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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Incredibly Moist Carrot Cake Recipe

Published: Apr 17, 2020 by AmyG Modified On: Feb 15, 2025. This post may contain affiliate links. 1 Comment.

If you are looking for an Incredibly Moist Carrot Cake recipe with butter then you have come to the right place. This is the best carrot cake, hands down with a light fluffy cream cheese frosting. Coarsely chopped pecans and bits of pineapple chunks make this one of the best incredibly moist carrot cake recipe you will ever find.

If you like carrot cake and cream cheese frosting, you will love my Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf, or my Spinach Phyllo Pastry Bites for something savory.

Slice of Carrot Cake in a grey dish
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Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • How to Make Incredibly Moist Carrot Cake
  • Instructions on How to Frost Layer Cakes
  • Storage
  • Top Tips
  • Substitutions and Variations
  • Equipment
  • Other Dessert and Snack Recipes
  • PIN for Later Here
  • Recipe Details
  • Top Tips
  • Food Safety
  • Comments

You don't need to wait for a special time of year to make this from scratch carrot cake. Carrots are available at your market so it is easy to pick them up any time and make this homemade carrot cake.

This recipe was inspired by my Banana Loaf recipe which is a great way to use up your ripe bananas.

Ingredients

This might seem like a long list of ingredients to make carrot cake, but, trust me, prepping the ingredients makes putting together this incredibly moist carrot cake easy peasy.

  • grated carrots
  • granulated sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • all purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • baking powder
  • cinnamon
  • butter or oil
  • salt
  • eggs
  • pecans
  • raisins or dates
  • coconut flakes
  • crushed pineapple (drained)
  • cream cheese
  • powdered sugar
  • potato or corn starch

See recipe card for quantitites.

This Homemade Strawberry Sfoglia Cake made with frozen puff pastry is really easy to make but it will look like you spent hours in the kitchen. PIN this one to make later, you won't regret it!

This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Make Incredibly Moist Carrot Cake

Preheat your oven to 350° F degrees and line/grease two 8 inch round cake pans.

Beat your eggs in a stand mixer with sugar, then add melted butter a little at a time and vanilla extract.

All ingredients to make carrot cake
beaten eggs in a stand mixer
dry ingredients ontop of wet ingredients in mixer bowl

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to your egg mixture until it has been well incorporated. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well by hand.

Pour the batter a little bit at a time into the prepared cake pans making sure that the batter is evenly distributed between the two cake pans.

all carrot cake ingredients mixed by hand in a bowl
carrot cake batter divided evenly into two baking pans
baked carrot cake to be wrapped in foil and placed in freezer

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry. Remove from oven and let the cake layers cool completely on a cooling rack until they are at room temperature.

At this point you can freeze the butter carrot cake wrapped in foil or refrigerate it before you frost it with cream cheese frosting.

Instructions on How to Frost Layer Cakes

Whip your cream cheese and start adding the sifted powdered sugar to the mixing bowl a little at a time. Alternate adding the icing sugar and the whipping cream.

cream cheese in a mixing bowl
powdered sugar fed through a colander
cream cheese frosting in a mixing bowl adding vanilla, powdered sugar and corn starch
Cream cheese frosting in mixer bowl

Stop to scrape down the mixing bowl to remove any clumps on the side of the mixing bowl. Add the corn starch and vanilla extract and continue to beat until you get a thick consistency.

If your frosting clumps up, don't panic. Take either a hair dryer or a warm tea towel and try and warm up the bottom of the bowl. This will make the cream cheese warm up so that it has a smoother consistency.

Take your cake out of the freezer, if you have frozen it (there's no need to thaw it out) and place it on a decorating board or plate.

cake board on platter with a dollop of frosting in the middle
bottom layer of carrot cake on cake board platter
frosting on carrot cake middle

Place a dollop of frosting on a cake board and then place your first cake layer down.

Top with the cream cheese frosting and spread out. You can also place the frosting in a piping bag and pipe out the frosting. Once the frosting is spread out evenly, place second layer on cake. Use the butter cream frosting to create a crumb coat on top of the cake and on the sides of the cake.

What's a crumb coat you ask?

A crumb coat is the first layer of frosting on a cake. It's called a crumb coat because usually the first layer is full of crumbs from the fresh baked cake. After the first coat of frosting, chill the cake for at least an hour. Then apply your second layer. Have the first coat (crumb coat) already on the cake makes the second layer of icing go on smoother with minimal crumbs.

If you are frosting a room temperature cake place it in the fridge for an hour before frosting with a second later.

top piece of carrot cake on top of bottom piece with frosting in the middle
frosting around the top of the carrot cake
finished frosted carrot cake decorated

Decorate it as you like and refrigerate the cake until you are ready to serve it.

Storage

This cake is dense and moist and will refrigerate well for up to 5 days, covered.

You can also freeze for later. Before you freeze the cake, slice it in serving sizes.  That way when you want to eat a piece, you can take it out per serving.  Let the whole frozen cake thaw out in the refrigerator overnight. If you are taking a slice out, let it thaw out on the counter.

Top Tips

If you don't have circular parchment paper, you can make your own as follows: for the bottom of the pans cut two pieces of parchment paper in the shape of a square as large as the pans. Then folded the square in half and then in half again.

If your frosting becomes lumpy when mixing in a stand mixer, use a hair dryer or warm damp cloth to warm up the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Substitutions and Variations

This carrot cake is super moist. The pineapple adds the majority of the moisture, next to the melted butter. Here are some substitutions to consider:

  • Butter - substitute the butter with corn oil or avocado oil.
  • Raisins - substitute the raisins with currents.
  • Frosting - use pre-made frosting to make decorating this moist carrot cake easy and fuss free.

Have another idea? Go ahead and try it. Let your creativity out!

Reflection: Cooking is like science, you need to experiment with different combinations to come up with the perfect result (for you). But, don't worry if it's not perfect. Pat yourself on the back for trying, you deserve it! Just try and figure out what you did wrong and do it different next time.

Equipment

I'd be lying if I said, I didn't like Wilton brand cooking tools.  I used these 8" baking pans. But you can use any baking pans so long as they aren't larger than 8" in diameter. Note that if the pans are larger, it just means that your cake will be thinner and wider.

Parchment paper also comes in handy to easily remove these cakes from their baking pans.

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Recipe Details

Slice of Carrot Cake in a grey dish

Incredibly Moist Carrot Cake

https://easyhomemaderecipes.ca
AmyG
If you are looking for an Incredibly Moist Carrot Cake recipe with butter then you have come to the right place. This is the best carrot cake, hands down with a light fluffy cream cheese frosting. Coarsely chopped pecans and bits of pineapple chunks make this one of the best incredibly moist carrot cake recipe you will ever find.
If you like carrot cake and cream cheese frosting, you will love my Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf, or my Spinach Phyllo Pastry Bites for something savory.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins
Course Desserts and Snacks
Cuisine American
Servings 10
Calories 684 kcal

Ingredients
  

For Cake

  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¾ cups melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • ¾ cups chopped pecans
  • ½ cups raisins
  • ¾ cups coconut flakes sweetened or unsweetened
  • 8 oz crushed pineapple strained

For Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese (from fridge)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 2 ½ whipping cream 35% cream
  • ¼ cups cornstarch

Instructions
 

Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of 2 (8") pans with parchment paper (you can do this by tracing out the base of the pan and cutting what you have traced). This will help to detach the cake from the pan once cooled down. In addition, rub the sides with butter and sprinkle flour on top of the butter. This will help the sides detach from the sides easily.
  • Mix thoroughly the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar, eggs, butter (or oil) and vanilla. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined and light in color.
  • Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the flour until moistened, then the carrots, pecans, raisins, pineapple and coconut. Divide the batter into two and fill each spring-form pan with the batter. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out dry. Be careful not to over cook.
  • Cool the cakes completely. The cakes can be wrapped in foil and frozen if you are making it ahead of time. You can then remove them straight from the freezer and frost them without thawing.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the cream cheese until softened.
  • Add the icing sugar and cream a little at a time alternating between the two. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
  • Add vanilla extract and corn starch and continue to mix until the mixture thickens.
  • If the mixture is too thick, add 1 tbsp. of cream until you reach the consistency you like.
  • If there are clumps, use a blow dryer or warm rag to heat up the bottom of the bowl.
  • Frost your cake from frozen or at room temperature. If needed refrigerate your cake between frosting layers.

Notes

Top Tips

If you don't have circular parchment paper, you can make your own as follows: for the bottom of the pans cut two pieces of parchment paper in the shape of a square as large as the pans. Then folded the square in half and then in half again.
If your frosting becomes lumpy when mixing in a stand mixer, use a hair dryer or warm damp cloth to warm up the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 684kcalCarbohydrates: 87gProtein: 8gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 549mgFiber: 4gSugar: 54g
Keyword carrot cake, dessert, moist cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Make this now or PIN this recipe for Moist and Easy Carrot Cake for later.

Carrot Cake PIN for Pinterest

Food Safety

Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.

Remember to:

  • Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
  • Wash hands after touching raw meat
  • Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
  • Never leave cooking food unattended
  • Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
  • Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.

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Comments

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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  1. Madison says

    March 28, 2022 at 9:34 pm

    The best carrot cake I've ever baked! I love the addition of coconut.

    Reply

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Hey, I'm Amy! And I'm so happy you're here!! So many of my favorite memories in life seem to take place around the table, especially when surrounded by the people I love. And of course, all the better when nourished by some seriously delicious food.

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