Brimming with heart warming spices and earthy sweetness, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is a classic favorite for good reason. And this one is truly hard to top. It's an adaptation of a recipe unearthed from the mountain of cooking magazines I've managed to accumulate over the years, and more specifically, the title "All-Time Favorite Recipes" From America's Test Kitchen TV Show (circa 2013). This version is perfectly tender and delicately spiced, just like the original...but with a bit less sugar, in order to let those sweet carrots really shine through, plus a heap of walnuts for rich texture. It's also far more petite in scale, yielding just six generous slices, making it ideal for those intimately sized occasions that still call for a spectacular slice of cake!
Essential to constructing this classic carrot cake is a batch of cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect contrast to all that sweetness and spice.
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Ingredients for Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- fresh ground nutmeg
- kosher salt
- carrots
- sugar
- light brown sugar
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- walnuts (optional)
- cream cheese frosting
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Begin by peeling the carrots.
And if including walnuts, roughly chop them.
Heat oven to 350℉. Grease baking pans with butter. Then line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment as well, and then flour the pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set the flour mixture aside.
Using a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred the carrots. Transfer the shredded carrots to a bowl and set aside.
Then fit the processor with the metal blade and add the sugar, brown sugar, and eggs to the work bowl. Process until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
With the processor running, add the oil in a steady stream. Process until the sugar mixture appears light in color and well emulsified, about 30 seconds.
Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture, along with the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts. Stir everything together until the batter appears uniform and no traces of flour remain.
Spoon batter into the prepared pans. Smooth tops with a rubber spatula, and then gently tap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.
Then allow the cakes to cool completely in their pans on wire racks, about 2 hours.
Once cooled, invert cakes onto the racks and discard the parchment.
Place the first layer onto a cake platter and spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting evenly over the top.
Place the second layer on top. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and around the sides. If desired, decorate!
Hint: This recipe is scaled to make a charming little 6 inch round cake with two layers. But if you're after something bigger, you can easily scale it up! If doubled, this recipe will fill a 13x9 inch rectangular pan and serve about twelve.
Equipment
This carrot cake is blissfully easy to prepare with the help of a food processor. However, it is certainly not essential in order to make this cake. You can also simply shred the carrots with a good old box grater (on the largest holes) and combine the wet ingredients with an electric hand mixer or basic whisk.
Storage
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting should be stored in the refrigerator (due to the perishability of the frosting), and it will keep very well for about 3 to 4 days.
Related
Looking for more classic dessert recipes? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- food processor
- 2 six inch round cake pans
- 2 six inch parchment rounds
- wire cooling racks
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ pound carrots, peeled
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 batch cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350℉. Grease baking pans with butter. Then line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment as well, and then flour the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set the flour mixture aside.
- Using a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred the carrots. Transfer the shredded carrots to a bowl and set aside.
- Fit the processor with the metal blade. Then add the sugar, brown sugar, and eggs to the work bowl. Process until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
- With the processor running, add the oil in a steady stream. Process until the sugar mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 30 seconds.
- Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture, along with the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts. Stir everything together until the batter appears uniform and no traces of flour remain.
- Spoon batter into the prepared pans. Smooth tops with a rubber spatula, and then gently tap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely in their pans on wire racks, about 2 hours.
- Once cooled, invert cakes onto the racks and discard the parchment. Place the first layer onto a cake platter and spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting evenly over the top. Place the second layer on top. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and around the sides.
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