Triple-layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It’s moist, well-seasoned and doesn’t taste bland or oily. It’s perfect to make ahead, it tastes even better on the next day. Making carrot layer cake from scratch is really very simple!
If you love carrot cake recipes like we do, you can also try our carrot cake cookies, carrot cake pancakes, or carrot cake baked oatmeal.
It was my daughter’s 2nd birthday cake! Everyone loved it : )
My daughter’s 1st birthday cake: number cake – lemon cream tart with raspberries.
3rd birthday cake: no-bake Greek yogurt cheesecake.
What do you need to make the best carrot cake:
– Carrots: It’s important to grate the carrots on the small holes of a box grater, this makes the cake super moist. Carrots grated on the big holes of a box grater are too noticeable for me.
– Oil: Use vegetable oil that is neutral in taste. There’s no need to substitute oil for butter in this recipe. First, its flavor won’t be noticeable + the oil makes the cake more moist.
– Apple sauce: you can substitute a part of oil for apple sauce. I swapped about ¼ of the oil amount for applesauce. This makes the cake less oily and keeps it moist. You can’t taste apple flavor in the cake.
– Spices: bland carrot cake – no thank you! It needs to be well-spiced – I add a lot of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. A little salt is also important – it enhances the sweetness of the cake. Instead of these spices, you can also use pumpkin pie spice.
– Flour: easy to get all-purpose flour is fine.
– Sugar: don’t add just white sugar, brown sugar makes the cake more moist and adds a caramel flavor. You can add light or dark brown sugar.
– Optional add-ins: If you wish, you can also add to your carrot cake: chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans), chopped pineapple, shredded unsweetened coconut.
How to make cream cheese frosting for carrot cake:
This cream cheese frosting is thick, creamy, and NOT overly sweet! Some recipes call for 5 cups of sugar for this amount of cream cheese. I found that adding just 2 cups of powdered sugar is perfectly fine, resulting in a thick frosting that is just sweet enough!
How to do it:
– If you live in the US it’s important to buy full-fat cream cheese, in a block, not spreadable cream cheese, and not low-fat cream cheese. Spreadable cream cheese, that is also widely available in Europe (as opposed to cream cheese in blocks) contains more liquid and can result in a runny frosting. Don’t worry, with this recipe it will turn out just fine! I used Philadelphia original cream cheese.
– The key to success is to beat butter with sugar first, and then add the cream cheese! This results in a wonderful, thick frosting. You don’t have to add more sugar to make it thicker and if it’s not thick enough for you, putting it in the fridge resolves the issue. I learned this trick from Krista at Living on cookies.
– I also added lemon juice to make it taste more refreshing.
What pan to use for carrot cake:
For this recipe, I used just one 8-inch springform pan with extra deep / high rim (3 inch/7.5 cm, measured from the inside) and then cut the cake into three even layers. It’s a great option if you don’t have three pans or your oven is not big enough to fit three pans. But if you do have three pans and an oven, that is big enough to fit them, it’s better to bake the cake this way. You can use 8- inch / 20 cm springform pan or regular cake pan. If using springform pan – make sure it’s leak-proof!
If you’re baking the carrot cake in one pan: bake the cake for 1h 30 mins – 1h 45 mins.
If you’re baking the carrot cake in 3 pans (batter is divided between 3 pans) – bake them for 45 mins.
You can also bake it in 2 pans and make a 2-layer cake. I haven’t tested that version yet since I prefer 3-layer cakes, but I estimate, that the baking time should be about 1h. Check for doneness with a cake tester / wooden skewer.
What you shouldn’t do is to bake for example 2 layers of the cake, while the batter for the third layer waits on the counter. The batter should be baked right after mixing the ingredients!
Step by step instructions:
Grate the carrot on the small holes of a box grater Chop the nuts mix all the wet ingredients mix all the dry ingredients 
mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients Bake the cake for about 1h 45 mins, allow to cool completely 
cut into three layers cream cheese frosting ingredients should be at room temp. beat butter with sugar, then add the cream cheese and mix until smooth frosting forms frost the cake
Important tips:
1. What makes carrot cake moist: brown sugar (don’t substitute it for white / granulated sugar!), applesauce, oil, eggs, and lots of carrots!
2. Grate the carrots on the small holes of the box grater and grate them yourself. Don’t buy packaged grated carrots – they are too dry and have less flavor.
3. All the ingredients should be at room temperature, including frosting ingredients.
4. You need to completely cool the cake before cutting it into layers and frosting it – it will be easier to cut and frosting can become too runny on a warm cake.
5. For the frosting – use the right cream cheese (see the note above) and mixing order (first butter and sugar, then cream cheese).
6. Let the carrot cake rest for a minimum of 1 hour, and better for a couple of hours or overnight – tastes so much better!
Storing and freezing tips:
- How to store carrot cake: keep the cake in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, bring the cake to room temperature before serving.
- How to freeze carrot cake: You can freeze the whole cake or pieces of carrot cake. Wrap each piece/ serving of the cake in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the fridge, then serve at room temperature. Frozen carrot cake is just a little bit denser than freshly baked cake, but it’s still so delicious and holds its shape nicely!
Carrot layer cake with cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
dry ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups flour 310g, spoon and leveled
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 3 ground cloves
wet ingredients:
- 5 cups grated carrots* 1 lb / 450g, grated on small holes of a box grater and loosely packed in a cup
- 1 cup vegetable oil 235g, use a neutral- tasting oil
- 1/3 cup applesauce 85g
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g, scoop and leveled
- ¾ cup light brown sugar 150g, scoop and leveled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped nuts walnuts or pecans
cream cheese frosting:
- 16 oz cream cheese 2 packages, full-fat, 450g, at room temperature
- 1 stick butter 115g, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar 240g
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- a large pinch of salt
Instructions
Carrot cake:
- The ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Prepare your 8-inch / 20-cm cake pan / springform pan. You can bake the cake in 1, 2 or 3 pans (read more in notes!). If you want to bake the cake in one pan, it must be an extra deep/high rim pan (3-inch / 7.5 cm, measured in the inside). Line the bottom of the pan with baking paper and butter its sides. Set aside.
- Prepare all the ingredients, then set the oven to 320°F / 160°C / Gas Mark 3, no fan (if you have a convection oven, reduce the temperature by 20°).
- Mix all the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves (you can grind them in a coffee grinder or using a pestle and mortar).
- Mix all wet ingredients together: grated carrots, oil, applesauce, eggs, white and brown sugar, vanilla extract, chopped nuts.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until combined, but be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. If using more than 1 cake pan, divide the batter evenly into the pans. If you‘re baking the cake in three pans bake the cakes for 45 minutes, if baking in one pan – bake for 1h 30 min – 1h 45min. At the end of the baking time, if the cake starts to brown too much, you can cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. The cake is ready when a wooden stick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- After putting the cake in the oven, start making the frosting.
Cream cheese frosting:
- The ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Beat the butter and powdered sugar with a mixer (fitted with a whisk attachment), for about 2-3 minutes, until fluffy.
- Add the cream cheese and mix until a smooth frosting forms.
- Add the lemon juice and salt, mix until smooth.
- Place the frosting in the fridge.
Assembling the cake:
- Place the baked cake on a cooling rack and leave for 10 minutes then take out off the pan (or remove side of the springform pan). Leave it to cool completely (!), it will take about 30-60 minutes.
- If you’ve baked the carrot cake in 1 pan: Level the cake then cut it into 3 layers. First mark the height of each layer then make shallow cuts with a long serrated knife around the cake, then saw through the middle of each layer.
- The most bottom layer of the cake should be now the top layer (it’s most even). Frost the cake and smooth its surface with an offset spatula. You can sprinkle the cake with chopped walnuts.
- Put the cake in the fridge for a minimum of one hour – it will be easier to cut into portions.
Notes
If you’re baking the carrot cake in one pan: bake the cake for 1h 30 mins – 1h 45 mins.
If you’re baking the carrot cake in 3 pans (batter is divided between 3 pans) – bake them for 45 mins.
You can also bake it in 2 pans and make a 2-layer cake. I haven’t tasted that version yet since I prefer 3-layer cakes, but I estimate, that the baking time should be about 1h. Check for doneness with a cake tester / wooden skewer.
What you shouldn’t do is to bake for example 2 layers of the cake, while the batter for the third layer waits on the counter. The batter should be baked right after mixing the ingredients! 4. You need to completely cool the cake before cutting it into layers and frosting it – it will be easier to cut and frosting can become too runny on a warm cake. 5. Let the carrot cake rest for a minimum of 1 hour, and better for a couple of hours or overnight – tastes so much better! 6. How to store carrot cake: keep the cake in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, bring the cake to the room temperature before serving. 7. How to freeze carrot cake: you can freeze pieces of carrot cake, wrap each piece/ serving of cake in plastic wrap, thaw in the fridge, serve at room temperature.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how you liked it and give it a star rating in the comments below! You can also add a photo of your creation!
1 Comment
Clemente Obannion
1 October 2020 at 08:05Yes, this is a Good one