Carrot Cake Recipe
This easy recipe makes a deliciously moist, lightly spiced cake that cuts well. The cream cheese icing is soft and creamy with a hint of lemon.
This recipe has been revised for use in a 20cm diameter round pan. If you'd like the old recipe (to fit a 20cm square cake pan), just send us an email.
167ml (2/3 cup) oil (we use peanut oil, but any mild-flavoured oil could be used)
2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)
124g (1/2 cup) drained crushed pineapple (unsweetened)
1 1/3 cups finely grated carrot
80g (2/3 cup) chopped pecan nuts
295g (1 1/3 cups) caster sugar
200g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
Extra chopped pecan nuts, for decorating
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).
Grease a 20cm diameter springform pan and line the base and side with baking paper.
Stir oil, eggs, vanilla, pineapple, carrot, pecans and caster sugar together in a large bowl.
Sift in flour, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda. Stir until combined.
Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake for 55-65 minutes. When the cake is ready, a thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake will come out without any batter attached.
Cover cake with a clean tea towel and allow to cool in pan.
When cake has cooled, spread top and sides with cream cheese icing and sprinkle with extra pecans.
Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. We allow slices of the cake to come to room temperature before serving.
Cream Cheese Icing Recipe
60g cream cheese, softened
30g (1 1/2 tablespoons) butter, softened
2 teaspoons (10ml) fresh lemon juice
180g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
Using an electric mixer or electric hand-held beaters, beat cream cheese, butter and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar and beat until icing is smooth. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au
32 Comments:
Delicious. Really moist. I cooked it in a bundt tin because I didn't have a square one. Cut down the cooking time by ten. Really happy with it! T
Looks and sounds really good! What temperature do you bake this at?
We bake this cake at 160 degrees Celsius (in a fan forced oven).
Can you replace the pineapple and walnuts (that are in the cake)with something else(flour, more carrot) thanks
DD
You could omit the walnuts or replace them with another type of nut.
The pineapple adds sweetness, flavour and moisture to the cake. We aren't sure whether you could replace it without negatively affecting the cake. If you are looking for a carrot cake recipe that doesn't contain pineapple, you could try this one.
Hi Amanda and Debbie,
I love carrot cake, and i would like to try this one out.However, i think this cake might be too sweet, do you think if i use dark brown sugar i can reduce the sugar to 1 cup? Can i bake them in 12 cup standard muffin pan instead of a whole cake?
Thanks for your recipe and websites. I trusted this site as I have bake your butterfly cake and Jam drop, both come out perfectly.
Cheers,
Dorcas
Hi Dorcas
We're not sure whether reducing the amount of sugar would have a negative effect on the cake. If you do try reducing the sugar, please let us know how it turns out. You could also reduce the sweetness of the cake by leaving the icing off, or reducing the amount of sugar in the icing.
This recipe should work well in a muffin pan although it may make more or less than 12 individual cakes. You will probably only need to bake the muffin-sized cakes for about 25 minutes (we'd keep an eye on them and test them with a knife or skewer to determine whether they were cooked through).
I baked this cake on the wkend, and between my husband, FIL and myself, there is only one slice left on Monday morning.
I have NEVER eaten carrot cake before, so didn't know what to compare it to, but Hubby said it is fantastic. I modified the recipe by adding another tspn of mixed spice as hubby likes his carrot cake spicy. It turned out really well, and even he was surprised at the flavour the pineapple imparts to the cake - he is normally not keen on cooked pineapple.
He did say that the icing was 'cheesy' enough? Will it work if I use a higher proportion of cream cheese to butter? Or maybe even using mascarpone?
Thanks for your wonderful recipes! I have tried the choc mud, banana cake and carrot cake and they all turned out awesome!
Hi Jade
Yes, you could increase the amount of cream cheese in the icing to boost the cream cheese flavour.
We haven't made a mascarpone icing but would guess that it would probably have a milder flavour as mascarpone tends to be less 'cheesy' than cream cheese (well, to our tastebuds at least!)???
Here is a recipe for a cream cheese icing with a higher proportion of cream cheese.
90g cream cheese
15g butter
150g icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Use the same method as in the recipe above.
This is the 2nd Cake I've made using your recipe. The 1st time was a banana cake, it was the best banana cake I've made and had, everyone says it is very good.
I made a Carrot Cake today although i don't like carrot and walnet at all. But it is an amazing mixture, the cake tastes good and moist.
I like the cream cheese topping. it is just so good.
Thanks
hi amanda and debbie,
i noticed that u guys dont use baking powder in this recipe.
does this mean that the cake wont rise? is it going to be a bit heavy?
thanks
The bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) reacts with the acidic ingredients in the cake to produce carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gas causes the cake to rise.
Thanks so much for this recipe!!! Fantastic - easy and delicious! So moist and has kept really well. I'm a novice baker and this was very easy. I'm not a fan of nuts so left those out. I used this for my son's first birthday cake and it was a huge hit with kids (of all ages!) - very very yummy!
This was incredible.
Absolutely loved it, and it'll be decorating my parties for years to come!
I did however, use a slightly 'cheesier' topping, omitting the butter and increasing the lemon juice for a more sour taste. And if anyone might be interested,
105 g cream cheese
150g icing sugar
4 tsp lemon juice.
whipped, in the same method as the recipe calls for.
Thanks guys!
Hi, may I know whether the juices of the carrots are drained, or the grated carrots are put in as they are.
Hi Wendyywy,
We don't drain any juice from the carrots before adding them to the mixture.
Hey im Liz.. im 18... live with my boyfriend and have started recently baking cakes again for my boyfriends pleasure :)(and my own of coarse)
He loves banana cake but has never tried a carrot cake yet so im going to make him this one tomorrow :) I will tell you how it goes :)
If its a hit with him I will also try out your banana cake recipe :)
Excellent, used sultanas instead of nuts but very happy. Top recipe. Now I'll have to invite someone over to share it with!
***grate recipe***
made two of this cake.
one with the stated ingredients with added teaspoon of Nutmeg- turned out grate. the nutmeg added a little extra kick.
The second cake i used base recipe and added 2/3 cup of mixed fruit along with nutmeg, a pinch of Chinese allspice and some crushed walnuts. This turned out perfect also. The recipe takes dry to moist additions well and rises perfectly without becoming too airy.
Agree that the icing did need a bit more cream cheese but i found with the more spiced cake i made - the sweeter icing opposed to 'cheesier' icing worked best.
Made this yesterday and it turned out really nicely...the cake was moist and delicious!
I added an extra squeeze of lemon juice to the icing and the flavour was just right.
The next time I make this I will make a larger amount of the icing, because there wasn't enough to adequately cover the sides of the cake (could still see the brownness of the cake).
Thanks for a great recipe!
THANKYOU....
For Recipe's that actually work.
I have made alot of your sweet recipes and I never worry whether they will turn out or not.
This Cake I made for my Grandmothers Birthday yesterday.
She adorded it, My kids and Husband devoured it, and are asking for another to be made.
The previous day I made the chocolate cake for my girlfriends birthday... It was gorgeous also.
Keep up the Fab recipes girls
Cheers
Amy
P.S I used Lime instead of Lemon for the icing
THANK YOU for this delicious recipe. Was easy to follow for a first time baker. Is it possible to double the quantity of cake by doubling the ingredients?
Hi Joanne,
Yes, you could double the ingredients and bake two 20cm diameter cakes.
If you are interested in the quantities you'd need for a 20cm square cake (about 1.3 times the size of the 20cm round cake), please send us an email.
I have baked this cake twice
and both times I have had great comment.
The first time i used pecan and it was great
the second time i used walnuts and ginger and both staff and family said it is yummy
We've recently moved to Mauritius from Perth - I have yet to find walnuts, never mind pecans! Almonds, peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts and pistachios are it. Which would be best? Yours is my favourite site - I love reading your recipes even if I don't immediately make them! Plus, you make everything foolproof! Thank you.
Hi Veronique,
We would use almonds or pistachios as a substitute for the pecans.
awesome cake - i doubled the mix and divided the cake in two then put cream cheese in the middle and all over the top then decorated - people loved it and commented on where i bought it from! id love to post a pic if you want to see!
thanks
Colleen
Hi Colleen,
We would love to see a photo of your cake. You could post a link to your cake photo in the comments section or send us an email.
Hi Amanda & Debbie,
It's very moist and delicious.
But how do you apply the cream to make it looks nice and even?
thanks
Hi Shanty
The cream cheese icing spreads very easily. We use a spatula, the back of a spoon or a flat-bladed knife to spread it over the cake.
Beautiful results, as always, ladies. Even better than the recipe from a certain well known Ms. Hay... I made hers last week and it came out slightly tasteless (even after I'd added a little more cinnamon in the batter.)
My family found it a little bit too sweet though, I'm wondering if it's the sugar amount or the pineapple? Although the pineapple definitely helped the texture I think, it came out beautifully moist, and adds a little extra something while still keeping it a carrot cake. This one's definitely going to be a regular in my household :)
The canned crushed pineapple that we use is unsweetened and isn't as sweet as fresh ripe pineapple. Unless the pineapple that you used was very sweet, most of the cake's sweetness would have come from the sugar (in the cake batter and icing).
To reduce the overall sweetness of the cake, you could
1) reduce the amount of icing sugar and increase the amount of cream cheese in the icing, and/or
2) reduce the amount of sugar in the cake batter (though we aren’t sure whether this would negatively affect the texture of the cake).
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