Carrot Spice Cake

This homemade Carrot Spice Cake is full of warm, sweet spices, coconut and plenty of carrots! This super moist carrot cake recipe is made with a secret ingredient (spoiler alert: carrot puree!), and it’s topped with the best homemade cream cheese frosting.

Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 

If you count shopping for myself, Black Friday and Cyber Monday were wildly successful. 

It’s a recurring problem I have so you’d think I’d be more prepared to say no to those amazing deals, but…

Here we are. 

I blame it on the pressure. Between the limited time offers and the competition, I’m a goner. 

As much as I’d love to say marketing doesn’t work on me, let’s face it. I’m the exact person they are preying marketing on. 

Well, at least I can blame my uptick in indulging in holiday desserts on my credit card statement (i.e., eating my feelings) rather than on my apparent lack of willpower (in both impulse shopping and eating). 

In all truth, when Christmas desserts include things like pumpkin spice toffee, the best sugar cookies ever, and maple snickerdoodles, can you blame me for a lack of willpower? I mean, I know you won’t be able to blame me when it comes to this amazing cake.

It’s my very favorite carrot cake recipe with a velvety cream cheese frosting that is to die for.

The Best Carrot Cake Recipe:

I’m a big fan of carrot cake–like, maybe carrot cake’s biggest fan: I think it’s genetic, since both my parents and my sister served carrot cake at their weddings. There’s just something about a spicy, moist carrot cake slathered in a tangy cream cheese frosting. 

• Recipe: This particular recipe came straight from my sister, and it’s one of the best carrot cake recipes I have ever had! It’s richly spiced with a healthy dose of both grated carrots and carrot puree. It has both coconuts and pecans in the recipe, which add a lovely bit of texture to this cake without detracting from the overall flavor.
  • Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t add a few things to the recipe, but that’s one of the things I do love about this recipe–it’s versatile. I’ll give you some tips below on what substitutions you can make if need be. 
• Cream Cheese Frosting: I happen to believe cream cheese frosting is superior to all other frostings, but you could definitely top this with a vanilla buttercream.
• Versatile: As mentioned above, coconut and pecans are used in this recipe for carrot cake. However, you can use walnuts instead of pecans, or you can leave the nuts out altogether. Additionally, you can add in raisins (regular or golden raisins) or currants, if desired.

Let’s talk homemade carrot cake ingredients:

This recipe is similar to a classic carrot cake recipe, but it has an extra dose of warm spices to really create a richly flavored spice cake that compliments the overall flavor of carrot cake.

• all purpose flour
• cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves: This cake has the right amount of spice without overpowering the rest of the cake!
• baking soda and salt
• granulated sugar and brown sugar
• canola oil: You can use vegetable oil if desired.
• carrot puree (guys, THIS is what makes this such a moist carrot cake recipe)
• eggs and vanilla extract
• shredded carrots and shredded coconut: You can use store bought shredded carrots, or you can use fresh carrots (aka grated carrots you shredded yourself).

Carrot Cake Frosting Ingredients:

• cream cheese: Use full fat cream cheese! If you use whipped cream cheese or low-fat in place of the regular cream cheese, the frosting will not come together properly and will not taste as good.
• unsalted butter: I almost exclusively use unsalted butter in my baking recipes so that I have more control over the salt content.
• powdered sugar: Powdered Sugar is also knows as confectioners’ sugar.
• vanilla extract
• salt
• pecans and coconut (topping)

How To Make Carrot Cake From Scratch:

This is a really easy carrot cake that doesn’t require many bowls or ingredients. 

• Dry Ingredients: Sift all dry ingredients together, including sugar and brown sugar, in a large bowl. 
• Wet Ingredients: Whisk together canola oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
• Cake Batter: Combine flour mixture and wet ingredients together, and whisk until just combined. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer.
• Carrots: Lastly, add in carrot puree, grated carrots, and coconut. Mix until combined. 
• Bake: Line two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper (or grease well with baking spray) and divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs.
• Frosting: Make the cream cheese frosting by creaming the butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer or standing mixer. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. 
• Toasted Nuts: Toast coconut and pecans while the cake is cooling.
• Assembly: Spread cream cheese frosting between the two cake layers, then frost the entire cake. Press toasted coconut and pecans to the sides of the cake.

What makes this carrot cake recipe moist?

• For this particular recipe, both the canola oil and the carrot puree keep this cake super moist and tender, and the carrot puree also adds a lot of concentrated flavor to the cake.
• Both the shredded carrots and shredded coconut also add to the overall moistness of the cake. 

Why are my carrots green?

• Often times in carrot cakes, you might notice that the tips or portions of your carrots have turned green. This is a chemical reaction between the baking soda and the carrots (i.e., the baking soda isn’t evenly distributed in the batter), which can cause some of the carrots to turn green. While there is a more scientific explanation, just know that if you notice green carrots, it’s perfectly safe to eat. 

Can I Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes With This Recipe?

To make cupcakes: Fill a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Fill each about 2/3 of the way full with cake batter and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. (This is such a moist cake that it does take a while to cook; however, cupcakes will cook faster than cake so keep an eye on these carrot cupcakes at the 20 minute mark.) Allow to cool before frosting! This recipe will make about 24 cupcakes. 

​You might also love this recipe for Gluten Free Carrot Cake! Plus, if you love adding carrots or zucchini to your baked goods, try this Zucchini Sheet Cake, Lemon Zucchini Bread, or Carrot Cake Banana Bread next.

The Best Carrot Spice Cake Tips & Tricks:

• Substitutions: First things first, this is a carrot cake without raisins and without pineapple. If you want to add either to the recipe, you can. You can add 1 cup raisins (golden or dark) tossed in 1 Tbsp of flour to the batter (add it in when you add in the coconut). However, if you want to add in pineapple, you will need to cut down on some of the liquid in the cake.
• Nuts: If you don’t like coconut, feel free to leave it out of the cake. Similarly, if you don’t like carrot cake with pecans, omit them (they’re only on the top of the cake). Or add walnuts on top! 
• Layer Cake: Can I make this into 3 layers? Absolutely! Divide the batter evenly between 3 cake pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Sift: Do I really need to sift the dry ingredients? Yes, you do. It makes for a really light and fluffy carrot cake texture, which is important because carrot cakes can often be dense. 
• Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Room temperature cream cheese, butter, and eggs are very important. When the ingredients are too cold, sometimes the cake batter doesn’t come together properly, which results in an imperfect cake.

5 from 3 votes

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Carrot Spice Cake

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hr 40 mins

 

This homemade Carrot Spice Cake is full of warm, sweet spices, coconut and plenty of carrots! This super moist carrot cake recipe is made with a secret ingredient (spoiler alert: carrot puree!), and it's topped with the best homemade cream cheese frosting.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carrot spice cake

Servings: 12 -14 Slices

Author: Michelle

Ingredients

Carrot Spice Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground all spice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
• 8 oz carrot puree (baby food--trust me!)
• 1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 4 - 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• salt to taste

Topping

• Toasted Coconut
• Crushed Pecans

Instructions

Carrot Spice Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9" cake pans with cooking spray and/or line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add in grated carrots, carrot puree, and coconut. Mix until just combined.

4. Split batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. (Alternately, you can split between three cake pans.)

Toasted Coconut

1. In a 300 degree oven, toast 2 cups of coconut and 1 cup crushed pecans on a baking sheet, spread out in an even layer, about 8-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool while working on the frosting.

Frosting

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly add in powdered sugar, beginning with 4 cups. Add in vanilla extract and salt to taste. If the frosting is runny, add in 1/2 cup more powdered sugar.
2. Place one cake on a plate and spread 1/2 cup of frosting over the cake. Add the second layer on top, and spread the rest of the frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
3. Press coconut to the sides of the cake and sprinkle crushed pecans on the top.
4. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Adapted from The Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook

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Classic Coconut Cake