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carrot cake slice with cream cheese frosting
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5 from 3 votes

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.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
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

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9" cake pans with cooking spray and/or line the bottoms with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, sift together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, and salt. Set aside.
  • 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.
  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Press coconut to the sides of the cake and sprinkle crushed pecans on the top.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Adapted from The Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook