This Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is homemade, easy to make, and a favorite during the holidays.
Traditional Cake
This recipe is a lot like the one my great grandmother used to make. Carrot cake is a classic in my family and is often found at family reunions, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas dinners. Not only is this cake simple to make but it's packed full of flavor and it's super moist!
There are two ingredients in this cake that makes it super moist and flavorful - crushed pineapples and applesauce. These ingredients really boost the flavor of this cake!
Related: Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This classic cake has homemade cream cheese frosting between the layers and on top. It's incredibly easy to make this frosting and it pairs perfectly with this carrot cake! This recipe makes enough to fill the layers, cover the top, and it also is enough to frost around the edges. It calls for 12 oz. of cream cheese (1 block and a half) in this recipe and 6 cups of powdered sugar. The addition of milk helps make this frosting creamy, add a little at a time to reach the desired consistency that you prefer in a frosting.
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup brown sugar - lightly packed
- 1 cup sugar
- 8 oz crushed pineapples - drained
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 cups carrots - peeled, grated
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 oz cream cheese - softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease sides and bottom of 2 8 inch cake pans. I use parchment paper on the bottom.
- Mix together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars, vanilla, and drained crushed pineapple.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Gently stir in the 3 cups of peeled and grated carrots. Making sure not to overbeat.
- Pour into greased pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Check center with a toothpick for doneness.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring cakes to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- To make cream cheese frosting, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth.
- Add in the vanilla extract.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, and add 1 to 2 tablespoon of milk to reach desired creaminess.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
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Let us know how it was!You May Also Like:
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Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
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