Most delicious carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

What is your favorite type of cake?  Most people would say a rich chocolate cake, or maybe a red velvet. cake  My daughter would say a vanilla cake because she loves everything vanilla. Spice cake, coffee cake, the list goes on and on, but one that I find to be a rare first choice in the cake world is carrot cake.  Maybe people don’t want to mix their veggies with their desserts? While it can be hard to find a fan of carrot cake, I have two members of our family who it is a favorite for and they are my husband and our future son-in-law.  Neither of them are fans of store bought carrot cakes so of course when it comes to their birthdays I have to make the most delicious carrot cake for them!

I have tried several variations of carrot cake but this one is by far their favorite so I thought I would share it with all of you.  With Easter just around the corner, a lovely carrot cake may also be a nice treat to serve.

​So let’s jump right in and make the best carrot cake recipe!

Carrot Cake Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1.5 teaspoons nutmeg
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1.25 cups vegetable oil or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs separated
• 2 cups finely shredded carrots
• 1 – 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple with juice or unsweetened applesauce

Equipment required

• Bowls
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Electric mixer or stand mixer
• Carrot peeler
• Food processor or box grater
• 2 round cake pans if you wish to do a layer cake or one 9 x 13 glass pan if you would like a sheet cake
• Spatula

Ingredients for Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/4 cup of softened butter
• 2 – 3 tsp of milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar

Step 1 – Dry Ingredients

With a measuring cup measure out the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl.  Do not include the sugar in this step.  Stir to mix thoroughly.

Now sift these ingredients into another bowl.

Set aside.

Step 2 – Cream sugar with wet ingredients

Separate egg yolks from egg whites.  Set aside egg whites.

Cream together sugar, oil and egg yolks on a low speed so it does not splatter.

Add vanilla.  Mix well.

Step 3 – Add dry ingredients

Add sifted dry ingredients to creamed wet ingredients.

Mix thoroughly.

Step 4 – Carrot preparation

Peel and wash carrots.  Cut into one inch chunks and place in a food processor.

Shred until the carrots are in very small fine pieces.  

If you have a son like mine who does not like the consistency of most carrot cakes due to the stringiness of them, make sure that the pieces are ultra fine.

Add crushed pineapple and juice or unsweetened applesauce to the carrots.  Mix well.

Step 5 – Add carrots

Add carrots to batter and mix on a medium speed.  Mix well.

Step 6 – Egg whites

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Fold into batter.

Step 7 – Bake

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Make sure wire rack is in the middle of the oven

Grease pans and pour carrot cake batter into pan.

Bake for 80 minutes.  

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Step 8 – Prepare frosting

Place cream cheese, milk, vanilla and softened butter in large mixer bowl.

Mix well.

Add one cup of icing sugar at a time and mix well.

Ice cake with cream cheese frosting.

​Once cut, ensure to store in an airtight container.

ENJOY!

​I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this homemade carrot cake recipe with delicious cream cheese frosting!  Our family definitely gives it rave reviews!

One of the best things I found is how well it lasted without drying out because it is such a moist carrot cake.  I think one of the key ingredients for retaining the moisture is the crushed pineapple.