would work out.
Carrot cake is my absolute favorite dessert! This recipe is THE BEST! I just buy mini carrots and chop them in my food processor. The cream cheese frosting is AMAZING! Seriously, people who don’t even like carrot cake, eat this for the frosting alone.
I was wondering if you can use butter in place of the oil.?
I haven’t tried that – could definitely experiment!
Does anybody else get a crusty top to the layers? Assuming it’s the brown sugar. I am use to leveling cakes but this is some serious crust!
Mel, I had tried your salsa recipe and loved it and then I tried one of your salad recipes and loved it too, so….I decided to bake your Carrot Cake recipe and enter it in a Carrot Cake Baking Contest at one of the local supermarkets this morning and I came in 3rd place, the prize being a $25 dollar gift certificate. I had not “tried and tested” it before hand, so I was pleasantly surprised. (including mine, 12 cakes total) I had one lady come up and ask for your creamy frosting recipe, which I was happy to share with her and also gave her your website. Tasting my cake for the first time after the judging and photos were done, I have to say, that I also loved the frosting…(here comes the “but”) but, biting into the cake, the strong taste of cloves was not to my liking. In the future, I will increase the cinnamon and leave out the cloves. The winner, by the way, had everything in her carrot cake and it was very tasty. I personally enjoyed my carrot cake over the second place winner’s cake, but am still tickled pink that they chose mine for 3rd place. Thanks Mel…I’ll definitely be trying more of your delicious recipes.
Thanks for the fun comment! Glad the cake was so well-received and that you know what to do next time to make it even more your style! Congrats!
All I can taste is the oil. Won’t make this again.
You definitely didn’t make it right
once this cake is finished, does it need to be stored in refrigerator or will it be fine on the counter in a cake stand?
It’s fine at cool room temp for a few hours, but longer than that, I keep it in the fridge.
This is hands-down the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted. So flavorful and moist. Been making it for a few years now, complete success every time. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe, it truly is the best!
Love from Iceland
Hi! This looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it! Do you think it would work to bake it as a sheet cake in a 10″x15″ (or 12×17) jelly roll pan? If so, can recommend a baking time? Thanks so much for all of the delicious recipes!
I haven’t baked it in that size of pan. It works great in a 9X13-inch and might work fine but I don’t want it overflowing on you, so a lot will depend on how high the sides of your pan are.
Hi! I just had a question, I will be baking this cake tomorrow, but could i make the frosting today and store it in the fridge until then?
Yes, that should work – just make sure to take the frosting out in time to soften so it is spreadable.