The Best Carrot Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
This is hands-down the best carrot cake ever! Simple and straightforward, it is ultra moist, fluffy, and incredibly delicious.
This has been our go-to carrot cake recipe for over 15 years!
One Bowl Carrot Cake Batter
This carrot cake batter is whisked together by hand in one bowl. It could not be easier!
Here are a few reasons why this cake bakes up super moist and fluffy:
- A smidgeon of brown sugar is added along with the granulated sugar for extra flavor and moistness.
- Oil and applesauce are used in the cake batter. This helps aid in the extra moist texture without adding oiliness.
- The carrots are finely shredded so they incorporate fully and completely into the batter.
Make sure to mix the batter JUST until it is incorporated. Avoid over mixing as it can create a denser, heavier cake.
Different Pan Size Options for This Carrot Cake
The batter for this carrot cake recipe can be baked in the following pans:
- One 9X13-inch baking pan
- Two 9-inch round cake pans (to frost as a layer cake, if desired)
- 24 to 30 cupcakes
The recipe can also be easily halved (for a 9X9-inch square baking pan, one 9-inch circle pan, or fewer cupcakes) OR it can be doubled if you are in the market for A LOT OF CARROT CAKE. 😉
Classic Cream Cheese Frosting
The cream cheese frosting in this carrot cake recipe is very soft and creamy.
It works great to frost the cake as a layer cake or to frost the top of a 9X13-inch sheet cake. It also works well to frost cupcakes, although the frosting is too soft to hold up to piping. It does best spread with an offset spatula or knife.
If you’ve never added a tiny bit of sour cream to cream cheese frosting, try it! The small amount adds a wonderful dimension and depth of flavor to the otherwise super sweet frosting. I never make cream cheese frosting without it.
The Best Carrot Cake Ever
I cannot overstate how incredibly delicious this carrot cake is. The crumb is perfectly spiced and the amount of carrots is just right. Like, you know you’re eating carrot cake without feeling like it is a veggie side dish instead of cake.
The cake is soft and sturdy. Moist and magnificent. It really is the best carrot cake ever.
I love chocolate desserts with my whole soul. But I am powerless to resist the charm and tastiness of this carrot cake. It is one of my favorite desserts ever!
Rave Reviews
Here are a few other rave reviews (so you don’t have to take just my word for it!):
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I make this cake every month for our charity organization fish fry and it always disappears. So delicious. Family loves it also. Made cupcakes with it today and amazing. The icing is perfect. -Jo-Ann
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My first attempt at making carrot cake. I will not need to look for another recipe, this one is the ONE!! Perfectly sweet, not over cinnamon’s. A tangy creamy frosting!! Yummy. My family even thinks ifs better the carrot cake we get at a high end restaurant! Thanks Mel for this winner -Jod
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My now most requested cake that I make. It’s amazing. –Britney
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is truly the best carrot cake. I’ve been making it at least once a year for the past 4 years, and it never fails to get compliments from family and friends. Super moist and delicious. -Pam
The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 pound medium carrots, 6 to 7 large carrots, ends trimmed (no need to peel)
- ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable, canola or other neutral-flavored oil (see note)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce (see note)
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Cream Cheese Frosting (*see note for doubling):
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (143 g) powdered sugar
- Toasted chopped pecans, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position.
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or lightly grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans (see note below for additional details on pan sizes). Set aside.
- Finely shred the carrots in a food processor or on a box grater for about 3 cups/400 g total. Set aside.
- For the cake, in a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until well combined.
- Add the oil and applesauce and whisk until the batter is light in color and the oil is thoroughly emulsified in the batter.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Mix until just a few dry streaks of batter remain.
- Add the carrots and mix until evenly combined (try not to over mix).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake until the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes for a 9X13-inch pan and 32 to 35 minutes for 9-inch round pans.
- Let the cakes cool for 5 to 7 minutes before turning them out to cool completely on a parchment-lined wire rack (this helps the cakes not stick to the rack as they cool).
- For the frosting, with a handheld or stand electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix until very-well combined.
- Frost the cake as desired. Top with toasted pecans. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Cooks Illustrated (with my notes included)
Recipe originally posted March 2008; updated February 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Can you make this recipe into cupcakes?
I believe so – check the comment thread as I believe many other commenters have tried it.
Hi Mel! LOVE this carrot cake. I made it for my Bible study and everyone said it was the best carrot cake they had ever had. I wanted to do it in cupcake form soon- have you done this? I’m guessing I only need to change the amount of time it is in the oven.
It’s been a while so I don’t remember how they turned out or how many they made but I know several people up in the comment thread have made this recipe as cupcakes with good results. 🙂
Great, thank you! I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes. 🙂
Hi Mel! I don’t normally comment on the recipes that I try online but I had to tell you how much I loved this cake! It was so delicious – made it for my husbands birthday and he couldn’t have been happier either! The frosting was amazing as well – so much more fluffy than traditional cream cheese frostings (at least that I have found)! Actually left me wanting more instead of regretting dessert like I usually do. Amazing recipe!
I just had one question – I didn’t use walnuts in it this time as the hubs isn’t a fan, but I love nuts in my cakes and cookies. Have you ever tried making this with nuts (walnuts or pecans) in it? How much would you suggest using?
Thanks again for an great recipe! Going in the keeper file for sure!
Hi Brittainy – I haven’t used nuts in the actual cake batter (since I’m in the camp of never put nuts in my desserts 🙂 but I think you could certainly try it. Maybe start with 1 cup chopped and see how that goes. Good luck!
I made this carrot cake for the first time and brought it to work and it was such a success I will definitely use this for my go to recipe from now on. I used my kitchen aid grater attachment and what a bonus.
Hi Mel,
I need to make a wine bottle/crate cake for a friend next weekend, and she’s requested carrot cake (which I’ve never made before). The cake ‘crate’ is going to be 2 9×13’s stacked, and was wondering if this cake is sturdy enough to stack without crumbling apart. I’ve always made a heavier cake (like madeira) or mud cakes when I need to stack, so this ‘light, but not rich carrot cake’ that she wants has me a little worried.
Thanks so much!!
I stack several 9-inch layers and it works fine so I think the two 9X13-inch layers should be ok although I haven’t tried it that way myself.
Thanks so much Mel. If the weight of several 9″ layers hasn’t crushed the bottom cakes on yours, then I think (fingers crossed) this would actually work.
Going to make this later today so I can try it first (any excuse to eat cake right LOL). Now I just need the grocery store to open so I can get carrots.
Mel, I just had to tell you how amazing this cake is! Everyone who’s tried it, LOVED it! Usually it takes me a few tries of a new cake flavor before I find one I really like, but this one is winner – I don’t have to try any others!
Thanks again for sharing!!
Glad to hear it, Stacie – that’s awesome!
Hi Mel…I have been following your website for about 4 years and tell everybody about it! Your recipes comprise about 80% of my weekly menu 🙂 my son turns 3 next week and is surprisingly requesting a “carrot applesauce cake”. Do you know if I could sub the oil in here with applesauce?
Hi Ruth – that’s a pretty cute request from your 3-year old! I haven’t tried subbing all the oil out for applesauce but I’m guessing it stands a pretty good chance of working (and I think others in the comments have done it).
It helps to know that you use the dip and level method when measuring by volume for your recipes. I’m an obsessive recipe tester (almost 2,000!) and find that the norm is to spoon and level flour when measuring by volume. Many recipes caution NOT to dip and level. Cook’s Illustrated is one of the exceptions. I think it’s great when both measurements are given in a recipe, but it’s also helpful to know which method is used or the end result may not be what’s pictured. Those extra, or fewer, tablespoons of flour can make quite a difference! Thanks!!
I quickly scrolled through all the comments and couldn’t see that anyone has asked this question. Do you measure the flour by volume or weight when making this cake? CI has a heavy hand when it comes to flour. Their 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 5 oz. However, most volume/weight charts vary from 4.25 to 4.5 oz. for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, measured by lightly spooning the flour into a measuring cup and levelling with a knife. My weight for 1 cup of all-purpose flour is 4.5 oz. Therefore, if I were to make this cake using a volume measure I would only have 11.25 oz. of flour, which is considerably less than 12.5 oz. It would be helpful to know which measurement you use. Thank you.
Hi Sadie, I use the weight measures for the recipe – I actually just did a post about measuring vs. weighing flour. I use the dip and level method and my cups of flour always weigh right around 5 ounces. It’s really difficult to use the dip and level method and get a cup of flour that weighs in the 4-ounce range and since that’s how I measure my flour (if a recipe doesn’t have weight measures), I go with the 5 ounce/per cup rule of thumb. If a recipe includes both weight and volume, I always encourage readers to use the weight if they have a kitchen scale since it will be more accurate (good case in point that when you measure your flour by volume, it weighs less than mine). Hope that helps!
How would I alter this recipe for high altitude? This is my favorite carrot cake recipe ever.
Try googling high altitude adjustments. Good luck!
Thanks for the recipe!
Since I have only one round baking pan (9inch x 2.5inch), I’ll have to bake and cool the first cake, then bake the remaining half of the batter. So for how much time would I have to bake half of the batter?
Thanks!
The baking time shouldn’t change if you are still using the same size pan as indicated in the recipe (even if you are just baking one pan at a time).
Made this carrot cake for Easter and it was a HUGE hit. I used your whipped cream cheese icing though instead of the one accompanying the recipe. Even non-dessert eaters wanted seconds!
Hi Mel 🙂 First off I just wanted to say that I recently found your site (I’m mad I’ve been wasting my time with all those other ones all this time) I LOOOOVE your recipes and tips!! Your site quickly became my go-to!! Everything I’ve tried so far has gotten nothing but praise! So thanks for that!! And I love knowing that I’m not the only measuring junky out there 😉
Ok, now the reason I’m posting on this particular recipe isn’t actually because of the carrot cake, which by the way I’m soooo going to try it soon! My question actually has to do with the cream cheese frosting. I have been searching for what seems like forever for the perfect cream cheese frosting recipe. Every one I’ve tried in the past comes out too runny. So when I saw this one, I thought I couldn’t go wrong, but come to find out the problem can’t be the recipe, it has to be me. When trying to make this frosting, and all the others for that matter, I stuck to the recipe. Or at least I thought I did. When it came out runny again, I tried adding more sugar and butter, but that didn’t help. I really don’t know what I’m doing wrong. :'( Do you have any idea what it could be or have any suggestions? I would really appreciate it!!!!! Thanks for making my kitchen life easier with all of your hard work!!! 🙂
Hi Dalia! Thanks for your kind words! About the frosting, what kind of cream cheese are you using? Full fat or light (neufchâtel)? Light cream cheese will definitely make the frosting much softer/runnier.
Hi again! I use full fat every time.
I JUST made this cake for Easter after all these years of this being on your website.
So sad.
For those who have yet to make this cake, it lives up to the hype for sure.
I baked it in a bundt pan and it took almost 10 minutes longer. Just fyi.
Very pretty, very good.
Such a delicious cake!! just the right level of sweetness, very moist and balanced flavours. Went down a treat! Thank you Mel
Hi Mel! I’m super excited to make this for Easter this year, I love all the recipes I’ve made from your site! I was wondering, I saw people posting about putting it in the fridge, but I thought that would make it more dry. Do you store this in the fridge, since it has cream cheese frosting? I am hoping to make it the day before Easter, so I just wanted to find out how to store it overnight! Thanks!
Hi Molly – if I’m storing this for longer than 4 hours, I cover it with a cake dome and put it in the refrigerator. It doesn’t dry the cake out, especially if the cake is well sealed with frosting. I try and take the cake out of the refrigerator a couple hours before serving to soften up a little.
This is the best carrot cake I have ever tasted! Incredibly moist, but not too moist, and so much flavor!! I’ve made cream cheese icing in the past, but who knew adding sour cream would perfect it. I made 3 thin 9-inch pans with this recipe, doubled the icing, and still had some icing left over so the kids did some awesome decorating! Thank you for your amazing recipes, you made me famous in my family, lol!
I was wondering if you could sub coconut oil (melted obviously lol) instead of canola or vegetable oil?
Wondering the same thing!
Yes, that should work fine!
Am I missing something,, where are the nuts for the frosting? Are they walnuts or pecan?
I don’t always add them to the cake – that’s why they aren’t in the recipe – but I usually use chopped pecans.
Hi Mel! I had (emphasis on had) a go to carrot cake recipe until I made this one last night. I am a cupcake kind of gal so I did cupcakes using my large cookie scoop to fill and they turned out perfect, yielded 28 – baked up so nice & even & didn’t sink in the middle. They were sooooo delicious & tender! I have tried several of your recipes & haven’t been let down yet. Keep up the awesomeness!
Hi Mel~ I’m a long time reader and recipe tryer (??)!! I’m such a fan! 🙂 This carrot cake is making an appearance (again!!) for Easter and I was wondering if I can make it a day ahead? Do I need to refrigerate it or just let it sit at room temp? Should I refrigerate the cakes and wait to frost it? Help! Thank you 🙂
Hi Laurel – yes, you can definitely make this a day ahead of time. Make it and frost it (the frosting helps keep it moist overnight) – then cover it as best you can (in a cake carrier or lightly covered in plastic wrap) and refrigerate. I like to take it out 1-2 hours before serving to let the frosting soften just a bit. Good luck!
Could you bake this in a bundt pan?
Heidi – I have never tried but certainly worth experimenting. Good luck!
I have and it came out awesome!
Mel, just wanted to check back. I just made the cake, successfully subbing half applesauce for half the oil, and adding approximately a cup of toasted pecans and a cup of raisins. It was delicious and much loved by the birthday boy. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe base.
Thanks for checking back, Melissa – so glad it worked out!
Hi Mel,
Just wanted to thank you for providing an amazing carrot cake recipe. I am not usually a fan of carrot cake (or cream cheese) but this turned out perfectly! I sprinkled chopped pecans on top like in the photo, so it’s easier for people to remove if they don’t like nuts (rather than baking the nuts in the cake). Icing was perfect too. I’m so glad someone sent me the link to your blog, because I made the freezable burritos awhile back, as well as the tikka masala chicken, and both of those turned out very well, so I figured your carrot cake would be too 🙂 Thanks for providing this site to all of us.
Thanks, Mel! I’ll let you know how it turns out — I prefer my cake without, but the husband really wants them in there! I read another recipe similar in size and it looks like it was a cup of each!
I would love to make this with the addition of nuts and raisins! How much of each would you suggest? I’m thinking pecans!
Rebecca – I haven’t added either of these before, so you will have to experiment. Maybe a cup of each? And if you toss them with the flour they won’t have a tendency to sink to the bottom while baking. Good luck.
Hi, Quick question. I know that I can add nuts to this without issue, but do you think that I can add raisins without any issues? I cannot wait to make this! Thanks in advance.
Melissa – I think that would work just fine.
Hi Mel , we absolutely love this carrot cake !! I was wondering if you have ever baked this cake ahead of time and frozen it? I was hoping to make them into cupcakes and freeze them for Easter morning..
Anne – Yes, this cake freezes great.
Hi Mel, If I’m going to make ahead (i’m totally a cooking novice) and want to freeze, do I freeze when it is still warm or after it has cooled completely? is there a trick to freezing so the cake doesn’t dry out?
I always bake it and let it cool before I freeze it. I turn it out of the pans onto a cooling rack and let cool completely and then wrap each layer separately in plastic wrap and slide it into a gallon freezer ziploc bag and pop in the freezer.
This was a PERFECT carrot cake. I tried a different recipe last year for my son’s birthday (carrot is his favorite kind of cake), and while it was fine, it was disappointing. There is nothing disappointing about this one. I’m having trouble restraining myself from eating the entire cake.
Hi Mel! I am wondering since you perfected your yellow cake, would you think this cake would taste better with cake flour? If so…how much would I use in this recipe? I also wondered with doubling the cream cheese icing…how much I set aside to pipe happy birthday? Thank you.
Melissa – Yellow cake so far is the only cake that has needed (as in, no subs) cake flour. Funny enough chocolate cake and others, like carrot cake, do just fine without it because of the other ingredients that help tenderize and make it light and moist. So for this carrot cake, I’ll keep making it with all-purpose flour. You could certainly try cake flour but might have to adjust the amounts so there is enough structure to the cake. I’d probably set aside a cup or so to pipe happy birthday.
Hi Mel,
Would this cake work if I used two nine inch heart shaped Wilton pans instead of 2 rounds? I also wondered with this icing…I know I couldn’t pipe with the cream cheese icing – but can I still write happy birthday on it and have it not mush into the cream cheese icing? Any cake decorating tips to make it more birthdayish (new word) would be appreciated…I may just make your new cupcake recipe instead but thought I’d ask if you had any thoughts. Thank you!
Melissa – The frosting is pretty sturdy so I think you could definitely pipe happy birthday on top of it. I haven’t used the Wilton heart-shaped pans but it should work fine, just keep an eye on baking time. I’m actually making this for my son’s birthday in two weeks (his request) – I’m probably going to make the icing as smooth as possible (instead of swirly) and then pipe large dots around the bottom in a border. Good luck!
This carrot cake was absolutely delicious! This is the third recipe of yours that I have tried (sweet & sour chicken and cheesecake) and each one has been complete perfection. After each one, my husband comments on what a good cook/baker I am…and I tell him it’s all you! Your recipes are so clear and easy to follow that even I can’t screw them up. Thank you for creating such amazing recipes. You are now my official go-to blog when I’m looking for a recipe that is guaranteed to turn out perfect.
I made this cake on Saturday and it was fabulous! The cake itself was super moist and flavorful and then the addition of the cream cheese frosting was so good! I also did mine in two 9 inch pans and then added chopped pecans to the top. I plan on making this recipe as cupcakes next time around and also maybe substituting applesauce for the oil and adding less sugar just to see if I can make a lower fat version 🙂 Carrot Cake is one of my husband’s favorite desserts so he was more than thrilled when I told him I was making it. Thanks for another great recipe!
I made this amazing cake for New Years and it was incredible! What a great way to start a new year!:))
Umm I only have 8 1/2 oz of cream cheese and have the rest of the ingredients. Would I have to decrease the powdered sugar a bit for a 9-inch cake?
Hello, I want to try these, but I have to ask, what do you mean by ground cloves? Is this fresh garlic that is pounded and minced? Or can I use the garlic powder in the small McCormick bottles? Thank you!
Pau – ground cloves is more of a fragrant spice (not like garlic at all). Please don’t substitute garlic! It’s more like a nutmeg or cinnamon type spice.
Hello, I want to try these, but I have to ask, what do you mean by ground cloves? Is thia fresh garlic that is pounded and minced? Or can I use the garlic powder in the small McCormick bottles? Thanks!
How do you think this frosting would be on some fabulous pumpkin cupcakes?! I have a good cupcake recipe, but still looking for that perfect cream cheese frosting (although I do LOVE the one on the pumpkin bar recipe you have posted!)
Rebecca – this frosting would be divine on pumpkin cupcakes. Yum!
Wanted to let you know that I also made this cake today and it was great. Really moist and loved the flavour; I made a mistake and used only 1 cup of oil but didn’t seem to really matter at all; still really moist.
I only have baby carrots. Do you recall how many cups the carrots ended up being when shredded?
Isabella – I’ve never measured – do you have a scale to weigh the one pound?
Hi Mel…
Are those chopped pecans or walnuts on the cake?
Joyce – they are chopped pecans.
This carrot cake was amazing! We made it for Easter and had to give 1/2 of it away because we couldn’t stop eating it!
Quick question: we made this in 2 circular pans and layered it with your yummy frosting. For some reason the middle of both of the cake cakes sunk in a little bit. Any ideas why? It still tasted amazing, but I was curious how I could avoid that in the future. Help!
Hi Denise – not sure why that happens; sometimes it’s due to different altitudes or variance in oven temperature. You might try baking a few minutes longer or baking 25 degrees lower and adding a few more minutes to the time.
This cake is fabulous it’s so moist and delicious! We had carrot cake for dessert on Easter and I have been sneaking a leftover slice for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. (Don’t make this cake if you’re trying to cut back on sweets, it’s so good, you’ll have to have another slice.) This frosting is great too (it has that wonderful cream cheese flavor without being overly sweet. Yum!) Thanks for posting this terrific recipe. It’s a keeper!
Excited to try this!! Will let you know how delicious it turns out!!! 🙂
Could I make this as cupcakes?
Claira – I’ve never made the cake as cupcakes, although I’m sure it would work. You’ll have to experiment with baking time (cut down significantly from recipe) and figure out the yield. Good luck!
I’ve halved this recipe twice to make a small batch of cupcakes, and with a little guesstimation on the spices (I just went ahead and used the full amount for ground cloves), it turned out fantastic! The frosting is great, too. I had a cupcake for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks…. I think you catch my drift. Great recipe. I think next time I make it I’ll switch the brown and white sugars, because I love the taste of brown sugar. 🙂 Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I always use this recipe just as written and it’s fabulous. Last time I think the whole room went silent when dessert was served because everyone was so focused on eating it! haha
Do you think it would be totally crazy to try layering it with cheesecake similar to your red velvet/cheesecake recipe? I may have to make that an experiment! 🙂
Hi Mel, do you think the cream cheese frosting is the right consistency to pipe roses on cupcakes like you showed in your tie n dye tutorial?
Anne – the frosting is a bit on the soft side but if you added more powdered sugar (maybe just a cup?), I think it would be fine for piping.
Heavenly for sure! My boys were afraid of the carrots, so maybe I’ll use a food processor next time.
YOU SHOULD USE 3 JARS OF BABY FOOD CARROTS IN PLACE OF THE GRATED CARROTS — IT MAKES THE SMOOTHEST CARROT CAKE EVER…..
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I made this cake today for my Mom’s birthday! I must say, this is THE best carrot cake I have ever made! Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂