If you love baking, then have to try this spiced carrot cake recipe. It’s easy to make, with just 30 minutes of prep time (plus baking and cooling), and uses grated carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg and a few pantry staples for a decadent cake that’s perfect for morning or afternoon tea and even birthdays. It also has a classic, sweet cream cheese frosting on top and layered in the middle, making it look as beautiful as it tastes.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease and line a 22cm round cake pan with baking paper.
In a large bowl, whisk sugar and oil together until thick. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking between each addition to combine.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in sifted combined flour, spices and soda. Fold in carrot and walnuts. Pour into pan. Smooth top.
Bake 55-60 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in pan 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter together until pale. Add icing sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy.
Split cooled cake in half horizontally. Place base of cake on serving platter. Spread with half frosting. Top with remaining half of cake. Spread with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with extra nuts.
You will need about 4 carrots for this cake. To make cupcakes, use 12 paper patty cases and bake 15-20 minutes.
Note
Carrot cake recipe tips and notes
- Choosing your cake pan: Instead of using two cake pans to create layers, this recipe uses a 22cm cake pan to create a gorgeous carrot cake that can be sliced in half and stacked on top of each other. Make sure your pan is the same size to ensure it rises properly and doesn’t overflow (a risk with smaller pans!).
- Cooling the cake: Let the cake cool to room temperature or until it’s warm before halving the cake and frosting between the cake layers and the top of the cake.
- Making the layers even: You can use toothpicks around the sides of the cake to make the middle area. Then, hold the knife horizontally and gently cut the cake in half and lift the top layer off. Check out our video and detailed guide on how to cut even cake layers.
- Cream cheese frosting tip: Remember to soften the cream cheese and butter before making the frosting, so that it comes together easily.
- Flour note: While some other carrot cake recipes use all-purpose flour and baking powder, this one uses self-raising flour and a little bit of bicarbonate soda to make it moist and fluffy. It’s also important to check the expiry date on your flour so you don’t end up using old, stale ingredients.
Watch how to store flour so it stays fresh
What’s the difference between cream cheese icing and cream cheese frosting?
The terms icing and frosting could be used interchangeably when it comes to sweet cream cheese topping or filling on a carrot cake. But as a general guide, icing tends to be thinner than cream cheese frosting, which should have a fluffiness to it and be thick enough to hold its shape when layered on this carrot cake.
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