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Oh my goodness, this lightly spiced Carrot Cake is my new favorite cake. The carrots and oil give it such a luxurious texture and keep it moist and springy. The subtle hint of cinnamon and ginger gives it spicy warmth, and the tangy vanilla bean cream cheese frosting is so good you’ll want to grab a spoon and eat it all by itself.
I will confess that as a child, I didn’t care for carrot cake. But then again, it was usually a dry, crumbly cake with noticeable carrot slivers, so eww.
As an adult, though, I fell in love with carrot cakes in all iterations, like my Carrot Loaf Cake or carrot cake muffins. And now there are Carrot Cake cookies!
I wanted to bake a carrot cake with a hint of spice flavors that would stay moist for days. This is the one!
Testing results for carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
- I tried using just granulated sugar, just brown sugar, and a mix of both, and decided I prefer using just brown sugar in the cake. The flavor is sublime with the carrots and has more depth than using white granulated sugar.
- I used my regular cream cheese frosting for this cake, but added vanilla bean paste. The flecks of vanilla bean are so pretty on the cake! If you don’t have the paste, you can use vanilla extract.
- I tested this cake in 8-inch cake pans, not 9-inch. You can make it in 9-inch pans, but the layers will be a little thinner and the baking time will be slightly different (less).
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
Ingredient notes
Here are a few things to know about the ingredients in this recipe.
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
Light brown sugar: This gives the cake a more complex flavor.
Neutral oil (such as vegetable or canola): I typically use a combination of butter and oil in my cakes (like in my Red Velvet Cake), but for this cake, I settled on just oil.
Pin this now to save it for laterHow to make a spiced carrot cake
- Beat the brown sugar, eggs, and oil until fully combined.
- Gradually add the flour, then the spices and vanilla and mix well.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold in the shredded carrots.
- Divide the batter into prepared cake pans and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Cool the cakes completely, then frost with cream cheese frosting.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 packed cups light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil (such as vegetable or canola)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups carrots, peeled and shredded (approx 4 carrots)
For the cream cheese frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract or vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
To decorate
- ½ cup toasted walnuts or pecans, finely chopped See notes below for toasting instructions.
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of two 8 inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, add 2 packed cups light brown sugar, 4 large eggs, and 1 cup neutral oil (such as vegetable or canola). Beat on medium speed until fully combined (about 1 minute).
- In a smaller bowl, add 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt and whisk to combine.
- On a slow speed, gradually add the flour to the mixer. Once it has all been incorporated, add 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat on the slowest speed for 3 minutes.
- Turn off the mixer and add 3 cups carrots, peeled and shredded (approx 4 carrots). Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently fold them into the cake batter.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the two cake pans.
- Place the cake pans into the center of the preheated oven. You should be able to fit them on one shelf side by side. Check for doneness after 25 minutes, the cakes will have risen and look golden brown. When touched lightly with a finger the sponge should spring back. A toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes should come out clean. If they are not baked, return to the oven for another couple of minutes and then check again.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes then invert on to a wire cooling rack.
Make the frosting
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, add 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature. Beat on medium to medium-high until the butter is creamy. Add 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, room temperature and beat until the cream cheese is fully incorporated with the butter and there are no lumps.
- Add 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted and beat on low until blended, then increase to medium-high and beat until smooth. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract or vanilla extract along with pinch of salt, then beat for an additional 5 minutes. The frosting will look light and fluffy.
- When the cakes have cooled, place one of them on a large cake plate or platter. Spread over about 1/3 of the frosting then add the other cake on top.
- Spread about 1/3 of frosting up and around the sides of the cake then add the final 1/3 of frosting to the top of the cake and smooth it out.
- Scatter 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, finely chopped around the outside edge of the cake.
Notes
- The Carrot Cake layers took exactly 25 minutes to bake in our oven. Use the tips in the written recipe above to check for doneness. Baked in 8-inch pans, the carrot cake shouldn’t take any longer than 28 minutes total.
- We used vanilla bean paste in our frosting as it has a lovely flavor, and it’s nice to see the tiny specks of vanilla bean in the frosting. You can use vanilla extract if that’s all you have. This frosting is tangy and not overly sweet. The hint of sea salt adds an extra dimension to the flavor and pairs very well with it.
- Do not beat the frosting for longer than 5 minutes, as cream cheese can become runny when over-mixed.
- We added a coating of cream cheese frosting to the outside sides of the cake. This is easy to do, and it doesn’t have to look perfect. If you want to skip this step, simply add half of the frosting to the inside of the cake and the other half on top.
