Very Good Carrot Cake Recipe

Carrot cake can be JUST as good as chocolate cake. My version blends smooth, perfectly spiced cake with tangy cream cheese frosting and gives any chocolate cake a run for its money. Bake it with me. Grab Bob's Red Mill’s Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour & some of my other favorite Bob's products in my Amazon storefront or at your local grocery store. When I bake with Bob’s Red Mill products, I know I’m fueling myself, my family, and my friends with the highest quality of ingredients since their products go through rigorous testing processes to safety. Comment how your baking goes. #bobsredmill


🔪MY GEAR:
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*CARROT CAKE INGREDIENTS*
675g (1 1/2lb) carrots
550g (4 1/2c) all purpose flour
20g (4 t) baking powder
10g (2 t) baking soda
20g (4t) salt
8g (2 1/2t) cinnamon
3g (1t) ground ginger
3g (1t) ground nutmeg
400g (2c) white sugar
300g (1 1/3c) brown sugar
350g (1 2/3c) vegetable or olive oil
20g (4 1/2t) vanilla extract
8 lrg eggs
250g (1c) unsweetened applesauce

*CREAM CHEESE FROSTING*
675g (3 8oz blocks) cream cheese, room temp
2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, room temp
10g (2 1/2 t) vanilla extract
7g (1 1/4 t) salt
50g (1/4 c) sour cream
375g (3c) powdered sugar
25g (3 T) cornstarch
8oz toasted chopped pecans

*INSTRUCTIONS*
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Peel & shred carrots using food processor with grating attachment or by hand with a box grater. Run a knife through the shredded carrots to break them down further.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugars, oil, vanilla, eggs, & applesauce. Mix until well combined.
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the stand mixer bowl. Mix on medium-low until no lumps remain.
6. Mix in shredded carrots until evenly distributed in the batter, scraping down sides once.
7. Divide batter evenly between two 9" springform pans lined with parchment paper on bottom, sprayed with pan spray, & placed on a sheet tray
8. Bake in preheated oven, 60-70 min or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans for about an hour then cover and freeze for 30 min - 2 hours to firm.
10. While the cakes cool, prepare frosting. In a mixing bowl, combine room temperature cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, salt, & sour cream. Whip until smooth & creamy.
11. Add powdered sugar & cornstarch, mixing for about a minute smooth and lump-free. 12. Refrigerate the frosting in a ziploc or piping bag to set while preparing the cakes.
12. Remove the cooled cakes from the pans and trim off the top and bottom to create flat surfaces. Place a bowl or other round thing that’s just smaller than the cakes on top and use it as a guide to cut off the edges of the cakes, creating vertical sides.
13. Freeze for 15-20 more minutes to firm
14. Place cake on a cake decorating turntable (or a flat plate). Apply a dab of frosting directly to the turntable to keep cake from moving. Swirl a ½” layer of frosting on top and spread in a flat layer from edge to edge. Add cake 2 on top.
15. Apply a thin layer of frosting all over the stacked cakes to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze the cakes for 25 minutes to set the crumb coat.
16. After cooling, apply a generous layer of cream cheese frosting to the cakes, ensuring even coverage.
17. Press toasted chopped pecans onto the sides of the cake Scrape off any excess pecans from the bottom edge of the cake.

*SHEET CAKE VERSION:*
360g (3c) flour
13g (2 1/2t) baking powder
7g (1 1/2t) baking soda
13g (1T) salt
5g (1 1/2t) cinnamon
2g (3/4t) nutmeg
2g (3/4t) ground ginger
5 large eggs
220g (1c) veg oil
170g (2/3c) unsweetened applesauce
260g (1 1/3c) sugar
200g (3/4c) brown sugar
13g (2 1/2t) vanilla
440g (1 lb) Grated, finely chopped carrots

SHEET CAKE FROSTING
340g (12oz) cream cheese
120g (8 ½ T) unsalted butter
30g (2 T) sour cream
4g (1 t) vanilla
190g (1 1/2c) powdered sugar
4g (3/4t) salt

Follow mixing instructions above. Pour batter into a greased 9x13" cake pan & bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool, then frost.

CHAPTERS
0:00: Prep, mixing, baking
3:35 Flour of choice
4:54 Making cream cheese frosting
6:10 Frosting the cakes

#carrotcake

[TomasOBrien]

Just baked the sheet pan version. got impatient and frosted it while warm-ish. It's impossibly good. 10/10

[Killermike]

When Bob Moore of Bob's Red Mill passed away, he left his company in his will to his 700 employees, who now run it as an employee-owned company.

[donmaclaren]

The only word for this one is OUTSTANDING!

[jasonhall]

My wife made this recipe yesterday and it’s potentially the best cake I’ve ever had. Moist without being soggy, amazing flavor, the frosting is amazing and perfectly complements the cake. Just an incredible recipe.

[adamqp]

Made this for a big family Easter gathering and it got tons of compliments. Used some leftover frosting and green and orange food coloring to pipe on some things that almost looked like carrots!🥕

[roblappin]

Don’t forget to keep those cake scraps so that you can make a home made cake stock - way better than store bought

[lauranorris]

I made this for Easter (the sheet pan version) and it was in fact the best cake I’ve ever baked. Recipe was very clear and easy to follow. Thank you!!!

[NovaPrincess]

I made this for Eclipse Day 2024, and- to quote you- OH MY GOD! It was amazing!!!! This is a real hit Bri! I love how all of your recipes turn out wonderfully. Every single recipe is fire! I really appreciate the gram measurements, visual size, and education on the purpose of key ingredients. You rock, dude!❤️🇺🇸🙏🏿🔥🎉

[kencase]

Thanks, Brian! I was wondering what to feed the Easter Bunny this weekend. This will be the perfect desert!

[lepopcornnaisseur]

I've only ever trusted my family recipe, but Brian is the one person worth trying his recipe.

[quincymims]

I made this verbatim and it was delicious. About 10 people had some and loved it. It was my first carrot cake and wasn’t hard at all. Give it a try - you won’t be disappointed.

[coder]

I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil when I make the carrot cake mixture (I heat it a bit in the microwave first to partially liquify it). This adds a hint of coconut flavor to the final result which I love -- just in case there are any other coconut lovers out there!

[BatPotatoes]

You could absolutely turn the sheet cake into a layer cake too by cutting an half and stacking. Another helpful tip is to put a few strips of parchment underneath the perimeter of the cake, so that if your cake stand gets a little frosted & messy, you just pull those out and the stand looks pristine

[tylerjbellows]

As a construction worker, I gotta think a 1/4" V notch trowel over the frozen cake would be the best way to set the depth of the icing. Re-freeze, then smoothe with more icing and a flat edge for perfect, effortless, results.

[redjake]

In addition to being a carrot cake recipe, this is a fantastic beginner's guide to making a cake look nice.

[Ashurus]

I've made a lot of your recipes and they're always great and my family loves them. When I made this carrot cake for Easter, everyone LOVED it. "Best cake EVER!" is what they told me, and any birthday or holiday now they request I make it. Thank you for the awesome recipes and teaching me how to cook and bake!

[msparamin]

This is the best carrot cake I have ever seen on You Tube, nicely done, not all those other crappie things other people add into their cake. . I will definitely make this one. The very best. Thank you for your knowledge in this special carrot cake process. Blessings to you from my heart

[missg]

I just made this and it is so good and so moist, thank you for the whipping tip, for the first time ever my cake didn’t have a dome in the middle.

[Basomic]

I'm actually most excited for the sheet version. I've seen carrot cakes portioned into Mason jars (so think cutting out the cake with ring molds, and placing 3 layers separated by scoops of frosting into a jar), and I've been wanting to try a version at home as a way to gift friends individual portions of cake as a birthday gift or something instead of a whole cake. Thanks for the video—both versions look great!

[bobsredmill]

We love this carrot cake recipe. It's perfection!