A Carrot Cake Recipe That Hits it Straight Out of the Park

Where Does Carrot Cake Originate?

Carrot cake is a dessert made with carrots, pecans or walnuts, and spices and topped with a white cream cheese frosting. It may also contain coconut, raisins, and pineapple and can be decorated with marzipan shaped like carrots. Carrot cakes come as sheet cakes, loaves, and cupcakes.

According to food historians, the carrot cake is a descendant of the carrot pudding that was consumed in Europe in the Middle Ages when carrots were used as alternatives to costly sugar and sweeteners.

The origins of the dessert are hard to pin down. Some sources say a form of carrot cake existed in England in the 16th century; others push the date to the 18th century. Owing to this ambiguity, the inventor of the carrot cake can't precisely be identified.

However, a fairly credible story holds that it was the French restaurateur Antoine Beauvilliers, who was a chef to the Count of Provence and the future French King Louis XVIII, who invented the carrot cake. He came up with a recipe for 'Gateau de Carottes' (carrot cake), which was so good that it was reproduced verbatim in the cookbooks of competitors. An English version of the cookbook carrying a recipe for the cake was published in London in 1824.

According to another story, during the Second World War housewives in England used sweet foods such as carrots to sweeten their confections naturally.

The carrot cake shot to popularity in the US in the 1970s. This was when the nation turned diet-conscious, and carrots in a cake seemed a healthier way to enjoy dessert. Additionally, the cream cheese frosting made the carrot cake stand apart from the other desserts of the time.

What Can Go Wrong With a Simple Carrot Cake?

While preparing a carrot cake it is very important to use accurate measurements. If you add extra leavening agents or sugar while baking, your cake may collapse. Likewise, adding more flour than required will make the cake dry. The method to be followed involves spooning flour into a measuring cup and using the back of a knife to level it off. Avoid scooping flour straight from the flour sack.

A simple carrot cake may also flop if you don't grate the carrots properly. Since layered carrot cakes bake quickly, thick carrot chunks don't cook thoroughly, especially when they are mixed with eggs, flour, and other ingredients. Treat your carrots well because this is the ingredient that will moisten the cake and add texture and taste to it.

In a baked dessert like carrot cake, adding extra ingredients may be unwise because the quantity of each ingredient is directly proportional to the other. For instance, if you add too much dried fruit, moisture from the other ingredients will get absorbed by the fruit, which may result in a drier cake. In addition, if you introduce ingredients that are not part of the original recipe, like crushed pineapple for example, you may end up adding too much moisture and prevent the cake from getting done.

Overmixing the flour may result in the cake turning tough and unappetizing. Therefore, once you add the wet ingredients, beat or stir in the flour till it is just incorporated.

Also, a buttermilk glaze will really uplift your carrot cake. The glaze melts when added to the warm cake and infiltrates the entire dessert. As the cake cools, the glaze thickens and adds a sweet, moist tang to it.

The Best Carrot Cake Recipe You'll Ever Find

This is one of the best carrot cake recipes you'll find. The carrots are prepared using a hand grater to create delicate shreds that melt easily into the cake batter. You can also use pre-shredded bags of carrots, or shred carrots using a food processor, but the shreds may be larger than you want.

While this carrot cake recipe calls for both brown and granulated sugar, you can use only one type if you wish, though the combination of both sugars gives the carrot cake a delightful flavor. The creamy frosting used in this recipe is not a traditional cream cheese one. The use of whipped cream creates a creamier frosting and soft peaks. You can leave out the nuts and raisins if you want.

Let's now dive into the ingredients . . .

Ingredients for the Ultimate Carrot Cake

For the carrot cake-

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups of canola or any other vegetable oil
• 1 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 cups of grated and peeled carrots (5 to 6 medium-sized carrots)
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped pecans

• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped pecans for topping

Steps to Making the Ultimate Carrot Cake

Preparing the batter-

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven. Grease two round 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. Grease the top. Alternatively, flour and grease the sides and bottom of both pans.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
3. Whisk baking soda, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl till thoroughly blended.
4. Whisk granulated sugar, oil, vanilla, and brown sugar in a separate bowl.
5. Add the eggs one by one. Whisk after adding each one.
6. Make use of a large-sized rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the dry contents in three parts, stirring gently till they disappear and the batter turns smooth.
7. Stir in the nuts, carrots, and raisins.

1. Divide the batter between the cake pans.
2. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes till the tops of the cakes feel springy when touched and when a toothpick comes out clean after it is inserted into the center of the cake.
3. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes. Turn the cake layers carefully onto the cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper and cool fully. If a cake layer sticks to the bottom of the pan, place the pan upside down and let the cake layer slip out by itself.

1. Take a large bowl. Use a handheld mixer on medium speed to beat the cream cheese for a minute till it turns creamy.
2. Beat in the powdered sugar one-fourth cup at a time till it turns fluffy.
3. Add the whipping cream. Beat for two to three minutes on medium speed, or till the frosting is creamy. Chill covered until it's ready to frost the cake.
4. When the cake layers fully cool, frost the top of one layer. Place the second layer on top of the first one.
5. Add the remaining frosting to the top of this layer. Use a small spatula or butter knife for swirling the frosting around. The sides of the cake can be left unfrosted. Sprinkle a handful of nuts on top to finish.

How to Make Carrot Cake Pops

While carrot cakes are good enough by themselves, you can play around to create variations that are equally delicious. One such dish is the carrot cake pop.

Cake pops or cake balls are essentially cakes shaped in the form of lollipops. To make these cake-lollipops, all you need to do is combine cake crumbs with frosting, icing, or chocolate and form them into little spheres. Here's how to make a carrot cake pop-

Ingredients-

For the cake-

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of grated carrots

• 1 can cream cheese icing
• 2 cups of chopped toasted pecans
• 1 to 1 1/2 bags of white chocolate melts (14-20 ounces)
• Lollipop sticks

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Flour and grease one 9-inch round pan.
2. Beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. Combine baking soda, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Fold the carrots in gently.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Cool fully (preferably overnight).

1. Crumb your carrot cake in a large-sized bowl. Add around a quarter of the can of icing. Mix into the cake. Add more icing as required till the mixture is formed into balls. Freeze the balls for 15 minutes or chill overnight.
2. Melt the vanilla candy coating according to the package instructions. Put the chopped pecans in a pie plate or a shallow bowl.
3. When the balls are ready for dipping, remove them from the freezer and place them in the refrigerator. Take around three balls at a time. Dip the lollipop stick about a half-inch into the candy and then insert it into the ball. Dip the balls immediately into the melted candy. Remove the excess coating and Make Sure it falls off evenly.
4. Roll in chopped pecan nuts and place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
5. Repeat till all the carrot cake pops are made. Chill until the pops harden. These can be made ahead of time and frozen if required. Bring them to room temperature before they are served.

Temperature Tips- How to Get the Oven to Play Along

Carrot cake is a dense cake similar to flourless chocolate cake, and red velvet cake. You know your cake is done when a thermometer inserted into the center of the cake gives you a reading of 200 F to 205 F. Avoid hitting the bottom of the pan while taking the temperature reading. Make sure to avoid reaching 212 F, the boiling point of water. Hitting this temperature will cause the cake to quickly lose moisture.

Also, avoid checking the temperature too early so that heat doesn't escape from the oven and the cake's leavening is unimpeded.

Turn on the light of your oven several minutes before the baking time is over so that the cake can be visually checked through the oven door.

If the color of the cake turns darker or more golden brown, put your thermometer to use. After that, gently poke the cake. If the cake springs back fully when pressed on the top, that's the time to check its temperature.

Anti-allergy Carrot Cake

Since carrot cakes contain dairy products, eggs, and nuts, they may trigger a Food Allergy in some people. Thankfully, there are allergy-friendly recipes one can turn to. These vegan cakes are made without eggs, gluten, wheat, cashews, peanuts, coconut, tree nuts, and dairy products. Here's how to prepare an allergy-friendly carrot cake-

Ingredients-

For the carrot cake-

• 4 cups of grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups of oat flour
• 2 cups of gluten free all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 cup of oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of cloves
• 4 tablespoons of ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup of plant milk
• 3/4 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• 3 ounces of dairy-free cream cheese
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of softened plant butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of plant milk

1. Mix four tablespoons of ground flaxseed together with 3/4 cup of water in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients- oat flour, gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, cloves, and nutmeg.
3. Stir in oil, the flaxseed-water mixture, vinegar, plant milk, vanilla extract, and shredded carrots. Stir till just mixed. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Stir in the raisins gently.
5. Apply cooking spray on two round 8- to 9-inch cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper. Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 F or till a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for five minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack that is lightly greased.
7. Cool fully and then frost.
8. For the frosting, pour the plant butter and softened vegan cream cheese into a mixing bowl. Beat in plant milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture is smooth.
9. Place a round cake on a cake platter. Use half the frosting and then top it with the other cake. Then use the remaining frosting. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top if you prefer.

An Exciting Carrot Cake Variation

Let's conclude with a delectable carrot cake spin-off. This apple-pecan carrot cake is topped with Mascarpone frosting, a scattering of pecan nuts, and a swirl of apple cider caramel sauce. Mascarpone frosting consists of three basic ingredients, namely Italian cream cheese or mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, and heavy cream. In this apple-pecan carrot cake dish, the moist cake layers are sandwiched together by the caramel sauce, rather than the frosting. Here's how to make this delicious dessert-

Ingredients-

• 2 1/3 cups of divided, finely chopped, and lightly toasted pecans
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of Apple Pie spice
• 3 large lightly beaten eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon of table salt
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cup of buttermilk
• 3/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of grated carrots
• 2/3 cup and 2 tablespoons of apple cider caramel sauce
• 2 cups of Granny Smith apples (peeled and grated)
• Mascarpone frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sprinkle 1 1/3 cups of toasted pecans into two round, well-buttered 9-inch cake pans. Shake to coat the sides and bottom of the pans.
2. Stir together baking soda, flour, apple pie spice, and table salt.
3. In a large bowl, stir eggs together with sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract till they combine thoroughly.
4. Fold in the carrots, apples, and the remaining cup of pecan nuts. Add the batter to the prepared cake pans.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 F until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes on wire racks. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool them fully for about an hour.
6. Place a layer of the cake with its pecan side down on a serving platter. Add 2/3 cup of apple cider caramel sauce on top of the cake layer. Top with the other cake layer, pecan side down. Apply Mascarpone frosting on top of the cake. Drizzle two tablespoons of apple cider caramel sauce on the frosting. Swirl the sauce into the frosting. Serve immediately.