Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This easy carrot cake is soft, moist, and warmly spiced, topped with smooth cream cheese frosting for a classic homemade dessert that’s simple to make and always satisfying.
Ingredients
For Carrot Cake:
- 100 g pecan nuts chopped
- 2 carrots grated
- 100 g raisins
- 335 g brown sugar
- 265 g self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 100 g natural yogurt
- 230 ml vegetable oil
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 300 g cream cheese
- 150 g icing sugar
- 200 g heavy cream
Instructions
For Carrot Cake:
- In a large mixing bowl, add chopped pecan nuts and grated carrots.
- In the same large mixing bowl, add raisins, brown sugar, self-raising flour, salt, ground cinnamon and grated nutmeg, and whisk together all dry ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat together the natural yogurt, vegetable oil, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is evenly combined. Divide the batter between two prepared 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper, then gently smooth the tops with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350°F / 180°C (320°F convection / 160°C fan) for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and creamy.
- In the same bowl, add the heavy cream, and whip until stiff peaks form and the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag.
For the Assembly:
- Once the carrot cakes have cooled completely, transfer one cake onto a plate or cake stand and gently pipe the cream cheese icing over the top of the cake. Place another cake over the cream cheese frosting.
- Delicately pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the cake's surface. Sprinkle cinnamon powder over the cream cheese frosting.
- Slice and serve the carrot cake, and enjoy!
Notes
Bring Everything to Room Temperature: I like to let the eggs, butter, and cream cheese sit out for about 30 minutes so the batter and frosting mix more smoothly.
Grate the Carrots Finely: Finely grated carrots blend more evenly into the batter, and I find they give the cake a softer, more even texture.
Mix Gently: I stir the wet and dry ingredients just until combined because overmixing can make the cake dense instead of light and tender.
Cool and Chill Before Slicing: Let the cake cool completely before frosting, and I like to chill it a little before slicing so the frosting stays neat and the slices come out cleaner.
Nutrition
Calories: 973kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 337mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 64g | Vitamin A: 3551IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 2mg
