I think I was a junior in college when I made the best carrot cake I’d ever had. I was a carrot cake FIEND, I tell ya. But I was insane and never wrote that recipe down. So after years of talking about that beautiful carrot cake and reminiscing about that carrot cake, I decided it’s about time to shut up, stop being weird about it, and recreate it already.
And after slaving away in the kitchen and making one too many misses in trying to master this cake, I finally think I got it. No. I got it, for sure.
You don’t even know how much I’ve been obsessing over this cake.
I’m spent.
This post was supposed to go up yesterday but because I fought tooth and nail with this cake until it was just the way I wanted it to be, I ended up really exhausted and just needed a breather. Plus, I have school/work which likes to get in the way because it’s rude like that.
But here it is.
And it takes me right back to that night (or morning, rather) in college when I decided it was absolutely imperative to bake a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting at 2 AM.
I was a little more than delirious. I had a really tough bout of “the finals” that had just ended that evening. And I hadn’t slept in about a week---pretty certain that was more than obvious from taking half a glance at me. I wore the same men’s flannel shirt, jeans, and flip-flops everyday that week. And after coming home from my last exam, I didn’t really know what to do with myself, so naturally I thought, “Well, I should build a cake!”
I drove over to Albertson's grocery store, bought a pound of carrots and whatever else, drove back home, put on a Dave Matthews CD, and started making my carrot cake.
Then my dad walked into the kitchen and I thought, “Oh crap, I woke everyone up now!”
He asked what I was doing. I said, “Making a carrot cake.” And so he just took the grater from me and started grating the carrots right there. We made the cake while listening to Dave Matthews (and to my total surprise my SUPER Persian baba admitted that he enjoyed that music---it was Dave’s Some Devil album just in case), and when it was ready we ate a slice or 2 of the cake each. 3 AM.
See, carrot cake memories are awesome.
For my first birthday away in grad school, my sister and nieces actually sent a whole carrot cake that they had baked. It was still hot when they rushed it to the post office right before closing. And it arrived fresh, right on my birthday!
This carrot cake recipe makes the most flavorful and softest cake. It’s quite a simple recipe. The ingredients, you probably already have at home. It’s got walnuts and raisins. And personally, there’s no way I’d exclude them. I mean, you’re eating a cake of carrots. What’s so crazy about the walnuts and raisins again? So yeah, let’s just put them in, OK? Unless you hate them, you hate me, or obviously, if you’re allergic (to the nuts... or to me. same difference).
Oh and before I let you go, this is the BEST cream cheese frosting you’ll ever have. It’s perfectly textured, tangy but not too tangy, sweet, fluffy, and dreamy.
And there’s still some cake left waiting in the kitchen so… OK, I go now.
Recipe
The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ⅓ cup olive oil + extra for greasing pans
- 1 cup granulated sugar or rapadura
- 1 cup brown sugar tightly packed when measuring it out (may also use rapadura)
- 4 eggs
- 3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour + a little extra for the pans
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cups grated fresh carrots 1 lb---use the 2nd largest grate setting
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup raisins
For the Frosting:
- 1 ⅔ blocks of cream cheese 13 oz total, room temperature
- 2 sticks butter 8 oz. or 1 cup, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (~176ºC).
- Generously grease two 9-inch baking pans with olive oil.
- Add about ¼ cup of flour to each pan and move the pan around, tapping, to get the pan coated with flour. Tap out the excess.
- In a large bowl, add granulated sugar, brown sugar, and olive oil. Mix with electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
- Add flour to the bowl and right on top of the flour add in the cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a spoon/fork, simply try to mix just the dry ingredients together with a spoon/fork to disperse the ingredients. Then use the electric mixer to incorporate all the ingredients together until just combined. Don’t overbeat.
- Use a spatula/large spoon to stir in carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
- Pour this batter evenly between both cake pans and put the pans in the oven for 30 minutes or until a fork poked through the middle comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool completely cool before frosting them so that the frosting doesn’t melt.
For the Frosting:
- In a medium-large bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer.
- Mix in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat well.
dina says
it looks like a delicious carrot cake!
honestandtasty says
Thanks Dina!! 🙂
Daria says
I absolutely loved this post. It SO YOU. The cake looks beyond magnificent. I just ate a can of garbanzo beans (I marinated them earlier today though, I hope that makes me seem less pathetic), otherwise I would be making this right this second. I love you and miss you so much.
honestandtasty says
I LOVE you and your little can of marinated garbanzo beans! You should eat those garbanzos and then eat your cake too! 😉
I miss you and love you big time, my sweetest Darband. :-* !!!!!!!
Kelley @ Chef Savvy says
Carrot cake is one of my favorite desserts to eat. I will definitely be trying your version. Thanks for sharing!
honestandtasty says
Hi Kelley! Thanks for visiting! It's really an amazing carrot cake and it keeps really well too! Very moist and scrumptious! I hope you'll love it too! Let me know how it turns out for you!! 🙂
me says
Carrot cake brings to me fond memories of a beautiful vacation I had years ago...
I never managed to bake one I was happy with myself (and I am a trained baker).
Pinned it. I'll try it when the "let's recreate that carrot cake I had 8 years ago" (oh gosh, I feel so old) fever hits again (it happens! you're not alone). I'll probably leave out the raisins, thou 🙂
honestandtasty says
Dear me (very interesting name because that also happens to be my nickname to myself!),
I hope you try this carrot cake recipe out and tell me how you like it! I'm glad I'm not alone with the whole 'waiting to make something for no good reason' thing! 😉
Nick says
I'm looking for a recipe and stumble here. It's the best? I'm about to implement it. Tnx
Shannon Miller says
I love this cake and frosting, but I noticed in the frosting you didnt say when to add the powdered sugar...lol I assumed its when you add the salt and vanilla. Very good recipe! Thank you 🙂
honestandtasty says
Oh my goodness, Shannon! I'm so sorry! You're 100% correct and thank you so much for bringing it to my attention! I fixed it right away and hopefully we've saved some cream cheese frostings out there in the world as a result! 😉
Anyway, thanks for trying the recipe out and I'm so happy you love it! It's a decadent thing, this carrot cake!
Natania says
In the process of letting my cakes cool now and just finished my frosting! I love this recipe made it once for easter and I upon request I am making it for my boyfriend's mom's birthday! Thank you for a foolproof recipe!
honestandtasty says
Yay!! I love hearing that! You're so welcome, Natania! Hope you all enjoyed! And happy birthday to her 🙂
Debbie says
Best carrot cake EVER !!!!!! Thanks for sharing .....
honestandtasty says
Why thank you, Debbie! What a compliment! 😀 You're very, very welcome!! <3
Jamie says
Do the raisins add moisture or anything? Can they be omitted?
honestandtasty says
The raisins add extra flavor and extra texture to the cake but you can just as easily omit them as you wish 🙂
bill says
I'm making this for my family for dessert at Easter Dinner tomorrow. I'm making it as I post this. If the batter is any indication of how awesome it will be, I'm super excited 🙂
honestandtasty says
That's awesome, Bill! I hope you and your family enjoyed the recipe! It's always a winner with my friends and fam! 🙂
Kathy G says
I have never left a comment on any recipe before, but this is the best carrot cake ever. The frosting is also fabulous. I have been looking a long time for a recipe like this. The search is now over. Thank you so much for sharing.
honestandtasty says
Yay! You don't know how happy that makes me! You're so very welcome! Thank you for choosing my carrot cake recipe for your first recipe comment! 🙂
Joseph says
Ya know Im not a baker but you're story was so cool as ya know I have plenty of stories,,,, I love these but mom never made them ,,,,my daughter and I love them especially from a good baker like cheese danish. ,well Im gonna try next week ,will post results ,,,thanks for the heart felt stories that go with the recipes
honestandtasty says
You're so welcome, Joseph! Nothing like a good quality cake!
Notty says
Very moist and very nice I also added pineapples and Orange Rind . Best cakes
honestandtasty says
Yum! Thanks, Notty! And love the added touches to make it YOURS! 🙂
Sahdia Khan says
I made this recipe as cupcakes for when my friends came round for tea and OMG they were amazing! All my friends loved it and asked for the recipe! I love carrot cake and this is by far the best recipe so thank you so much 💖
honestandtasty says
Aw! So glad to hear it! I know my carrot cake! 😉
Carol Ann says
Fantastic and easy recipe, you are absouletly a fantatic cook!! Thank you for sharing you delicious recipes.