Updated on May 1st, 2023
It’s getting to be that time of the year again, Easter is approaching and that means it’s time for an easy carrot cake recipe. There are many recipes around for carrot cake but this one is the best I have come across. Not only does it have carrots but it also has shredded coconut, crushed pineapple, and walnuts in it. Seriously, does that sound good or what? It doesn’t even end there; the cream cheese frosting just tops it off nicely.
This cake is moist, rich and highly flavorful. You can make this in a 9×13” baking pan or pour the batter into two round 8-inch pans instead. That’ll give you double layer cake as shown. If you want to make a double layer cake just pour the mixture out evenly into 2 round baking pans. Enjoy.
If you’re craving carrot cake but want something healthier, try collagen cookies by Fitasamamabear!
Carrot Cake Recipe
This simple carrot cake combines carrots, flaked coconut, walnuts and pineapple. Topped with cream cheese frosting, it's a fruity, creamy, sweet dessert treat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 1 cup walnuts (chopped)
- 1 (8 ounces) can crushed pineapple (drained)
Frosting
- 1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese (softened)
- ¼ cup butter (softened)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon until smooth.
- Stir in carrots, walnuts, coconut, and pineapple.
- Pour the batter into a greased 9x13” baking pan or two prepared, 8-inch round pans. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. In a bowl beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time and beat until smooth. Spread frosting over the top of the cooled cake.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 848Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 775mgCarbohydrates: 100gFiber: 4gSugar: 70gProtein: 9g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Carrot cake recipe FAQs
What is the best type of carrot to use in a carrot cake?
Carrots that are fresh, firm, and sweet are the best choice for making carrot cake. Look for medium-sized carrots that are bright orange in color and have a smooth skin. Avoid carrots that are too large. They may be woody and tough. Also steer clear of carrots that are limp or discolored.
How do you grate the carrots for a carrot cake?
First peel the carrots and cut off the ends. Then, run them over a box grater with medium-sized holes. Or place them in a food processor with a grating attachment.
Can I use carrots that are already grated?
Yes, you can use bagged, grated carrots. These may not be as fresh and flavorful as freshly grated carrots, however.
How do I make a carrot cake more moist?
This recipe is fairly moist, thanks to the pineapple. But if you want to adjust it, try adding applesauce or sour cream to the batter. You can also try using a higher ratio of oil or butter to flour in the batter, which will make the cake more tender and moist.
Can I make a carrot cake without eggs?
Yes, you can make a carrot cake without eggs by using an egg substitute such as mashed bananas, unsweetened applesauce, flaxseed meal, or egg white powder mixed with water. These ingredients can be used in place of eggs to bind the ingredients together and add moisture to the cake. The texture and consistency of the cake may be slightly different with the substitution, however.
How do you make cream cheese frosting for carrot cake?
To make cream cheese frosting for carrot cake, beat together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. The frosting should be thick enough to spread easily but not too stiff. You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and/or splash of milk or cream to thin out the frosting if needed.
This looks wonderful, I couldn’t help notice the baking pan with the handle to help you get the caqke out! I haven’t seen one of them in years!!
Bunny – the cake pans are old, they actually belong to my grandmother 🙂
hello…
i’d like to do this one of these days. but i’m having gard time looking for that flaked coconut. is there a substitute or can i just omit it?
tnx… ingat…
Ing – don’t worry, its not a big deal. I would just omit it, it will still taste good 🙂
HUGE Carrot Cake Fan! Mom use to kill me I’d eat all the cream cheese dressing off the cake:) Im gonna try this!
This certainly sounds delicious. I shall have to try this one after Lent.
This carrot cake looks fantastic. I love that it includes coconut and pineapple, too!
This cake looks very good. I am going to try baking one right now. Hope it looks and tastes good.
This looks yummy and none of those stinky old raisins :o) My Nana had those same pans. How long did you bake in the round pan?
Jill – I would say around 25 minutes. I would check on it with a toothpick a little sooner though.
Looks good. Will make this weekend. Is it very pineapple-ish though? I like my pineapple in small doses.
thanks
Logan – the pineapple flavor is not strong at all. Enjoy.
Im going to give this recipe a try on Saturday, can not wait, I’m only 18 years old and love to bake, thanks for the recipe, this is the only one that caught my eye.
Came out great, thanx so much.
I saw a similar recipe in a vintage cookbook which made a super rich cake, which means it had (too much for my own personal taste) even more sugar (2 c.), oil (1 1/2 c.), coconut (7 oz. (about 3 c.)), and raisins (1 c.). The next time I make this carrot cake, I plan to mainly use the recipe you posted above, but with the following modifications taken from the old fashion recipe: 1) 2 tsp pure vanilla (instead of 1 tsp); 2) beat eggs, sugar, oil (I used canola oil (soy oil is another option if you can find it); just don’t use ones that say “vegetable” because they can contain cheap quality ingredients), and vanilla together 3) for a more moist, less airy cake, omit the baking powder; 4) sift the flour (always use unbleached, never bleached), baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together, then add to egg/sugar/oil/vanilla mix. You add the rest of the ingredients (the old fashion recipe calls for undrained crushed pineapple, but I did not risk it and drained it this time; next time, I will experiment with 8 oz. (about 1 c.) undrained crushed pineapple to see if the added pineapple juice adds more flavor; I will use about 2 c. coconut because I love it (3 c. seemed to overwhelm the other flavors); depending how much you like raisins (I plan to add about 1/2 c. golden raisins, soaked with cool water for about 30 min. then squeeze off excess liquid before adding to batter), 1 c. chopped walnuts, 2 c. grated carrots), and stir gently with a spoon until mixed well. In the past, I bought carrot cake in the 1-layer sheet form. However, per your suggestion, the texture is so much better when you eat it in the double-layer cake arrangement. Make the round cake shape if you do not have a large rectangular or square platter to transfer the cake after baking (I made this mistake). When I baked it in two stainless steel 8.5 in. round pans, it took about 50 min. in a preheated 350 F oven. Normally, I prefer to bake in good quality (usually vintage), sturdy (not the terrible flimsy, disposable types) aluminum or steel (old, not stainless) pans which have better heat transfer, and probably requires less cooking time.
For the frosting, the old fashion recipe was almost identical to yours, except it says 3 oz. of cream cheese, and then suggested that at the end you can thin out the frosting with cream (I am assuming heavy cream (or half and half?)). I followed their recipe using 3 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 c. butter, 2 c. confectioners sugar, and about 3 – 4 Tb heavy cream. It gave the frosting a better texture than the 8 oz. cream cheese, but the flavor might have needed more than 3 oz. cream cheese. Maybe I will try 4 or 5 oz cream cheese. I’m not crazy about the frosting by itself, but when I top this frosting with coconut flakes, it’s wonderful for both taste and presentation. Most importantly, let this cake sit for at least 1 day (2 days is better) at room temp (in refrigerator if hot outside) to let all the flavors get infused into the cake before serving. It yields about 16 – 20 servings!
Never in a million years could I have imagined making such a beautiful and tasty cake. Carrot cake appears very complex but your instructions made it look so easy. I would not have known that I could reduce the amount of sugar to 1 1/3 c. and oil to 1 c. without compromising the flavor and texture. Thanks for the motivation.
I am loving your website and have told many about it! I love the yummy looking pictures and have made a number of your recipes already (chicken Parmesan, potato skins, French toast and really the best chocolate chips cookies ever ( I omited the almond extract, doubled the vanilla and added in peanut butter m & m’s with (milk) chocolate chips!!!)OOOH Yummy!!!I made the carrot cake this weekend for Easter and it was simply scrumptious! I do want to mention I baked it in a 9×13 dark pan at 325 and it cooked up 15 minutes sooner then the recipe called for. I wonder how delicious a tad of orange zest/juice would taste in the frosting??? Thanks so much, keep up the great work and keep posting those delicious recipes!!!
I made this cake last weekend. OMG! It’s the absolute best Carrot Cake I have EVER tasted! And…it’s so easy!
Thank you! Thank you for sharing!!
Awesome Recipe! Thanks for posting. For once I did not “tweak” anything 🙂 This cake lasted about 3 days in my house (usually I end up throwing the last of anything out)
can you use two 8″ cake tins for this recipe please
Rob Durnford – Yes, you can. That is what I used. Just divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.
I want to try this recipe. 🙂
Im going to make this cake, i love carrot cake.One question, i have a gas oven so what gas mark would i need it on? Thanks
Hi, I’m really suprised by the coconut in the recipe? I love Carrot Cake, the recipe I use calls for sultanas, and that helps keep the everything moist and bursting with flavour.
Cake turned out moist but walnuts turned black!
Bobby, I made this cake this past weekend and it was EXCELLENT! The best carrot cake I’ve ever had, loved it, thanks a lot man.
Also, whats up with email?
Kent – I am glad you enjoyed the recipe. Best carrot cake I have ever had as well!
I am not sure whats up with my email. I think I need to get outlook back.
Hi Bobby!
I hade just enjoyed my first piece of this cake. This recipe is a hit! I made exactly as in your recipe and it tourned out moist and delicious!!! I really loved it and also my husband and my mother-in-low!
I will definitly make it again!! THANKS a lot!!!!!
*I use a 9×13 in. pan at 350ºF and it was completly done 15 minutes before the estimate time.
This was excellent! I even substituted the oil for applesauce and it was still very moist and good.
Thank you again for this recipe. It is one that I make often. I looked through several cookbooKs for a good recipe….who knew it would be on the internet.
Delicious cake! I made a 2 layer cake for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was a hit..There was a little bit too much coconut for my liking, but everyone else thought it was great..When I make it again, I will add less coconut.
Thanks for posting!
Diane~
I would like to make this cake for my mom’s b/day. I was wondering if the cooking time was the same for the two 9in pans and did they come out pretty easy? otherwise I might stick to the 9×13.
Megan- Cooking time should be the same, but it wouldnt hurt to check a little early. I didn’t have a problem with sticking, but I would make sure you spray the pans with cooking spray. I hope this helps.
Hi may I ask why do u whisk in the melted butter afterwards and not just cream the butter with the egg mixture?
can i make this in a cupcake form?
ria – I think it would work but I have never tried making this in cupcake form. If you do try it please let everyone know how it turns out. Thanks.
I used this to make mini cupcakes and it came out realllllyyyy good. You just have to experiment with the baking times a little bit.
It looks so yummy. Will definitely give it a try. And hopefully the mixture of walnut and pineapple will make it delicious. Got to be careful with the baking timings..
Do NOT cook it for 45 minutes!! It will burn, try 25-30 minutes