Carrot Cake: Ultimate Easy Recipe

Last Updated on September 20, 2019 by Irina | Baking Like a Chef

Carrot cake is a beautifully moist cake filled with healthy carrots, warm spices and topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting. If you look for an easy Carrot cake recipe, do not look any further. Try it today!

I have been looking for the best Carrot cake recipe over the last three to four years. I almost gave on it! However, once I baked and tasted Carrot cake by the Israeli-British chef Yotam Ottolenghi, my first thought was “Wow.” It is fruit-free, not over-spiced, not over-sweetened and extremely moist! So, if you have already given up with Carrot cake, you should try this one as a last resort. You will love it!

What is Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is a moist cake filled with grated carrots. Food historians discovered that its first recipe was published in 1827. The cake became popular in Great Britain because of rationing during the Second World War.

In 1941, British scientists invented a special radar system to use at night. Consequently, British government started a campaign to increase the consumption of the gorgeous orange root since it could improve night vision. It is considered that Carrot cake was born at that time.

The cake came to the States during the 1960’ and became one of the most popular American classic desserts.

What Carrot Good For?

Carrots are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

• Since carrots contain a great amount of antioxidants that reduce free radicals in the body, the orange root may lower a risk of cancer.
• Patients with diabetes may benefit from eating carrots since antioxidants with phytochemicals play a significant role in blood sugar regulation.
• Vitamin C of carrots helps boost the immune system during the flu season.

When is National Carrot Cake Day

Have you heard about the National Carrot Cake Day? This holiday is celebrated annually on February 3^rd in the United States. It is a great chance to make Carrot cake or experiment with the cake batter, making muffins or cupcakes.

I will tell you even more! Carrot lovers all around the world celebrate the International Carrot Day annually on April 4^th! This is the second chance to serve a table with this classic cake.  

What Frosting Goes on Carrot Cake

• Cream cheese frosting is a traditional frosting used for Carrot cake.
• If you look for other frosting alternatives, simply make whipped cream frosting: just whisk whipping cream with one tablespoon of icing sugar and spread on top of the cake.
• Another non-cream cheese frosting substitute is vanilla buttercream.
• If you want to go for a glaze, rather than a thick frosting, just make a lemon glaze by mixing 150 g icing sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. The lemon note will perfectly fit the cake.

Why This Carrot Cake Recipe Works

1. Carrot cake is one of the healthiest cakes due to carrots included into the batter.
2. Sunflower oil and grated carrots are ingredients that provide the prime moisture for the cake.
3. This cake is easily transformed into a two-layer cake. Just cut the ready cake into two equal disks with a serrated knife, double the recipe of the cheese cream frosting and spread it between layers and on top.
4. Carrot cake is the best make-ahead cake whose maximum flavors get released next day. Make the cake one day in advance!
5. The cake is so easy to make that even a beginner-baker would be able to perfect this cake. No pipping/cake decorating skills are required.

How to Make Carrot Cake – Step by Step

Preheat oven to 340 F/170 C.

To make the cake batter, sift dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. In a separate small bowl, whisk whole egg with one egg yolk. Place sunflower oil and caster sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix one minute, using medium speed (photo 1).

Then decrease speed and add beaten eggs. Add chopped walnuts, desiccated coconut, grated carrots, sifted flour/spices mixture and mix just to combine (photo 2).

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt until firm (photo 3). Carefully add the whites to the main preparation in three times (photo 4).

Grease and layer the bottom and sides of a 20 cm cake pan with parchment paper. Pour the cake batter into the pan (photo 5) and bake for about 1 hour. Check the readiness of the cake with a tester-skewer: if it comes out dry, the cake is ready. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool (photo 6). Then remove it from the pan.

To make the cream cheese frosting, place cream cheese at room temperature in a bowl of the stand or electric mixer and beat. In a separate bowl, whisk softened butter, icing sugar and honey. Add butter/sugar/honey mixture to the cream cheese and whisk again (photo 7).

Cover the cake with the cream cheese frosting, folding waves on top. Sprinkle with chopped and roasted walnuts (photo 8).

Top Tips to Make Carrot Cake

1. Soften butter at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge 2 hours before baking.
2. Grate carrots finely, using the small shred of a grater or the shredding attachment on a food processor. Try to avoid store bought shredded carrots since they are thick and dry.
3. Keep grated/shredded carrots in the fridge till you are ready to use. Make this step yourself a day ahead of time.
4. Feel free to replace chopped walnuts with pecans and to add raisins instead of coconut.
5. To roast walnuts or other nuts, spread them on a baking sheet and roast at 300 F/150 C for 15 minutes.
6. Cover top of the cake with foil if it starts getting dark during baking.
7. Use cream cheese (not cream cheese spread) at room temperature.
8. Make Carrot cake one day in advance. The taste and texture of the cake intensifies and gets better with time.
9. Unfrosted cake can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. To thaw, just leave the cake in the regular fridge overnight.

More Delicious Cake Recipes You’ll Love

• Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Icing 
• Moist Carrot Loaf Cake With Cashews
• Fig, Yogurt and Almond cake
• Browse all the Cake Recipes

Let’s Connect

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The recipe is taken from https://ottolenghi.co.uk/. It is re-written by me, but the authorship of the recipe belongs to Yotam Ottolenghi. All posted pictures are mine.

The recipe was originally published in February, 2019. It has been revised to include improved content and photos.

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