A rich, decadent, moist Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Frosting with a hint of fall spices and flavors that enliven your mouth every time you take a bite. You’ll want to devour the entire cake in one sitting.
I’ve been perfecting this divine fall cake for years now and possibly gaining a few pounds in the process. This cake has always been a rave at gatherings, and even my picky eater boys get exhilarated when I make this delectable cake, and they smell the heavenly aromas throughout our home.
Gather these ingredients and a food scale. I measure out ALL my baking ingredients to ensure each ingredient in the recipe is consistent every time I bake it. It’s not as forgiving as cooking is when you do too little or too much of an ingredient.
No room for errors here with this recipe! It’s practically Fool-Proof!
▪ 3-4 Carrots (150 g finely grated)
▪ 2 Large Eggs
▪ Dark Brown Sugar (100 g)
▪ Cake Flour (125 g)
▪ Cane or Granulated Sugar (100 g)
▪ Ground Nutmeg (1/4 tsp)
▪ Ground Cinnamon (1 tsp)
▪ Ground Cardamom (1/2 tsp)
▪ Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract (1/2 tsp)
▪ Raisins (35 g)
▪ Canola or Vegetable Oil (150 ml or 2/3 Cup)
▪ Whole Pecans (50 g chopped)
▪ Salt (1/4 tsp)
▪ Baking Soda (1 tsp)
(Frosting Ingredients below)
Whisk your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. The dry mix consists of cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
Mix the cane sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, and oil in a separate bowl. Add one egg at a time, whisking until well combined each time.
Using a fine grater, grate the carrots until you have 150 g. If you find any large pieces, discard them. You don’t want to take that first bite of this fluffy, moist cake only to bite down on a thick carrot chunk.
Funny fact, my husband is allergic to carrots. No, Seriously! I didn’t even know it was a thing until I met him. But he can tolerate eating them if they are fully cooked, so he loves it when I make this cake, and he gets to enjoy their earthy sweet flavors outside of just as a side dish.
Add half the flour mix to your wet ingredients and gently mix until slightly combined. Pour the remaining flour and gently fold the mixture until just combined.
Toss the shredded carrots, chopped pecans, and raisins, and give it a few more folds to mix it all. The key is not to overmix, so it keeps it light and fluffy once baked.
Use two 6-inch cake pans sprayed with nonstick spray lined with a parchment cake liner (or cut a piece of parchment to the shape of the bottom of the pan). Fill the pans 1/2 to 2/3 full, depending on how deep your cake pans are. I used a 2-inch deep cake pan for these.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the baked cakes cool on a wire rack while you work on the frosting. If you are in a rush, you can stick them in the fridge to speed up the process.
For the Vanilla Cream Frosting, grab the ingredients below, and let’s begin.
▪ Cream Cheese (8 oz or 225 g at room temp)
▪ Powdered Sugar (150 g)
▪ Heavy Whipping Cream (1-2 tbsp)
▪ Vanilla Bean Paste (1 tsp)
▪ Pecans (2 tbsp coarsely chopped)
Cream the softened cream cheese on low for 2-3 minutes using a hand mixer. Using a sieve or fine mesh strainer, sift the powdered sugar as you add it to the bowl of cream cheese. Using a sieve helps break up any clumps of powdered sugar when you mix it, but you can use a hand whisk to separate the clumps in a small bowl before adding it to your cream cheese if you don’t have a sieve to use.
Add the vanilla bean paste and whisk for 3-4 minutes on medium speed. Next, add 1 tbsp of heavy whipping cream and whisk for 2-3 minutes, then check the consistency. If it’s still too thick, add another tbsp to slightly thin the frosting out.
Spread the frosting over your cooled cake layers and then stack them on top of one another. Next, sprinkle the coarsely chopped pecans on top. Then grab a fork and dig into that first slice of autumn flavor heaven.
Ingredients
- 125 g cake flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 100 g cane sugar or granulated sugar
- 100 g dark brown sugar or swap with light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 150 ml canola oil or other vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g finely grated carrots
- 50 g whole pecans chopped
- 35 g raisins
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 150 g powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp whole pecans coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Whisk your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. The dry mix consists of cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
- Mix the cane sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, and oil in a separate bowl. Add one egg at a time, whisking until well combined each time.
- Using a fine grater, grate the carrots until you have 150 g. Discard any large chunks of carrot you may find.
- Add half of the flour mix to your bowl of wet ingredients and gently mix until slightly combined. Pour the remaining flour and gently fold the mix until just combined so you don't overmix.
- Toss in the shredded carrots, chopped pecans, and raisins, and give it a few more folds to mix it all together.
- Use two 6-inch cake pans sprayed with nonstick spray lined with a parchment cake liner (or cut a piece of parchment to the shape of the bottom of the pan). Fill the pans 1/2 to 2/3 full, depending on how deep your cake pans are.
- Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the baked cakes cool on a wire rack while you work on the frosting. If you are in a rush, you can stick them in the fridge to speed up the process.
Vanilla Cream Frosting
- Cream the softened cream cheese on low for 2-3 minutes using a hand mixer. Using a sieve or fine mesh strainer, sift the powdered sugar as you add it to the bowl of cream cheese.
- Next, add 1 tbsp of heavy whipping cream and whisk for 2-3 minutes, then check the consistency. If it’s still too thick, add another tbsp to slightly thin the frosting out.
- Spread the frosting over your cooled cake layers and then stack the cake layers on top of one another. Next, sprinkle the coarsely chopped pecans on top.
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