Best Ever Carrot Cake

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Best Ever Carrot Cake is loaded with fresh carrots, covered with an amazing cheesecake icing and topped with delicious toasted pecans.

best ever carrot cake


 

Today we are sharing the best carrot cake I have ever eaten or made.  It is moist, wholesome, flavorful, beautiful, and so incredibly delicious!  Oh and did I mention it is easy to make?  I made it beautiful for a birthday cake, but you can cut the frosting in half and bake it in a sheet pan, as an everyday cake.  It is soooo good!!!

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This cake is always a show stopper and gets rave reviews.  It is often requested!  Munchkin enjoyed a sliver of this cake too.  Her first bite was priceless, if only I had a camera on her.  Have you ever seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  The character Roger Rabbit’s eyes pop out of his head as he looks at Jessica Rabbit.  That is what she looked like as she took that first bite.  Eyes huge and bugged out!

This cake is amazing!!!  You must try it.

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decorated carrot cake with toasted pecans

Best Ever Carrot Cake

Donna Elick
This cake is always a show stopper and gets rave reviews. It is often requested!
5 stars from 1 review
Tried this recipe?Please comment and review!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Method Oven
Servings 12

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups grated carrots

Icing

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks, room temperature
  • 16 ounces cream cheese , 2 – 8 ounce packages, room temperature
  • 2 pounds powdered sugar
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cup pecans, Chopped Finely and toasted

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 – 8 inch round cake pans with Baker’s Joy.
  • Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl.
  • In a medium bowl add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, whisk to combine.
  • Add dry mixture to wet mixture and combine.
  • Add carrots and mix well.
  • Pour into prepared cake pans and bake until done, 40 to 45 minutes.
  • Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack, then invert on cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
  • While the cakes are cooling prepare the icing.

Icing

  • In large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend.
  • Spread on cooled carrot cake.

Assembly

  • Using a cake leveler or a bread knife, slice cakes in half to make 4 cake layers. Put a dab of frosting in the center of your plate. Place the first layer, cut side up on a plate. Slide cut 4″x4″ pieces of parchment or aluminum foil under your cake layer to protect the plate from getting frosting on it.
  • Frost bottom layer and add the second layer, repeat until you have the top layer on the cake. The top layer should be bottom side up, cut side down. The smoothest layer. Frost the top and sides with the remaining icing. Press the chopped toasted pecans on the sides of the cake. You can add a decorative touch by trimming the top in toasted whole pecans.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 1078cal | Carbohydrates: 131g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 385mg | Sugar: 111g | Fiber: 3g | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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22 Comments

  1. what are you trying to do to me? I feel like baking everytime I step foot on your blog! This cake looks magical. simply delicious and since my husband's favorite cake is a toss up btw chocolate cake and carrot cake I know I must make this for him soon!

  2. Jessica, you crack me up. I am very happy that I have this effect on you though… It means my spell is working… baaahaaaahaaa ; )

  3. Donna, you are killing me. Here I thought it was the perfect carrot cake when I make it in a full sheet pan. Now you have to go and kick it up several notches with FOUR layers! Very pretty cake. (You should expect nothing remotely that gorgeous next week. Just saying… however, it will be made with love, so I PROMISE you will eat it and pretend it is fabulous!)

  4. This cake looks amazing!!! Seriously I love carrot cake and have never ever made one, but if I did and it looked like this I would be patting myself on the back lol. YUM!

  5. Oh, Donna, this looks incredible! More layers means more frosting! YUM…one of my favorite cakes!

  6. Holy moly, I've seen this cake in my PW cookbook as well and looks just as impressive. Ship me a slice please???

  7. I just absolutely, positively, most definitely rank carrot cake, any carrot cake, as my very very very favorite! And when it's layered like this especially so. I trust you when you say it's the best ever. I will definitely try this version. (I'm glad it doesn't have pineapple in it, and real carrots, no purees.)

  8. I saw this cake on Pinterest and knew that I had to make it. Let me tell you that it is truly the BEST cake that I have ever made and probably the BEST cake that I have ever eaten. My husband and his sister do not like cake and when I made them try it they each had to have a slice. THANK YOU! This recipe will stay in my cook book and be treasured for years to come.

  9. I altered the icing recipe by adding a couple tbs of lemon juice. The icing seemed too firm, so adding the lemon juice helped the consistency and added a nice taste to the icing. Cake was delicious!

  10. The icing seemed too firm, so I altered the recipe by adding some lemon juice, @ 2 tbs. This helped the consistency and added a little extra zip to the taste. Thanks for the recipe, it was delicious!

  11. I altered the icing recipe by adding a couple tbs of lemon juice. The icing seemed too firm, so adding the lemon juice helped the consistency and added a nice taste to the icing. Cake was delicious!

  12. 5 stars
    I made mini cupcakes with this recipe for a friends wedding and everyone loved them. I am not a fan of carrot cake but this one is different than any other recipe I have tried. I changed my mind and I loved these cupcakes. The frosting was also amazing! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!

  13. I have been using this recipe from another source for a while and can definitely guarantee its the best, I always have the best compliments and it such an easy one to make. I’ve also done cupcakes and a traybake using the same recipe. Never fails to 👍

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