Carrot Cake
The perfect carrot cake with just the right amount of spice, and a thick layer of cream cheese frosting ~ hold on to this recipe!
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients
for the cake
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 cups grated carrot
for the cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350F and butter two 8-inch round cake pans, and place a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of each pan.
- Spread the pecans out on an ungreased baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Let cool before chopping.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the spices. Next, whisk in the salt and the baking soda, making sure to get it well incorporated.
- Add the flour, and fold it in gently.
- Blend the batter just until there are no dry pockets of flour left, but don't over mix the batter.
- Finally, fold in the shredded carrots and toasted pecans.
- Take care to get all the chunky bits evenly incorporated. The batter will be thick.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans, and bake for about 35-40 minutes until risen and the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow them to cool fully at room temperature before frosting.
For the frosting
- Add the cream cheese, butter, salt, and vanilla to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse/process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Note: you can see I added the cream cheese in one piece, but I recommend breaking it up to make the blending easier and quicker.
- Add the powdered sugar, about 2 cups at a time, processing between each addition until smooth.
- Once the cake layers are fully cooled, frost with the cream cheese frosting and store any leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
*For image free printing check the buttons at the top of the print page.
Nutrition
Calories: 696 kcal · Carbohydrates: 79 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 42 g · Saturated Fat: 26 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 79 mg · Sodium: 399 mg · Potassium: 176 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 64 g · Vitamin A: 4532 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 46 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Did You Make This?We love seeing what you've made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.