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This is the Best Carrot Cake Recipe around! A moist, lightly spiced carrot cake topped with classic cream cheese frosting. A little added coconut and chopped walnuts adds some extra crunch and texture to satisfy all your cravings!
I try not to label things as “The Best” very often, so when I do – you know it’s got to be legit. I’ve been around the block a few times. That’s the carrot cake block, to be exact, and I’ve found the ultimate best carrot cake recipe. It’s the most moist, with the best spices, and the creamiest icing. Each bite takes you on a wild flavor ride.
Why This is the Best Carrot Cake Recipe
- Moist Cake: There is nothing worse than dry cake… Seriously… This cake is super moist thanks to a few tips and tricks we lay out below.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Need I say anything else? I don’t think so…
- Perfect Balance: I find a lot of cakes to be too sweet. This carrot cake recipe has an awesome balance of spice, sweet, and savory – you’re going to love it!
What You’ll Need
This carrot cake recipe is pretty classic when it comes to ingredients. And if you do any baking, you’ll probably have all of these already on hand. Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
For the Carrot Cake
- Eggs: Make sure you set these out about 30-45 minutes before baking. You want them to be at room temperature.
- Oil: Any kind of vegetable oil will work. I like the neutral flavor of avocado oil.
- Sugar
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Seasonings: We’ll be using cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Carrots
- Walnuts: Toast these up a bit for an even more amazing flavor!
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter
- Cream Cheese
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Zest
- Powdered Sugar
How to Make Carrot Sheet Cake
This carrot cake recipe comes together really quickly, and it’s even better when you make it a day ahead of when you want to eat it! Check out the recipe card at the end of this post for detailed instructions.
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350˚ F and grease a 15x10x1-inch pan with butter and then dust it with flour.
- Mix: In your electric mixer’s bowl add eggs, oil, and sugar; beat until completely smooth.
- Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and seasonings together until combined.
- Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat it well until a nice batter has come together. Gently fold in the carrots and walnuts.
- Bake: Pour the batter into your greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Frosting: While the cake is cooking, combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla into your mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Add the lemon zest and sugar (one cup at a time) and continue to beat until you have a nice fluffy iceing.
- Ice: Once the cake is completely cooled, cover it with the frosting and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
I said it was the best carrot cake recipe and I stand by my declaration! These tips will make sure your cake turns out the best, too. 🙌
- Cool the Cake: It’s super important to let the carrot cake cool completely before you ice it. If you do it too soon, the cream cheese frosting will melt and you’ll be super disappointed. Patience my friends!
- Ice Ahead: For a super moist and flavor-rich cake, make and ice your carrot cake a full day before cutting into it. This will allow all those amazing flavors to get more developed and intense.
- Freshly Grated Carrots: As tempting as it is, don’t use store-bought shredded carrots. Fresh carrots that you shred yourself will have more moisture and will make your cake super moist.
- Room Temperature Eggs: Room temperature eggs will whip up with a greater volume and this will make your cake light and fluffy.
- Oil Instead of Butter: Since this cake is full of spices, you won’t need butter to add flavor. Use oil as your fat instead because it will make your cake more moist than butter.
What to Serve With Carrot Cake
I like having a big piece of carrot cake after just about any kind of dinner. It’s also a fun element to add to a brunch, a party, or any kind of get together. To make it even better though, I love enjoying this with a variety of tasty coffee treats. My favorites are a pumpkin cream cold brew in the fall or a mocha iced coffee in the summer. Not a fan of cold brew, you’ll love our homemade caffe macchiato!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
It’s best to store this cake in the refrigerator since it has that amazing cream cheese frosting on top. Pop it into an airtight container or cover it tightly with plastic wrap. It will stay nicely in your fridge for about 5 to 7 days (and it will taste the best on day 2 or 3).
FAQs
Absolutely! In fact, if you make it ahead of time, the flavor gets even better! The spices intensify and the cream cheese icing gets absorbed into the dense cake for an even more tender texture. As if we ever even imagined that was possible?!
Well, not carrots! When I bite into carrot cake, the most recognizable flavors to me are the cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. I’d liken the flavor to a spiced wafer. BUT, carrot cake is one of the most moist cakes you’ll ever try. So, spice wafer flavor, but definitely not texture.
Here’s a pro tip for ya: If you make your cake ahead of time, the spice flavors will intensify!
More Easy Cake Recipes
Carrot Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 4 large eggs,, at room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cups shredded carrots
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
For the Frosting
- 1 stick ( 1/2-cup OR 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter,, softened
- 1 package (8-ounces) cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest ,, add more if you like a stronger lemon-taste
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- finely chopped walnuts,, for garnish
- coconut shavings,, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Grease a 15x10x1-inch pan with butter and then dust it with flour. Set aside. (You can also use an 18×13 baking sheet, but cake won’t be as tall)
- In your electric mixer’s bowl add eggs, oil, and sugar; beat until completely smooth.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; whisk to combine.
- Add flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat well, until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
- Remove bowl from the mixer and stir in carrots and walnuts.
- Pour batter into previously prepared baking pan. Smooth out the top and rap the pan on your kitchen counter to even it out and eliminate any air bubbles.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- In the meantime, prepare the frosting.
- Combine butter and cream cheese in your electric mixer’s bowl; add vanilla and beat mixture until smooth.
- Add lemon zest and sugar, one cup at a time; continue to beat until completely incorporated, fluffy, and smooth.
- Remove cake from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
- When cake is completely cooled, cover it with prepared frosting.
- Sprinkle with walnuts and coconut shavings.
- Cut and serve.
- Store cake in refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
I made this for a family reunion…..it was so delicious and everyone raved about it! We are GF so I just subed out regular flour for GF flour, same measurements and it was soooo good! This now becomes my favorite dessert to take to feed a crowd!
That’s wonderful! I’m very glad everyone loved it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I have made this several times. Always add a little ginger and the last time I added about 1/4 to 1/3 C of buttermilk and it took it to the next level! With or without buttermilk delish!
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I made this carrot cake today and the flavor is delicious.
My cake did overflow the 15x10x1 pan but I caught it in time to save the cake.
I’m glad to hear the carrot cake turned out delicious! Good catch on the overflow – it sounds like you managed it perfectly. Thank YOU! 🙂