The Best Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe

Moist, melt in your mouth, delicious Carrot cake made with carrots, a bunch of spices, and topped with walnuts and a homemade Butter pecan cream cheese frosting.

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Hey PBJ’s! I’m back, and this time, with a dessert recipe: homemade Carrot cake. I’ve been wanting to create a carrot cake recipe for a long time, but since I’m not really into sweets, I unintentionally put it off.

But today, I’ll be showing you how to make a delicious, one-of-a-kind carrot cake that you and your family will love. And although I haven’t been making carrot cake for long, I don’t think it can get too much better than this.

My mom’s co-workers begged for a Carrot Cake recipe

My mother’s co-workers begged me to make a carrot cake! They loved my Delicious Lemon Pound Cake so they asked my mother if she could have me make another cake to bring to the job, which was a carrot cake!

I’m diabetic, so I try to stay away from sweets. Whenever I create or experiment with a baked goods recipe, I’d taste a little and if it’s good, my mom will take the rest to work. She sits the cake on the lunchroom’s table at her job, and all her co worker’s devour it.

Anyway, I had never made carrot cake, but it was always a recipe I wanted to post because I know it’s pretty popular, and a lot of people love it. I’m not the biggest fan, personally, but after tasting the one I bought from the church, I developed a liking for it.

Our church sells cakes, juices, and dinners in a side room out in the lobby. My mom bought this Bahamian lady’s famous carrot cake and fell in love with it. People from the church say it’s the best they’ve ever had, so you know, that inspired me to make my own.

I said, well, it’s time to look into how to make carrot cake and master a fiya carrot cake recipe myself. So I did some research on Google to figure out the common ingredients people use and decided to choose which Ingredients I wanted to use.

I had to order some carrot cakes from a few stores just to get a feel for what a good carrot cake tastes like, so I would have a reference for what a good carrot cake is. So I want you all to give my carrot cake recipe a shot and tell me what you think.

I gave a few pieces to carrot cake lovers and cake eaters, lol, and they all seemed to love it and even asked for more, so I think this carrot cake is valid! Below are all the ingredients and tools you’ll need to make this recipe.

What you need:

Dry Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: Flour is the main ingredient because it’s what the cake is made of. I tried using cake flour but didn’t like the texture of the crumb it produced.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder is a leavening that is responsible for making the cake rise.
• Baking soda: Baking soda is also a leavening. When it reacts with an acidic ingredient like buttermilk, it produces carbon dioxide, creating a light and fluffy cake.

Spices

Here are the spices I use in this recipe. I’ll let you know which are common and traditional and which are not. Feel free to customize the recipe and play around with the spices. Eliminate, reduce, or increase them if you want.

For example if you dont like Ginger or Clove, just use Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Some people just use Cinnamon; if that’s you just use Cinnamon. Feel free to add a little at a time and once you’re done blending everything together, give it a taste test and decide what you need more of.

• Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the one spice that you must use to give Carrot cake its traditional flavor and aroma. It also helps darken the flour to give the cake its traditional light brown color. You will almost always see Cinnamon as an ingredient in a Carrot cake recipe.
• Nutmeg: Nutmeg adds a much needed flavor to the cake and is a commonly used spice in Carrot cake. Both Cinnamon and Nutmeg give the cake a traditional flavor, color, and aroma.
• Ginger: Ginger adds just the right amount of spice to the cake, but it’s not a common spice used in carrot cake, so I only use a little, especially since ginger is pretty potent.
• Clove: I decided to be a little different and add ground clove to the batter, and people seem to like it. I didn’t use much of it because using it in carrot cake isn’t traditional.
• Salt: Salt enhances flavor! Salt is so important in making “baked goods.” Novices may think it’ll make the cake salty. Lol! It won’t because only a pinch is used.

Wet Ingredients and add-ins

• Carrots: This is carrot cake, so you have to have carrots. Use fresh carrots and grate them.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk is used to create gluten, add flavor and moisture, and loosen the cake batter.
• Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is the most important ingredient when it comes to moisture.
• Applesauce: Apple sauce adds flavor and moisture. I use it to reduce the amount of oil I use, which makes the cake greasy.
• Butter: Butter adds flavor to the cake. I’m big on butter, as it makes every “sweet” and “baked good” taste better. Make sure you use unsalted butter because we’re already adding salt to the flour, and too much salt is a no-no.
• Eggs: Eggs are very important for cake pies and many other “baked goods” as they’re mainly responsible for their structure. The egg yolk, believe it or not, gives the cake an amazing flavor. It can give white cakes a nice yellow color, and it is also a leavening ingredient that contributes to helping the cake rise.
• Vanilla: Vanilla extract is a MUST! It plays a MAJOR role in adding flavor to baked goods, and without it, your favorite cakes, muffins, and cobblers will taste like nothing.
• White and Brown Sugar: The white sugar obviously sweetens the cake, and the brown sugar provides sweetness, moisture, and a molasses flavor. Along with the spices, it also gives the carrot cake its classic light brown color.

Cake pan ingredients

• Vegetable Oil: You’ll also need oil for the cake pans. It serves as a gluing agent to help the flour stick to the pan.
• Pam Spray: I’ve found that Pam spray and vegetable oil work better together than either alone, so I use both to prevent the cake from sticking.
• All-purpose flour: The flour protects the cake from the hot cake pans so it doesn’t burn.

Frosting ingredients

• Cream Cheese: Cream cheese balances the overall cake and adds a bit of cheesiness to the frosting.
• Confectioner’s Sugar: Powdered sugar is great for frosting because it dissolves into the other ingredients. White granulated sugar won’t blend in well, and you might feel hard sugar crystals in the frosting, which we do not want.
• Pecan Syrup: We use simple syrup to smooth and thin out the frosting. This is completely optional.
• Vanilla: Vanilla just gives the icing a boost of flavor like it does everything else.
• Crushed Walnuts or Pecans: Crushed walnuts or pecans can be used to decorate the top and sides of the cake.

Tools:

• Mixing Bowls: Make sure you have at least three big mixing bowls: one for the dry ingredients, one for the wet ingredients, and another for the icing.
• Spatula: A spatula is good for pressing the batter that splashes on the sides of the bowl down into the center and for scrapping up the batter that seaps to the bottom of the bowl the hand mixer misses.
• Measuring Cups: Measuring cups are a must when following a baked goods recipe because you have to use exact measurements for the cake to turn out right. You need measuring cups to accurately measure the flour, sugar, buttermilk, and oil.
• Measuring Spoons: You need measuring spoons to accurately measure the baking powder, soda, spices, and vanilla, etc
• Strainer: You need a strainer to sift the dry ingredients.
• Knife: I use a knife to level out the flour.
• Whisk: Use a whisk just to whisk in all the dry ingredients.
• Potato Peeler: Use a potato peeler to peel the skin of the carrots
• Cheese Grater: A cheese grater is necessary to create finely shredded carrots.
• Hand mixer: Use a hand mixer to combine the dry and wet ingredients and create the cake batter.
• Cake Pans: You obviously need these to bake the cake in and since this is a layer cake you’ll need 2.
• Icing Spatula: An icing spatula is a heaven-sent. It’s the perfect tool for applying the icing or frosting, and it makes the process so much easier.

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How to make carrot cake

Grating the carrots and alternatives

• First, peel the skin from the carrots using a potato peeler, then shred them using the small holes on the grater to create thin shredded carrots.
• If you use small carrots that come in a bag, add them to a blender and blend them because they are too small to shred.
• Don’t use pre-shredded carrots in a bag; they’re too hard for carrot cake. If you do use them, blend them.
• If you blend carrots that come in a bag, don’t blend them for long; you do not want them to turn into carrot juice. A couple of pulses should do the job.

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Sifting the dry ingredients

I sift the flour to remove any hard pieces that are often found in bags. It’s also commonly used to add air to the flour to ensure the cake rises. But I just use to it to unsure the pieces are gone.

• Scoop the flour into a measuring cup and shake it left to right to level out the flour.  Once you fill the measuring cup to the top, level it out again using a knife to ensure you’re not using too much flour. 
• Place the strainer over the mixing bowl, pour the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into it, and shake the strainer left to right until it passes through.
• Then, discard any pieces in the strainer and whisk all the dry ingredients in so everything is well incorporated.

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Mixing the wet ingredients

• Add all the wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and blend for 1 minute on low speed or until well blended.
• Melt the butter and let it chill for a few minutes. Once it’s chilled, add it to the bowl and blend it in for 10-15 seconds. You want it to chill before blending it in because you don’t want it to cook the eggs with its heat.
• This is when you fold in the carrots with a spatula.

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Combining the dry and wet ingredients

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend them at high speed. Blend only until everything is well incorporated, no longer.
• Over beating the batter will cause gluten and the cake to potentially fall

Preparing the cake pan

• Pour the oil into the cake pans. Lift and turn the pans so the oil covers all around the sides. Lol!
• Spray in the Pam, and make sure you spray each part of the pan.
• Add the flour, then shake and turn the pan so the flour sticks to the bottom and sides.
• Turn the pans upside down on a surface and tap the back to remove excess flour.

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Baking the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350
• Pour the cake batter into the cake pans
• Lift the cake pans up 1 inch above the counter and drop them. Do this 3 to 4 times to remove the air bubbles.
• Place the cake in the oven, in the center, on the bottom rack.

Doneness

• You can check for doneness by sticking a fork or knife into the center of the cake. If it comes out dry, it’s done.
• When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and sit it on a cooling rack to chill.
• If the top of the cake is too high and not flat and even, use a large knife or icing spatula to cut it off so you have an even surface, and brush off the crumbs so they don’t get caught up in the frosting when you apply it.

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Wet flour on top of the cake?

Sometimes, you may find your cake littered with wet flour. If you ever see this, don’t worry. We all make mistakes, and this is simply due to adding too much oil, which allowed more flour than needed to stick.

What to do? Well, you don’t want to taste this while eating your cake, so you can simply get a knife, scrape the soft flour off the cake, and dig into and scoop out the flour in the little holes of the cake, as seen in the photo below..

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Cream cheese frosting

• Add the cream cheese to a mixing bowl and blend it with a hand mixer on high until it’s smooth.
• Add in the confectioner’s sugar, the syrup, and the vanilla, and blend again until smooth.
• Use a spatula to push down the frosting on the sides of the bowl and scrape the frosting at the bottom to ensure everything is well incorporated.

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How to apply cake frosting

• Start applying a thick layer of frosting to the top of 1 layer of cake by pouring a lot on the top and smoothing it out. Remember, this is going to be the center of the cake.
• With the icing spatula, smooth out the top and make sure all the sides of the first layer of cake are coated with frosting and smooth, then give it 30 minutes or so until it stiffens.
• Set the second cake layer on top of the first layer, make sure it’s stable, and pour some icing on top. Add some icing to the sides and smooth it out with the icing spatula.
• Keep doing this process until you’re out of icing. Adding icing to stiff, hard icing allows the new icing to stick. Let the icing chill for a few hours, then add the rest to the sides and top. The goal is to no longer be able to see the cake’s color but only the icing.
• Break the walnuts or pecans up in a blender or with a sharp large knife if you prefer them small like myself
• Decorate the cake to your liking. I just add crushed walnuts to the sides and some of the top. I also add a sprinkle a little carrots of the top.

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Baker tips:

• Blend the dry and wet ingredients with a hand mixer for a few minutes until everything is incorporated. Be mindful that over-blending may ruin the texture of the cake and cause it to rise too much in the oven and then collapse.
• Use a spatula to incorporate all the flour into the batter. You may not notice pockets of flour at the bottom, but mix it all together.

Serving suggestions:

• Cold Cup Of Milk: This cake will taste great as a midnight snack late at night, with an ice-cold cup of milk to drink it with. Amazing!
• Hot tea: My grandma used to always eat cakes early in the afternoon on Sundays. If we made a cake, which the family often did, she’d tear it up with a nice hot cup of tea on the side.

Storage

• How to store cake? Since we’re making the frosting with cream cheese, you can store the cake in the refrigerator. Place it on a plate or cake holder, cover it with a lid, and place it in the refrigerator. This will keep it fresh and the frosting solidified.
• Can you freeze the cake? Yes, the cake freezes nicely! Just make sure it’s tightly sealed to prevent freezer burn. Sealing it in a Ziploc bag is a great option.

Frequently asked questions

• Why did my cake sink? Inconsistent temperature is a common cause which happens when you open the oven door too much while it’s baking or maybe you didn’t bake it long enough and the center hasn’t had time to cook and rise.
• What causes gummy streaks in cakes? When you beat the batter too much, creating a lot of air bubbles, the cake rises a lot when you put it in the oven, but then it collapses, causing little gummy streaks in the center.
• How to remove a cake stuck in a pan? Take a knife and loosen up the sides. Then turn the cake upside down and hit the back of the pan. Shake it a few times, but continue this process, and eventually, the cake will release itself.

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Other cake recipes you might like:

• How To Make Lemon Pound Cake And Homemade Lemon Frosting
• Otis’s Easy Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe (Made from scratch)

Alright, PBJ’s, that’s it for now! Give this recipe a shot. I think you’ll really enjoy this carrot cake recipe. And make sure to subscribe to get email notifications whenever I post a new delicious recipe.

Also, if you want to stay updated on everything Philly Jay Cooking, follow me on social media at the following links: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.

Enjoy, later!
PBJ~

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The Best Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe

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• Author: PhillyboyJay
• Category: Dessert
• Method: American

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Description

Moist, melt in your mouth, delicious Carrot cake made with carrots, a bunch of spices, and topped with walnuts and a homemade Butter pecan cream cheese frosting.

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Tsps Baking Powder
• 2 Tsps Baking Soda
• 2 Tsps Ground Cinnamon
• 2 Tsps Ground Nutmeg
• 1 Tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 Tsp Ground Clove
• 1 Tsp Salt
  
  Wet Ingredients and Add-ins
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Cup Buttermilk
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 Cup Butter, melted
• 1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
• 2 Cups White Sugar
• 1–1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tsps Vanilla
• 3 Cups Carrots, shredded

  Cake Pan Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Vegetable oil
• Pam Spray
• 1/3 Cup All-purpose Flour
  
  Frosting Ingredients
• 16oz Cream Cheese
• 4 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Peacn Syrup
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 2 Tsps Vanilla
• Crushed Walnuts

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. In a large size bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and powder, and the spices through a strainer into the bowl, then whisk well.
2. Add all the wet ingredients, such as the butter, milk, oil, eggs, butter, vanilla, applesauce, and sugars, to a bowl, and blend well.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and blend just until everything is incorporated. Push the batter down from the side and dig deep and scrap up any flour at the bottom up.
4. Shred the carrots with a grater and add them to the wet ingredients and stir well.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and blend on low speed until everything is incorporated.
6. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
7.  Add oil to both baking pans, turn them around so it get around the pan then turn into down to remove the excess oil.
8. Spray Pam onto each part of the pan and then  add your flour and shake and turn the pan so the flour cover all parts.
9.  Turn the pans upside down to remove the excess oil.
10.  Add the flour and turn the pan around and upside down to remove the excess flour.
11.  The pans should be nicely coated; now, pour the cake batter into both pans.
12.  Bake them for 1 hour and 5 minutes, then remove them and put them on a cooling rack upside down.
13. In a big bowl, combine the cream cheese, confectioner sugar, milk, syrup, and vanilla with a hand mixer on low speed until it’s nice and smooth.
14.  Once the cakes chill, sit one on a wide place and begin coating it with the icing spatula.
15. Add a little at time. Add some to cover the cake then refrigerate it.
16. After some time in the refrigerator, like 2 hours or so, and afterward add more frosting and place it in the refrigerator again. REPEAT THIS PROCESS UNTIL IT’S ALL GONE AND THE ICING HAD STIFFEN.
17. Put the walnuts in a blender and blend them until they look like sand.
18.  Sprinkle it onto the tops and sides and sprinkle some stressed carrots on top too.

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