This incredibly moist carrot cake recipe is hands down the best I’ve ever had! The soft spice infused carrot cake layers are bursting with flavor and dotted with nuts that add the most wonderful texture. Filled and topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting, and already boasting more than 50 five star reviews, this recipe is a carrot cake lovers dream!!
Why You’ll Love This Carrot Cake Recipe
When developing any recipe, there are always two things at the forefront – flavor and texture. Let me tell you, this carrot cake recipe DOES NOT DISAPPOINT on both of those fronts!
Flavor
There are a few notable ingredients in this recipe that contribute to the incredible flavor of this cake.
Firstly, a carefully selected combination of spices are used for the cake layers, giving them the most cosy, warm taste! The spices used in this recipe are ground cinnamon, powdered ginger, cloves and nutmeg. I find that this combination works incredible well together, and I’ve used a similar combination in many of my other recipes (like my spice cake, pumpkin cake and very popular fruit cake).
Secondly, I use crushed pineapple in my carrot cake. Yes, you heard that right! It’s actually quite a common ingredient used in carrot cake, and it adds incredible flavor and texture.
Most importantly, this cake is packed with the star of the show – shredded carrots! I also like to add nuts (usually a combination of walnuts or pecans), which add another layer of flavor to the cake.
Oh and I almost forgot – yoghurt! I love using yoghurt in my cake recipes to add additional flavor and moisture, and this recipe is no exception.
Texture
This carrot cake recipe is so soft with a very moist crumb, and there are a few ingredients to thank for that!
Firstly, oil. I usually use a combination of unflavored vegetable oil (canola oil) and butter in most of my cake recipes, however with recipes that have a lot of shredded vegetables, it’s often better to use only oil. This is because carrot cakes (and similar recipes) are on the heavier side, and using butter alone can make for a very dense and overly heavy cake. With this cake having so much flavor, butter isn’t really needed, so I opted to only use oil. It makes for a super soft and not too heavy carrot cake!
Secondly, I opted to use only light soft brown sugar for this recipe, and no granulated sugar at all. Brown sugar adds additional moisture and flavor to the cake, and the amount used in this recipe allows for the brown sugar to really shine without making for an overly dense cake (which too much brown sugar can do!).
Shredded carrots, yoghurt and pineapple also add to the super moist texture of the carrot cake recipe.
One last notable ingredient is cornstarch. I like to substitute a small amount of the all purpose flour in most of my cake recipes with cornstarch for a softer cake. This is because cornstarch doesn’t contain any gluten (unlike flour), so having a little less gluten in the cake batter results in a softer cake. It’s a careful balance though, as not enough gluten will result in a cake that won’t hold together.
How to Make Carrot Cake
This carrot cake recipe is SO EASY to put together as it uses the ‘muffin method’ of making cake batter. This is when the wet and dry ingredients are combined separately (no electric mixer required) and then combined together at the end.
Begin by preheating your oven to 160°C (320°F) fan forced (increase the temperature to 180C/350F if using a conventional oven with no fan), and grease and/or line two 8 inch round cake pans. I like to grease my cake tins with my homemade cake release.
In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine soft brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, yoghurt and crushed pineapple. Using a whisk, stir until well combined, and then for a further minute to incorporate some air into the batter.
Add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and using a rubber spatula, gently fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add in the grated carrots and walnuts and/or pecans. Using a spatula, gently fold through until just combined. Do not overmix.
Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and then give the cake tins a light bang on the counter to release any large air bubbles.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting with my favourite cream cheese buttercream. This buttercream has a wonderful tang, with the addition of lemon juice as well. I highly recommend pairing it with this carrot cake recipe!
For tips on how I decorated my cake, check out the recipe video below 🙂
Commonly Asked Questions
How do you store carrot cake?
This carrot cake can be left at room temperature for the day, however overnight it will need to be refrigerated due to the cream cheese in the frosting. The fat and sugar in the frosting will prevent the cream cheese from going off immediately which is why you can keep it out at room temperature for an extended period of time.
When storing, place it into an airtight container, and into the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
What are some other common additions to carrot cake batter?
In addition to spices and nuts, other additions to carrot cake recipes include pineapple (like I have used in this recipe), shredded coconut and raisins.
Moist Carrot Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 2 cups (225 g) finely grated carrots - about 3 medium sized carrots
- 1 cup (190 g) canned pineapple - blended (remove the liquid from the can before blending - see note 4). Use canned pineapple in juice (not syrup).
- 2¼ cups (290 g) flour - plain, all purpose
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp cinnamon - ground
- 1¾ tsp ginger - ground/powdered
- ¼ tsp cloves - ground
- ½ tsp nutmeg - ground
- 1½ cups (300 g) soft brown sugar - firmly packed (see note 2)
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 3 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ½ cup (110 g) yoghurt - unsweetened, regular not Greek (low fat Greek yoghurt is okay). Room temperature.
- 1 cup (100 g) pecans or walnuts - coarsely chopped. I like to use both so I use 1/2 a cup of each.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 3 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- Begin by peeling and finely grating your carrots and set them aside for later. Also prepare your pineapples, so blend your canned pineapple (remember to discard the liquid before blending) and set aside for later.
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine your soft brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, yoghurt and crushed pineapple. Using a whisk, mix until well combined, and then for a further minute to incorporate some air into the batter.
- Add your dry ingredients into your wet mixture and using a spatula, gently fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add in the grated carrots and walnuts and/or pecans. Using a spatula, gently fold through until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and then give the cake tins a light bang on the counter to release any large air bubbles.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the cake tins for about 20 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool, before frosting with my favourite cream cheese buttercream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
256 Comments
Do you have to use the yogurt? And can I use almonds if I don’t have pecans or walnuts?
Hi Melanie! 🙂 Yes the yoghurt is required for this recipe as it adds moisture and flavor to the batter. Yes you can totally use almonds if you prefer! Just keep in mind almonds do have a bit more of a bite to them but if you don’t mind that then it’ll be totally fine 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thanks for the recipe. I made it into a 10 inch square cake. It was a little too sweet for me, but that could be because all i could find here was pineapple in light syrup and not pineapple in juice. Will try it again with a little less sugar. It was very moist and the pineapple gives a really nice layer to the taste.
Hi Ivy! 🙂 So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for your feedback! Ahh yes the pineapple in syrup could be the reason why it was a little too sweet as I use pineapple in juice. I’ll be sure to pop it into the recipe card so people know to use pineapple in juice for extra clarity 🙂
Instead of pineapple can I use applesauce and how much ?
Hi Andreana! 🙂 I haven’t tried that substitute myself, though other readers have with success! If you decide to try it, then a 1:1 substitute should work well 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi there can I leave out the pineapple
Hi Winnie! 🙂 The pineapple is an important element in terms of both the taste and texture for this recipe, so I would highly recommend keeping it in 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
can i use fresh pineapple?
Hi Lily! 🙂
Fresh pineapple could work – you’d just need to make sure they’re nice and sweet otherwise it can make the cake a bit bitter. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
This is the best carrot cake recipe I have ever made and I’ve tried a lot of them. This will definitely be my go to recipe to make for carrot cake. The butter cream cheese frosting is the best too, a must to go with this cake.
Yay! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Lisa 🙂 so happy to hear you loved the recipe!
What can you use in place of the yogurt?
Hi Lisa! 🙂 I haven’t tried a substitute myself, but sour cream or buttermilk may work, though this may change the texture of the cake slightly. Hope that helps!
Can I use this recipe for cupcakes?
Heya! 🙂 Yes you can totally use this recipe for cupcakes – you’d just need to reduce the cooking time to about 18 mins or so 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Oh my goodness. It was to die for. It had been sometime since I last baked. But the step by step just made it easy.
Thank you.
Yay! So so happy to hear you loved the recipe Noluthando 😀 really appreciate the feedback!
Hello! I’m making this fabulous looking cake for my sister’s 65th birthday. Only have (2) 9″ pans & wondered if I should make 1.5 for the batch instead of just 1?
Hi Jane! 🙂 Yes 1.5x the batch will give you decent sized 9 inch cake layers that won’t be too thin! Hope your sister has a wonderful 65th birthday 😀
Alright! Thanks! I’ll let you know how it goes. Been awhile since I baked anything.