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Best Carrot Cake Recipe EVER – So GOOD!
I’m not sure that I knew that I even liked carrot cake, but after watching The Food Network and seeing this Paula Deen Carrot Cake being made – I just HAD to try this recipe.
This is some heaven-sent cake – seriously the BEST ever carrot cake! The cream cheese frosting really makes it the best. This is a fantastic recipe to have for a family gathering or special event.
Just one little warning though: this is a three-layer cake. Take the time to make the layers and you’ll LOVE the way it turns out!
How to make Carrot Cake
You’ll want to start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and gathering up your carrot cake ingredients.
Carrot Cake Ingredients:
- butter
- all purpose flour
- sugar
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- carrots (grated)
- pecans (optional)
Grab three – 9 inch pans and grease and flour them. Then line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
TIP: If you don’t have 3 9 inch pans – Sister Schubert Roll pans work really well as a substitute if you have any of those around!
Combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) in a large mixing bowl. Then add your wet ingredients (eggs and vegetable oil). Blend those all together until well combined.
Add your grated carrots and pecans (if you’re using them), then pour the cake batter mixture evenly into each of the baking pans and set a bake time for around 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle is clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 4 minutes – then remove the cakes from the pans, place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely.
While you’re waiting for the pans to cool, you can make your delicious cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- vanilla
- pecans (optional)
Mix all of your ingredients (minus pecans if you’re using them) in a medium bowl and beat until fluffy with a mixer (electric, hand or a stand mixer is fine) or in a food processor. It definitely helps if you have your cream cheese warmed to room temperature. After well combined, stir in your nuts.
Spread over each cake layer (you might need to trim the top of the cakes if they baked unevenly) and enjoy!
Best Carrot Cake Recipe (Based on Paula Deen Carrot Cake)
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Ingredients
- Butter Small Amount, For Pans
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour Plus More For Pans
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 Whole Eggs
- 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil
- 3 Cups Carrots Grated
- 1 1/2 Cups Pecans Chopped (Optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- 16 oz Cream Cheese Room Temperature
- 1 Stick Butter, Salted Room Temperature
- 16 oz Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 Cup Pecans Chopped (Optional)
Instructions
Carrot Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & Flour Three 9 inch pans. (Sister Schubert Roll pans work great if you don't have enough pans around your house!)
- Line bottom of pans with parchment paper
- Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Blend until combined.
- Add carrots and pecans (pecans are optional)
- Pour into pans. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Cool for 4 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.
- Frost with cream cheese frosting and enjoy!
Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except for nuts in medium bowl and beat until fluffy with a mixer.
- Stir in the nuts.
- Spread over each cake layer and enjoy!
If you try this best carrot cake recipe, you have to come back and tell me how you liked it – I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Recipe from Paula Deen at Food Network.
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I had make the cake for Easter and was delicious, my first time and I will be making it for all my Holidays and special occasions, only I had make some changes because I had Raw sugar instead of reg sugar, and also used olive oil instead of veg. Oil. Thank you .
Love that, Josefa! So glad it turned out great for you! 🙂
Can i use a bundt pan??
Yes, you definitely can! You may not be able to fit all of the batter into a typical 10-inch bundt pan and you may also need to adjust the baking time, however. Let us know if you give it a try! 🙂
This is the first carrot cake I’ve ever made because personally carrot cake isn’t my favorite. But it’s my mom’s favorite and I made it for her birthday. It was SO good and easy to make! She loved it! I brought it into my office and all my work girls loved it too! I even loved it and want to make it again just for me! I added the pecans and I’m not usually one to like nuts in my baked goods either, but this cake has converted me!
Eek so happy to hear that Tracy! 🙂
My husband likes pineapple in his carrot cake. Does anyone add pineapple to this recipe and if so how much?
I have always been told if pineapple is added then it is considered a hummingbird cake
Love that name!
Hummingbird cakes also have banana
Hummingbird cake doesn’t have carrots. It’s banana, pineapple,coconut, pecans
Mary Lou,
I have a similar recipe as this one that uses crushed pineapple along with these other recipe modifications:
Add 1/2 can of 15 oz. can crushed pineapple and juice; 1 cup WHOLE WHEAT flour and 1 cup white flour (must use this flour combo… it’s amazing); 2 cups packed shredded carrots; 1 teasp baking powder and 1 teasp baking soda; omit chopped pecans except for sprinkling on top icing and bake 350 degrees in greased and floured BUNDT pan for 35 to 40 mins or until when checking with long knife inserted comes out “clean” (without moist batter). Let cool completely before removing from pan.
My recipe directions say to first blend oil and sugar well, then blend in beaten eggs, then mix in dry ingredients 1/3 of it at a time, then mix in pineapple, and lastly add in carrots. Mix well and pour in bundt pan.
Check at 35 minutes, but will probably need to bake 40+ mins.
Yes, the pineapples makes it moist. I used pineapples for the first time in my carrot cake recipe and the crowd loved it!
My husband said it was the best carrot cake he ever had. Would this work ok in a 9×11?
So glad to hear it! Absolutely, you might just need to adjust baking time!
I made this cake last Sunday didnt refrigerate it. And i also didn’t make it stackable I made it in a rectangle pan. It sunk in the middle and edges were a little crispy but once icing was on it soften.
But it tasted good also didn’t see if it needed to be refrigerated if you had it on here then I over looked it. Lol
Because of the cream cheese in the frosting, it’s best to store any leftovers in the fridge Brittany! 🙂 So glad you liked the taste!
Taste great but couldn’t get it out of pans even though I followed the steps. I ended up scooping it out and making mason jar cakes out of it.
Oh no Kimberly ~ so sorry you had trouble getting them out of the pans! But great idea on the mason jar cakes ~ sounds delicious! 🙂
It’s in the oven now , but there was no way this batter would have worked for three pans ( it would have been very thin cakes ) . I can’t wait to try it . it smells delicious ! I hope it turns out ok .
HI, I am making a carrot cake for my son’s wedding this week per the request of his wife-to-be. Problem is….we live at 6000ft west of Denver. No recipe comments address any adjustments for high altitude. Usually I increase the flour by 1/4c per 1 cup in the recipe and reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup for every 1 cup called for. The bride wants a 3-layer cake and it’s a small private family-only reception due to COVID. Help! Any high-altitude adjustment suggestions? I am worried about the oil too- so many comment s about it being too much. I can’t mess this up for the newlyweds! I also have a new Thermador steam oven which has the option of adding the steam during any bake mode or not. What would you suggest?
Hmm, I’m not super familiar with high altitude baking Gail, but these may help! 🙂 https://bit.ly/3tU316T or https://bit.ly/3yclnDL
Made this for the first time today cakes came out very crispy around edges not sure if it was the butter and flour pans. Parchment paper was tough to get off
Only taking two layers to party cause it’s so crispy around the edges. Any ideas why?
Oh no ~ so sorry to hear that Nancy! Hmm, it sounds like it might have gotten a little overdone? Do you happen to know if perhaps your oven cooks a little bit hot? Maybe try checking it 5-10 minutes sooner or decreasing your oven temp some if you give the recipe another try! 🙂 Hope that helps!
Best carrot cake I’ve ever made!!!
Yayyyy Susan! So glad you liked it! 🙂
I guess i am the dissenter as this cake was disappointing for me. Way too much oil and a lack of spice made it bland and the taste was slightly oily for me. I would cut back on the oil and bump up the spices, maybe add some ginger or allspice to balance the flavor. All I taste is the frosting and oil. Without frosting, I am not sure this would would edible.
We just made this. It is going in my recipe box!! We left the frosting off and baked it in one large pan. It was so moist and fluffy. Thank you for sharing this!!
I found this recipe on pinterest and I made one for my family and a friend and everyone loved it. Now I have request for making it for another friend and my Grandson he requesting one he said it is really good. Thanks for sharing the recipe it is definitely a keepe. one question can pineapples and raisins be added to this recipe without taking from the recipe.
What quantity of raisins do you recommend I add? I love raisins in carrot cake! Thanks!
Hmm, maybe around 1 cup Alison? 🙂 You can do more/less depending on your preferences!
I love this recipe but always wanted to bake in a single pan or Bundt pan. What kind of pan did you use and did you adjust the cook time?
Omg I couldn’t believe how good this cake came out . My family loved it . It was sooo moist . I made it in 2 9 inch pans n it came out fine .
I made this tonight and it is incredible!
So amazing! I did a 3 layer cake in 8 inch pans and it was the right amount!
I do recommend using the parchment paper bc my cakes came out so perfectly with them! They were so soft and so yummy! I will def only be using this recipe!
Hi!! What time and temp did you use for the 8inch pans?
I have been making this EXACT cake for years… I have friends and family that request it to be their birthday cakes… It is a staple when coming to visit us… the ONLY thing I do different is I add 4 cups of carrots and usually end up adding extra pecans… just because I have them already chopped up… I have never found a better carrot cake recipe….. I cook mine in square pans.. it is easier to cut….
I made 3 of them yesterday! For a bake sale. The batter fit nicely in two 9 inch pans. I frosted them with the yummy cream cheese frosting. (Doubled the frosting for three cakes.) I made them one layer cakes and only frosted the tops. Gently placed chopped pecans around the very edge of the cake. They were a big hit!
This looks amazing! How would you change it if you were wanting to make cupcakes instead?
I would just make them into cupcakes and bake 15 minutes or so (watch to make sure they’re cooked.) Yum!
Do you use buttermilk i a carrot cake
no….
I’ve been making this cake for my daughters birthday for years. It is delish!
Did I miss anything? I am wondering if it needs to be refrigerated? I need to make it tomorrow, but will be serving it on Easter. My fridge is full now with the ham, but I will be able to refrigerate the leftovers, if there is any!
I have left mine out for a couple of days but then usually refrigerate after that. Hope you had a nice Easter!
Carrot Cake is my favorite and this one looks so good. But I have type 2 diabetes so I don’t ever bake I don’t want it around I don’t have the will power to resist especially Carrot Cake.
if you use stevia in place of the sugar you can have it. I bake regularly and my whole family is diabetic. My last A1c was 6.4, stevia does not affect your sugar levels like granulated sugar and the best thing is it measures the same as sugar. So do like I am going to do, if you are the only one in your house that is diabetic don’t tell them is sugar free(stevia isn’t sugar) and see how they like it. I bet they won’t believe it. That’s what others say about my mock coconut cream pie lol. So indulge and see if you can make yourself AND your Dr. smile.
This is now my “go-to” cake for everything!!! Absolutely love it!
I love it too Carmen – so yummy! 🙂
I have made this cake for a long time everyone loves it. I only make it on the holida
i accidentally bought matchstick carrots do u think they will work cause there is no way for me to grate them now! Thanks
If they’re pretty thin they should work Kayla? But they definitely need to be really thinly sliced so they cook while the cake bakes. Hope that helps (good luck!)
i halved the recipe for a small 9×13 sheet cake and it turned out perfectly. My mom doesn’t like carrot cake and she said it was amazing! Turned out very pretty. Was easy to make. It was the second scratch-made carrot cake and definitely one of my best baked goods.
So glad you liked it Mila – thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
I'm on it .
OMG!!!!! This looks AMAZING!!!!!! I am so going to make this soon!
Hey guys. Love this one, but years ago an older neighbor who sold the best carrot cakes gave me a secret. She always put carrot baby food (small jar) in the batter. She said it was what made her cakes so moist and special. I have done that ever since!
hmmmmm . . . I wonder if you could do that with this one? It’s already incredibly moist (all that oil!), but I’ll have to try it next time!
Did your neighbor use carrot baby food in place of the carrots or did she use both the grated carrots and baby food?
Is the 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil correct? Seemed a little gooey while mixing it.
Yes! Tell me what you think when it’s done Denise (it is very rich -thanks to all that oil) 🙂
HI Laurie, the cake turned out just fine. I used two pans instead of three. Although ihave not tried it yet, it does look yummy. Thanks for the reply. 🙂
I hope you all like it!
I have made this recipe for over 30 years and I cut the oil down to 1 cup and its still a awesome cake, I have also added 1 small can crushed pineapple and it is delicious
Sounds delicious Lori – yum!
I hope you all like it – it really is delicious! I’ve never heard of one with baby food carrots Mary – but that would certainly make all that time spent chopping go quicker! (I’m so glad I have my Pampered Chef chopper!)
Oh no, I love carrot cake and this looks delicious and I’m trying to lose a little weight. Please don’t tempt me. 🙂
I’ve got a recipe that is similar to this except that it uses baby food carrots.
Cream cheese… 1tbs vanilla….half the sugar….1/4 cup of heavy cream……on cake if you have a juicer run carrots through….the take pulp and combine juice set in refrigerator over night….the juice will reabsorb for full flavor
Do you think this would work in a 13×9 pan?
I’m sure you could. . . the ony thing is it’s a LOT of cake, so be careful to watch and make sure it doesn’t overflow. (And adjust your baking time as well!)
Oh my GOSH I’m so gonna try this!!!
that looks devine!
that looks devine!