This Carrot Cake is perfectly moist, sweet and loaded with carrots, raisins, walnuts and pineapple, then topped with a delicious, delicate and easy to make cream cheese frosting.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Total Time1 hr 15 mins
Equipment
8-inch Round Cake Pans (Set of 3) only 2 needed
Box Grater
6-Inch Stainless Steel Whisk
Ingredients
Cake Batter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon ground
1½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups carrots grated
¾ cup walnuts chopped
¾ cup raisins
8 ounce pineapple crushed, drained
Cream Cheese Frosting
12 ounces cream cheese softened at room temperature
½ cup butter unsalted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners sugar same as icing sugar or powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven and prep the pans. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare 2 8 inch cake pans. Cut out 2 parchment paper circles that will fit inside each pan and spray them with some cooking spray. Make sure to spray some cooking spray up the sides of the pans too.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Combine the wet ingredients. In another bowl add the sugar, eggs and vegetable oil. Whisk until it all comes together. Alternatively you could use your mixer.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold everything until well combined.
Stir in fruits and nuts. Add the carrots, walnuts, raisins and pineapple. Using a spatula mix everything together until all the fruits are well incorporated into the batter.
Bake and cool. Pour the batter into the 2 prepared pans, equally. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pans for about 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack or a cutting board and cool completely.
Make cream cheese frosting. While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the cream cheese together with the butter, then add the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble the cake. Start by placing 1 cake layer onto your serving cake platter, then spread some of the cream cheese frosting, about 1½ cups, evenly over the cake layer. Add the other cake layer. Using a spatula, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the top of the cake and up the sides.
Serve. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
To reduce the calorie count, you could replace the vegetable oil with a cup of apple sauce. The cake will still be moist and delicious.
Keep the cake in a closed cake container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Don’t be shy when it comes to spicing your cake. A carrot cake really is a spice cake. Besides the cinnamon, feel free to add other spices such as ginger, nutmeg or cloves.
Baking powder is not needed as it tends to add a chemical flavor.
Don’t slice the cake layers. Keep in mind that carrot cake is supposed to be a rustic cake. Slicing the cakes in half will work against you, and you might end up with a crumbly mess. Stick to a simple two-layer cake.
Let the cake cool completely before frosting it. If the cake is still warm it will turn the frosting into a runny liquid.
