The Best Carrot Cake Recipe

Here is quite a tasty treat for you. It’s that time of year where you probably have a ton of veggies left from your garden and aren’t quite sure what to do with them, right? I attended a wedding this summer that used our Plantable Carrot Menu Cards, and holy moly did they sure grow. Now left with a ton of delicious garden carrots, I’m trying to devise a plan to use all of them.

That’s why I have to share this recipe with you today, whether you’re like me or you’re a natural Julia Child type, you’ll love this recipe. Even my husband was impressed. You’ll love the moist carrot cake and how creamy the cream cheese icing is. Yeah, you heard right – Cream. Cheese. Icing.

Having never attempted making carrot cake before, I thought it would be a good idea to gather all the pre measured ingredients together. Even just the ingredients used for this recipe look good, that’s a good sign, right? Following the instructions from the recipe was super easy, there were no hidden steps to figure out on your own.

The carrots smelled so fresh when shredding them, then while combining the pineapple, coconut, walnuts and raisins the mixture really came together. At this point I was excited with anticipation for how this was going to taste.

After a short 45 minutes in the oven and a cool down period to apply the make-your-mouth salivate cream cheese icing, here you have it, the finished product. You won’t regret trying this recipe.

BEST CARROT CAKE RECIPE (with cream cheese icing)

PREP TIME:
20 minutes

COOK TIME:
45 minutes to 1 hour for one pan
25-35 minutes for 2 circular pans

COOKING TEMPERATURE:
350ºF (175ºC)

YIELD:
One 8” x 12” (or 9” x 13”) inch pan
Two 9” circular pans

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed 
pineapple with juice
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

CREAM CHEESE ICING INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound cream cheese
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-4 cups icing sugar

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE:

• Preheat oven to temperature listed above.
• Grease and flour cooking pan(s).
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, 
salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and 
vanilla and mix well. Add flour mixture and mix for 3 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, 
coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
• Fold carrot mixture into batter with a large wooden spoon.
• Pour into prepared pan(s), and bake for time listed 
above, or until a toothpick test comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before icing.

DIRECTIONS FOR ICING:

• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine 
cream cheese and butter until well blended.
• Add vanilla, mix until fully blended (about 1 minute).
• Sift in 2 cups of icing sugar, mix until fully blended.
• Sift and mix in additional icing sugar, half cup at a time 
to taste, until desired level of sweetness is reached.

Like what you see on our blog? Join our mailing list to receive emails with freebies, projects, coupons, green living tips and decor ideas and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.