How to Make Homemade Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting

Classic Carrot Cake has always been one of my favorite kinds of cake.

So moist and flavorful and the finish of traditional cream cheese frosting does it for me every time.

To begin, you’ll preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons each of baking soda and cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon of fine salt and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. Give those a stir with a whisk to combine them. Set the bowl aside for now.

Finely chop 2/3 of a cup of pecans. You’ll divide these when you use them, but set this aside for now.

Shred 2 cups of carrots. This took me 5 medium carrots, but will vary depending on your carrot size. Set these aside for a moment as well.

In your mixing bowl, beat together 4 eggs until frothy. Add in 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Beat these until smooth.

Fold the carrots and 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans into the cake batter. Pour the batter into a greased & floured bundt cake pan. (You could spray the pan liberally with “baking” spray that has flour already mixed in instead of greasing & flouring it by hand. That is what I did here.)

Bake this for 35-45 minutes or until it tests done with a wooden pick.

When it is done baking, place the pan on a rack and cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes.

Then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Once the cake is completely cooled, you can frost it with the cream cheese frosting. (Recipe included in the printable below.)

Once it is frosted, sprinkle it with the remaining chopped pecans.

Enjoy!

Did you Make this Recipe? I’d love for you to give me a 5 star rating in the recipe card below. If you share it on Instagram, please tag me!

Homemade Carrot Cake

Constance Smith - Cosmopolitan Cornbread

Carrot Cake has always been one of my favorite kinds of cake. So moist and flavorful and the finish of classic cream cheese frosting does it for me every time.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Save this on Pinterest

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings 12 slices

Calories 601 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• For the Cake:
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2/3 c finely chopped pecans, divided
• 2 c shredded carrots
• 4 eggs
• 2 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
• For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
• 16 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 c powdered sugar

Instructions

 

For the Cake:

• To begin, you’ll preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Give those a stir with a whisk to combine them. Set the bowl aside for now.
• Finely chop your pecans and set them aside for now.
• Shred your carrots and set them aside for a moment as well.
• In your mixing bowl, beat together the eggs until frothy. Add in the sugar, vanilla and oil. Beat these until smooth.
• Fold the carrots and 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans into the cake batter. Pour the batter into a greased & floured bundt cake pan. (You could spray the pan liberally with “baking” spray that has flour already mixed in instead of greasing & flouring it by hand. That is what I did here.)
• Bake this for 35-45 minutes or until it tests done with a wooden pick.
• Cool it on a rack, in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the Frosting:

• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until it is nice and fluffy.
• Mix in the vanilla.
• Add in the powdered sugar, mixing slowly at first, and then beating it on high until it is smooth.
• Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake.
• Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Prep & Cooking time does not include cooling period.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 601kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 9gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 528mgFiber: 2gSugar: 53g

Nutritional information is auto-generated and the accuracy is not guaranteed.

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