Classic Southern Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Icing

Easter is on my mind, and so is this classic carrot cake recipe. It’s a moist, nutty, cinnamon-y sheet cake with luscious cream cheese icing — the perfect Easter dessert. With 16 servings, it will feed a crowd!

By the way, if you’re looking for a layer carrot cake, I have a recipe for that here on my blog, too. The layer cake requires three 9-inch round cake pans. This one only calls for one  9 x 13-inch rectangular pan. You could easily convert this one to a carrot cake cupcake recipe, too.

How to Make the Best Carrot Cake

Carrots are the star ingredient of this cake. For the best flavor and texture, I recommend starting with the freshest carrots and grating them yourself instead of buying a bag of shredded carrots at the store. Those bagged carrot bits are most likely old and dry. It takes just a few minutes to grate up 10 carrots with a box grater or food processor.  

Is carrot cake healthier than regular cake?

Every carrot cake will have the vitamin A and other nutrients of fresh carrots, so that’s a nutrition plus in its favor. Technically, you are getting a serving of vegetables. However, to keep things real here, carrot cake also has a fair amount of fat and sugar. Cream cheese icing is a must, in my opinion! That classic carrot cake taste requires the flavor and creamy texture of good quality cream cheese. So I think of carrot cake as a special treat like any rich dessert.  

Can you substitute applesauce or crushed pineapple for oil? 

For the oil in this cake, I like to use a good canola oil or melted coconut oil. Using oil instead of butter gives you a moist, rich cake. However, if you need to make a lower fat version, you can make a substitution for up to half of the oil. I recommend applesauce instead of crushed pineapple, since pineapple can make your cake soggy. Substitute at a 1:1 ratio, using the same amount of applesauce as oil.

What else does a carrot cake contain?

This carrot cake recipe starts with basic cake ingredients: all-purpose flour, sugar and brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and eggs.

The add-ins: Many carrot cake recipes include raisins, but I prefer to focus on the nutty flavor of pecans or walnuts.  

The spices: Carrot cake is meant to be spicy. This recipe has a generous amount of cinnamon, but you could add nutmeg or ginger if you like.

The frosting: My kids will tell you this is the best part! The carrot cake frosting includes cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and an optional dash of orange juice for a zesty citrus flavor. You can get fancy and decorate the cake with orange frosting carrots with green stems.

Why is my carrot cake not moist?

Using old carrots, using butter instead of oil, or over baking can make your carrot cake dry. How do you know when it’s cooked just enough? A toothpick inserted into the cake should have some moist crumbs on it, not come out clean.

How do you store a carrot cake?

This carrot cake is sure to get eaten up quickly! It should do fine on the kitchen counter for a day at temperatures under 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If your kitchen is hotter than that, then you should wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge.

Classic Southern Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Servings 16 servings

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients for Carrot Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 6 large eggs lightly beaten
• 4 1/2 cups grated carrots about 10 medium carrots
• 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 cups cream cheese 2 8-ounce packages, softened
• 6 tablespoons butter softened
• 8 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice optional

Instructions

 

• To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch cake pan. Or for carrot cake cupcakes, grease a cupcake tin, optionally lining with cupcake papers or parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda until incorporated. Set the dry ingredients aside.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the sugar and the oil in a large bowl on low speed. Slowly add the eggs to the bowl, mixing well on medium speed. At this point, you can’t overwork the batter. Make sure the eggs are completely incorporated.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the flour to the wet ingredients in two batches. Stir the carrot cake batter with a spoon until the flour is incorporated, but don't overwork it. Gently fold in the carrots and the nuts.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and begins to barely pull away from the side of the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack. Leave cake on cooling rack until completely cooled to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese and butter with the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix at medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and the vanilla and mix until completely incorporated. Add orange juice if the frosting seems too thick.
• Cover the entire cake with the frosting. Refrigerate the cake for about 20 minutes or until the frosting is set.

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