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TO DIE FOR CARROT CAKE

april 4, 2019
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This To Die For Carrot Cake recipe receives rave reviews for it’s unbelievable moistness and
delicious flavor! Truly the BEST Carrot Cake you’ll ever try! So easy to make and as an
added bonus, there’s no oil or butter. I know this cake will quickly become a family
favorite! Looking for a layered cake alternative? Check out these Carrot Cake Bars!
Carrot Cake
There is nothing like a cake to transform an ordinary party into a celebration. There’s
something so festive about cakes that scream it’s time to PARTY! Today I’m sharing a cake
recipe with you all that’s a family heirloom. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to share this
recipe with you!

This is my Nana’s recipe – slightly modified – and it is sooo amazing! I get requests several
times a year for this To Die For Carrot Cake and made it just last week for my sister’s
birthday. I love this recipe because it’s a one-two-three recipe and that makes it so easy! It
also is a one-bowl wonder which I love.

I have made this recipe hundreds of times and all my friends and family love this cake so
much so that I get asked to bring it to parties, holidays, potlucks, and BBQs all year long. I just
love that it’s SO easy to make and completely foolproof!

Best Carrot Cake Recipe

This carrot cake with pineapple makes it so moist and the addition of coconut adds a
sweet, delicate flavor that you’re going to love!

I have many carrot cake recipes on my site – like these Carrot Cake Bars – but they are all
variations of this one. There isn’t another recipe that I’ve ever tried that even comes close
to this carrot cake recipe for flavor, moistness, and texture. It’s hands down the best carrot
cake I’ve ever had. Period.
What’s In Carrot Cake
This easy carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting stands out from the rest for two
important reasons: I use both applesauce (instead of oil) and pineapple for extra
moistness. The rest of the ingredients are typical cake ingredients that you most likely
already have on hand,.

unsweetened applesauce or oil (my Nana used oil, I use applesauce)

granulated sugar
eggs
all-purpose flour
baking soda
baking powder
salt
cinnamon
carrots
shredded sweetened coconut
chopped nuts optional
vanilla
crushed pineapple

Does Carrot Cake Have Raisins?

This is totally up to you. I don’t include it in my recipe because so many in my family don’t
like raisins. If you’d like to add raisins to this recipe, add half a cup of raisins in with the
shredded carrot in Step 3. Golden raisins are especially delicious in this recipe!

Carrot Cake Frosting

My Nana’s recipe is super simple (as easy as 1-2-3) and tastes incredible but what’s a carrot
cake without cream cheese frosting??

Cream cheese frosting is the standard when it comes to carrot cake and with good reason.
Soft and gooey with a hint of tang from the cream cheese – it’s the perfect complement!
How To Decorate!
You can decorate the cake however you want and I do it di!erently every time. You really
can’t do this wrong!

After the cakes have finished cooling, invert one of the cakes onto a cake plate or
stand. Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread to cover. An o!set spatula will
make quick work of this. Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting.
For this carrot cake recipe, I chose to decorate with the nuts. I chopped up some
toasted pecans and then inverted a bowl onto the cake.
Gently spread the pecans around the bowl and you’ll end up with a nice clean circle on
the center of the cake. Watch the video below to see how I did it!
I could have left it like this but my family loves coconut so I filled in the center with
shredded coconut. Turned out really pretty!
What a cake!! I’d love for you to give this from scratch carrot cake recipe a try – it really will
blow your mind! I like to use light cream cheese frosting and then subbing the applesauce
for the oil, well, obviously you can now have two pieces of cake!

Do you have family recipes that the whole family just LOVES like this cake recipe?? I’m so
thankful that I was able to get so many fabulous recipes from my Nana. Every time we eat
this cake, I think of her and all the yummy times we had together.
Tips for the Best Carrot Cake
Toasting the pecans (if you’re using them) adds even more amazing flavor to this
recipe.
DO NOT use pre-shredded carrots. Buy standard carrots, peel and grate by hand for
the best results. You want the fresh flavor in this cake – it’s what makes it so
outstanding!
I used three 8-inch cake pans in the video. I really like the size of the cake with three
layers. These are the pans I used – they’re amazing!
These cakes are SUPER moist – amazingly so. Make sure to adequately grease your
pans before adding the cake batter. My little brother likes to grease his pans, and line
them with a piece of parchment before baking. I’m far too lazy for that. Using the
pans above, and some baking spray that has the flour added in (like Baker’s Joy or
Pam with flour), I have never, ever had any sticking issues.
I’ve had several requests from people wanting to know where I got my cake serving
set from… Amazon, of course!

How To Make Carrot Cupcakes

This recipe can easily be converted into a cupcake recipe. I do recommend that you use
parchment liners because this cake is very moist and could stick to regular paper liners.

To make carrot cupcakes:

1. Follow instructions 1 and 2 below.

2. Place liners in mu"n pan and fill two-thirds full.
3. Bake at 350F for 18 to 22 minutes.
4. Let carrot cupcakes cool before frosting.

Try these cake recipes!

1. Orange Creamsicle Cake
2. Lemon Zucchini Cake
 3. Best Ever Texas Sheet Cake
4. Strawberry Shortcake Roulade
5. Zucchini Spice Cake

How To Make Carrot Cake

To Die For Carrot Cake

This To Die For Carrot Cake receives rave reviews for it's
unbelievable moistness and flavor! Truly the BEST CARROT
CAKE you'll ever try! So easy to make and as an added bonus,
there's no oil or butter! I know this cake will quickly become a
family favorite!
Print Pin
Course Dessert
Cuisine American 4.93 from 454 votes
Keyword carrot cake, carrot cake recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 16 slices
Calories 499kcal
Author Trish - Mom On Timeout

Ingredients
Cake:

One
1 ¼ cups unsweetened applesauce or oil, this is what my Nana used
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs room temperature

Two
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Three
 2 cups grated carrots
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped nuts optional
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Dole crushed pineapple not drained! {use the pineapple in JUICE not syrup}

Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ cup butter softened
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
top with toasted pecans or coconut if desired

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine #1 ingredients. Add #2 ingredients. Stir in #3 ingredients.
3. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 , two 9-inch pans or three 8-inch pans. (The
cake is very moist so cutting parchment for the bottom of your pans will ensure
they don't stick. I prefer to use the non-stick baking spray that has the flour in it
for easy cake removal.)
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes for the 9x13 and 9-inch pans and 25-30 minutes for the
8-inch pans. You're looking for an inserted toothpick to come out clean.
5. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack and let
cool completely.

For the frosting:

1. Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and
powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth.
2. Invert the cake onto a cake plate or stand.
3. Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread...
4. Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting. Repeat with the third
cake if you made three.
5. Refrigerate for an hour before serving for best results.

Video
 Notes
The frosting recipe can be doubled if you are planning on piping a border and adding
a lot of frosting decorations to the top of the cake.

Nutrition
Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g |
Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 267mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 61g |
Vitamin A: 3110IU | Vitamin C: 4.6mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1.6mg

MORE IDEAS

Lemon Zucchini Cake Limoncello Cake

Hummingbird Bundt Cake with Cream Easy Lemon Bundt Cake

Cheese Glaze

Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Pina Colada Cake (Pineapple Coconut Cake)
Original post published August 18, 2012. Updated February 27, 2018.

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by trish - mom on timeout april 4, 2019

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Comments

Cj says
May 13, 2023 at 5:27 AM

Hands down this is the BEST carrot cake I and my family have ever had. My
husband loves carrot cake so he has a really strong thought process on what
is good and what is ok. This one is on a scale of 1-5, 10! Thank you for sharing
this amazing treat. You and your Nana have given us something good! Also, I
am not a baker by any means, so for me to follow the instruction and have it
turn out each time we have made it, says a great deal as well! Truly thank you!

Reply

Trish - Mom On Timeout says

May 13, 2023 at 7:27 AM

I appreciate your sweet comment so much! Thank you!

Reply

Joyce says
March 6, 2023 at 8:36 PM
 Looks so good I will have to try it

Reply

Kim says
July 9, 2022 at 9:13 PM

I use this same recipe but also add raisins. They are always a hit and I also
make large cupcakes with this recipe.

Reply

Kathleen Johnson says

May 3, 2022 at 4:12 PM

This is an excellent recipe. I reduced the sugar in the batter to 1 1/2 cups. It
was perfect sweetness for us.

Reply

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