Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
If you love carrot cake, this recipe is a must try, it’s basically foolproof. It’s loaded with carrots, coconut, pineapple and cinnamon. If you ask me, it counts as a serving of vegetables.
This is the best carrot cake with cream cheese frosting – it is pretty closely based off my grandma’s recipe with a few of my own tweaks. Her original recipe didn’t call for any butter or oil, which I was skeptical about, but to my surprise actually turned out ok when I tested it. When I tested again with some adjustments I did end up adding some oil and an additional egg to make it more moist and a little less dense.
Carrot cakes are great because you can pretty much add whatever mix-ins you want. Like nuts? Raisins? Add them if you wish.
I rarely bake and decorate the same day. A day or two before I need to serve the cake I bake the layers and then freeze overnight. See my tips below for baking and storing layers in advance.
making carrot cake layers in advance
You can bake your layers for up to a week in advance and store them in the freezer until you are ready to decorate your cake. This is beneficial for a few reasons: one it breaks up the process into a few days so I’m not doing everything all at once. Two, I find that frosting a cold cake is less crumbly and therefore easier. Here is my process for freezing and thawing layers:
Once the layers are out of the oven, I let them cool in the pans for a few minutes and then invert onto plastic wrap. Wrap each layer tight enough so there is no excess air but not too tight to squish or alter the shape. Freeze! It’s that simple.
I do not recommend refrigerating the layers as they can dry out. If you are just making the layers the day before decorating and don’t want to freeze them I would recommend wrapping in plastic wrap and leaving at room temperature overnight.
To thaw, take the layers out of the freezer and allow to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. I use that time to make my buttercream or fillings and prepare everything else I need for decorating. You want the layers to still be slightly cold so they won’t crumble as much, but thawed enough that you can easily level them if you wish. If your cake is too frozen it’s easy to cut yourself while leveling the cake.
Looking for more cake recipes? Try my German Chocolate Cake or my Peanut Butter Oreo Cake.
my go-to cake tools
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 8 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 ½ cups shredded coconut
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- 1 lb powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease two 8" cake pans with baking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugars and oil until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each.
- Mix in the vanilla, drained pineapple, carrots and coconut on low speed just until everything is incorporated.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix on low to combine.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 38-40 minutes.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about ten minutes and then carefully, using oven mitts if the pans are still warm, invert each layer onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and place in the freezer until you're ready to assemble your cake. I store layers in the freezer for up to a week.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together using a stand mixer or handheld mixer until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
- Remove the cake layers from the freezer about 30 minutes before you want to assemble the cake. I take them out to thaw while I prepare my frosting. You want the layers to be cold, but not completely frozen to decorate.
- To assemble the cake, place a dab of frosting on your cake board or plate and then place your first layer of cake on top. Spread a thick layer of frosting on top. Stack the second layer top side down. Use the rest of the frosting to cover the sides and top of the cake.
- Cake should be stored in the refrigerator, but is best served at room temperature. Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.
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