Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch

My Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch is a delicious, moist and perfectly sweetened cake for spring and Easter. It’s easy to make and you can make it as a layered cake or a sheet pan cake! Save the recipe so you can make it!

I think we can all agree that Carrot Cake is THE Easter and spring dessert. It’s delicious, sweet, moist and usually involves luscious cream cheese frost, which happens to be my favorite kind of frosting. And if you’re looking for a simple recipe to make, my Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch is pretty much as easy as it gets while being incredibly delectable and sweet too. 

Making a Classic Carrot Cake

My recipe for Classic Carrot Cake from scratch is an amazing base carrot cake recipe. What does that mean? It means I don’t use nuts, raisins, pineapple or anything else. It’s just simple carrot cake. Frankly, I don’t like nuts in my cake and neither does my family so I generally won’t add them in. We’re also not a big fan of raisins either. Classic is the way to go for us.

However, if you would like to add in any of these ingredients, you can by simply folding them into the batter before pouring it into the pan. 

So, what’s in my recipe?

I have all the basics in this recipe you would expect – flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, vegetable oil, spices, baking soda and baking powder and of course the carrots. However, I do add sour cream to the batter to give the cake a little more moisture. You can’t taste it at all and it really does make a difference in the final texture of the cake. This cake is so beautifully moist and I truly believe the sour cream is the secret ingredients!

The Cream Cheese Frosting

My cream cheese frosting is my all time favorite frosting! I will say I’m not a big frosting fan in general so I try to make this one as much as possible on my desserts because I adore it. Even my daughter, who also doesn’t love frosting, loves this frosting. It combines cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla to leave you with a sweet frosting that isn’t over powering. 

You can use this frosting in between the layers and as a frosting for the whole cake. The only reason I didn’t frost the outside of my cake is so you could see it better and see the layers. Otherwise I would have wrapped a nice layer of the frosting all around the cake. 

Let’s talk layers

I made my Carrot Cake recipe from scratch into three layers, as you can see. However, I will say,, as pretty as it looks, I find it rather impractical for a family gathering. I made this cake in 3, 7-inch pans. These ones {HERE} are the exact ones I used. 

However, you can just as easily use two 8 or 9 inch pans to make this recipe.

You could also make this as a sheet cake in a 9×13 inch pan. For the 9×13, adjust the cooking time to 35-40 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness and ensure the tooth pick comes out clean from the center of the cake.

NOTE: Make sure whatever pan you use you have a depth of at least 2 inches or the cake will overflow.

Decorating the cake

For decorating the cake, you can use extra frosting to make a design (maybe double the frosting recipe) or you can do something simple with edible flowers and plants like I did. If you want to use flowers, make are edible, non-toxic flowers. Don’t use anything you’re unsure of. I used thyme from the garden, mini roses and a variety of daisies. Some sage would make for lovely leaves too. Other flowers and herbs you can use include:

• Rosemary
• Basil
• Chamomile 
• Calendula
• Violets (If picking these wild from the yard make sure you know what you’re picking.)
• Mint
• Marigolds
• Lavender
• Borage
• Nasturtium
• Honeysuckle
• Dandelions
• Peonies
• Hibiscus
• Cherry Blossoms
• Lilacs

Maybe I should do a whole post on this?

Tips for making my Classic Carrot Cake from scratch

• For the carrots, you can use 6 full sized carrots or pre-shredded carrots. No matter which way you go, you will still have to use the food processor to chop the carrots smaller. The pre-shredded ones are still not small enough. I do feel like using the full sized carrots, chopping them and then processing them will give you better overall carrot flavor. 
  • I use my favorite small food processor {HERE} to chop up my carrots nicely with out blending them too much.
• Make sure to grease the cake pan on the bottom and the sides and then add a layer of parchment paper to the bottom. This will help ensure the cake comes out of the pan or pans easily. 
• If you want to layer the cakes, you do have to trim the tops off. I trimmed all three layers on mine to get them to be flat across. They stack nicely like this. If you’re making a larger cake in 8-inch or 9-inch pans then you can either trim one and leave the other or trim both. OR, you could serve them as separate cakes too. 
• I used make Kitchen Aid to mix this together but you can also use a hand mixer. 
• I use sour cream in this recipe to help with moistness, as I often do with all my cakes. However, you can use Greek Yogurt too. 
• Let the cake cool completely before you frost it. Don’t ever frost a warm cake! I use a piping bag like this {HERE} and a tip like the larger ones in this set {HERE} to add the frosting and then an icing spatula like this {HERE} to spread it. 
• If you want to make a layer cake, and frost the outside of the cake too then I suggest making a double serving of the frosting from the directions below. 

Making and storing

I don’t recommend making this cake in advance. However, if you absolutely have to, you can make my Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch up to one day in advance. Don’t frost it and refrigerate it in an airtight container in the refrigerator once it cools completely. Make the frosting the day off and frost before serving. 

Store the fully made cake in the refrigerator after your gathering. I have a container like this {HERE} so it makes it easy to store cakes and cupcakes, and it makes it easy to travel with them too. You can store it for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it in pieces in a freezer safe container for up to two weeks. Remove it from the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw before consuming again. 

Looking for some more Easter or spring recipe ideas? 

If you’re looking for more Easter or spring recipes for a get together, try some of these recipes!

• Mini Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cakes {HERE}
• Blackberry Lavender Icebox Cakes {HERE}
• Honey Ham Glaze {HERE}
• Carrot & Ginger Soup {HERE}
• Blackberry Sage Infused Water {HERE}
• Carrot Fries (HERE}
• Lemon & Herb Potato Salad with Dill & Capers {HERE}
• Salmon Crostini Bites {HERE}

Thank you so much for joining me today, friends! I hope that you love my Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch! The full, printable recipe is below. Happy spring and happy eating!
 

 

Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch

My Classic Carrot Cake recipe from scratch is a delicious, moist and perfectly sweetened cake for spring and Easter. It's easy to make and you can make it as a layered cake or a sheet pan cake! Save the recipe so you can make it!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Carrot cake made from scratch, carrot cake recipe from scratch, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, classic cake cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Rachel

Equipment

• 3 7-inch cake pans
• OR 2, 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans
• OR 1, 9x13 cake pan

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 pinches of cloves
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sour cream

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 1 8 oz. brick of cream cheese, softened Please use the brick and not the spreadable container
• 1 stick butter, unsalted and softened
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease three 7 inch cake rounds. Then line with parchment. (Grease and line with parchment paper no matter the size of the cake pans.)
• In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Then set aside.
• In a separate large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, vegetable oil and sugars. Blend for 2 minutes until well combined. Then add in the eggs one at a time. Lastly, add in the sour cream and beat one minute. Scrap the sides as needed.
• Add flour mixture a little at a time. Then fold in the carrots.
• Spread batter evenly into the pans and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Insert it in the center to check for doneness.
• Let the cakes cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then flip them over on a plate to remove them from the pans. Cool completely on the wire rack before frosting.
• To make the frosting, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and blend well with a hand mixer.
• When the cake is ready to be frosted, trim the tops so they are flat. Frost as desired between the layers and around the cake.
• Garnish and serve!