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Carrot Cake
By Dorie Greenspan

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Time 1 hour 30 minutes, plus at least 15

minutes' refrigeration

Rating 5 (6363)

Notes Read 122 community notes

This classic carrot cake recipe is not overly

spiced, and it has texture from the grated
carrots, shredded coconut, chopped nuts
and raisins. If your dried fruit feels dry,
plump it either by steaming the fruit for a
couple of minutes; pouring boiling water
over
Read the
More fruit then draining it; or even just

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INGREDIENTS

Yield: 8 to 12 servings

For the Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

3 cups grated carrots (you can grate the

carrots in a food processor fitted with a
shredding blade)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or

unsweetened

½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or

dried cranberries

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola or safflower oil

4 large eggs

For the Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at

room temperature

1 pound (3¾ cups) confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon

pure lemon extract

½ cup shredded coconut, optional

Toasted finely chopped nuts and/or toasted

coconut, for topping, optional

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Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional Information

PREPARATION

Make the recipe with us Watch

Step 1
For the cake: Position the racks to divide
the oven into thirds and preheat the oven
to 325 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-
inch round, 2-inch deep cake pans, flour
the insides and tap out the excess.

Step 2
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking
powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In another bowl, stir together the carrots,
chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.

Step 3
Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, or in a large bowl with a
whisk, beat the sugar and oil together until
smooth. Add the eggs one by one and
continue to beat until the batter is even
smoother. If you are working in a mixer,
reduce the speed to low, if you're working
by hand switch to a large rubber spatula,
and gently stir in the flour mixture — mix
only until the dry ingredients disappear.
Just as gently, stir in the chunky
ingredients.

Step 4
Divide the batter among the baking pans
and slide the pans into the oven. Bake the
cakes for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the
pans top to bottom and front to back at the
midway point. The cakes are properly
baked when a knife inserted into the
centers of the cakes comes out clean; the
cakes will just start to come away from the
edges. Transfer the pans to cooling racks,
cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks
to cool to room temperature. (At this point,
the cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept
at room temperature overnight or frozen
for up to 2 months; thaw before frosting.)

Step 5
For the frosting: Working in a mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment, beat the
cream cheese and butter together until
smooth and creamy. Gradually add the
confectioners' sugar and continue to beat
until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in
the lemon juice or extract.

Step 6
If you'd like to have coconut in the filling,
scoop out about ½ of the frosting and stir
the coconut into this portion.

Step 7
To frost the cake, place one layer of the
cake, right-side up, on a cardboard round
or a cake plate. If you've added coconut to
the frosting, use half of coconut frosting to
generously cover the first layer. Use an
offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the
frosting all the way to the edges of the
layer. Top with the second layer, this time
placing the cake top-side down. Frost with
the remainder of the coconut frosting. Top
with the last layer, right-side up and use
the plain frosting to cover the top — and
the sides, if you want – of the cake. Finish
the top layer with swirls of frosting. If you
want to top the cake with toasted nuts or
coconut, sprinkle on these ingredients now,
while the frosting is soft. Slide the cake
into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, just to
set the frosting.

Step 8
Serving: The cake can be served as soon
as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at
room temperature and covered with a cake
keeper, overnight. The cake is best served
in thick slices at room temperature and,
while it's good plain, it's better with
whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or even
some lemon curd with a little whipped
cream folded in.

Step 9
Storing: Covered the cake will keep at
room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can
also be frozen, uncovered, and then, when
it is firmed, wrapped airtight and kept in
the freezer for up to 2 months; defrost, still
wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.

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RATINGS

5 out of 5
6363 user ratings

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COOKING NOTES

All Notes (122) Most Helpful (72) Privat

Bettina 5 years ago

I just made a pumpkin cake for a Halloween
party and was distressed by the amount of
confectioners sugar called for in the cream
cheese frosting so I googled cream cheese
frostings and found a Martha Stewart recipe
calling for only a cup with 8 oz cream cheese
and 1 stick butter. Much better. Can't imagine
this frosting with 3+....
Is this helpful? 1016

Betsy Karpenkopf 5 years ago

This is similar to the carrot cake from The
Silver Palate New Basics that I've been making
for years. I may start substituting uncooked
carrots (less work!) as per Dorie G.
I very much prefer a white chocolate cream
cheese frosting to the one here, which in my
opinion comes out too sweet and with a kind of
gloppy texture. I use the recipe from
Bernbaum's Cake Bible.
Is this helpful? 208

Randy 5 years ago

I agree Janet. Too many carrot cakes are sugar
bombs. You can safely reduce the sugar to 1.5
cups but no lower or the structure of the cake
will suffer.
For a less sweet frosting see my reply to Betsy
below.
Is this helpful? 156

Joan 5 years ago

I read all the comments and decided to make
the cake exactly as written. Wow...it was really
good. All the folks who ate it loved it...many
said it was the best carrot cake they ever had.
The lemon juice in the icing cuts through the
sweetness. Subtle and perfect. I will make this
again without changing a thing!
Is this helpful? 132

Maria 4 years ago

How long did it take to bake with 2 layers
instead of 3? And did you adjust temp? I want
to make this but have only 2 cake pans!
Is this helpful? 131

MTM 5 years ago

No need to make 3 layers - works perfectly for
2 layers, same size pans. Then you can ice the
sides as well as the top and in-between layers.
Would recommend cutting parchment paper
circles, buttered and floured in addition to the
pans, to help with getting the cake out. Lastly -
this cake is very rich and delicious.
Accompanying it with lemon curd, which is also
very rich, I think would be a mistake.
Is this helpful? 130

Lynda Chitwood 5 years ago

So delicious!
I didn't put nuts or coconut in the cake, but
sprinkled the top with some toasted, chopped
hazelnuts. Also added a small amount of
crushed, drained pineapple.
Last, but not least, I used what my family calls
'drunken raisins'. I plump up raisins (overnight)
in booze. I used to use Honey Whiskey, but this
time I used homemade Vanilla Extract. This
litlle trick gives a new dimension in flavor and
moistness.

Turned out to be my new favorite Carrot Cake.

Is this helpful? 113

Alexandra 5 years ago

I absolutely adore this recipe. I have celiac
disease, so I make a gluten free version, simply
replacing the all-purpose flour with Bob's Red
Mill Cup for Cup. And it works perfectly. No one
knows it's gluten free, and the cake comes out
moist, tender and delicious. The sweetness of
the icing really compliments the heartiness of
the cake.
Is this helpful? 109

mkb 5 years ago

28 servings at 358 calories per slice. I'd love to
see my husband's face as I cut a piece that
small (think about it, 7 slices from one quarter
of the cake!).
Is this helpful? 98

zeitgeist 4 years ago

This is a fantastic recipe. Came out perfectly
with minor adjustments. I followed the
recommendations from others and cut the
sugar in the cake to 1.5 and in the icing to just
over 2 cups. Even with that fairly significant
reduction in sugar, it was awesome and plenty
sweet without being overly so, and everyone
loved it. A major hit.
Is this helpful? 98

Steve 4 years ago

My wife made this for our daughters birthday - I
mention that Louise has made a lot of carrot
cakes in the past 40 years in fact we had a
carrot cake for our wedding, thats how much
she loves them.
OK - this recipe is the very best carrot cake
recipe we've ever tasted. It was given rave
reviews by everyone. I love it so much that I cut
a few giant slices and hid them away in the
freezer so I'd get to have a small piece for
weeks to come - thanks for another NYTimes
Cooking hit
Is this helpful? 89

faye49 5 years ago

Some members of my family don't like dark
dried fruit in their carrot cake so I substituted
very well drained crushed pineapple instead of
raisins or cranberries and it was excellent.
Is this helpful? 86

Onayimi 5 years ago

This cake is awesome! I use the recipe to make
muffins but I use half the recommended
quantity of sugar and 3/4 recommended
quantity of oil. It comes out so well that I
decided to go commercial with it.

Thanks to the fantastic recipe, I'm now a proud

owner of a micro business right from my
kitchen
Is this helpful? 84

angelique 5 years ago

For even more moisture and texture, add a
small can of well drained pineapple.
Is this helpful? 65

Juliette 5 years ago

I've made this cake twice now in two weeks
with and without frosting. Both times in a bundt
pan at 350 degrees for 55 min-one hour.
Instead of 2 cups sugar I used one cup brown
sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar and that was
sweet enough. Without frosting i think it could
pass as a great treat for brunch or afternoon
tea, like a muffin or quick bread. It is delicious!
Is this helpful? 65

Emily D 4 years ago

I only have two cake pans so I made a two-
layer cake. There is not much batter to begin
with but the layers really fluff up. This cake was
so good! Everyone thought it was just the best
carrot cake they’d ever had. I added probably
4tbsp of lemon juice total to the icing, because
I wanted it to have a lot of tang. I’ll reduce the
sugar by 1/3 or 1/2 cup next time, though.
Also, I completely coated the top of the cake in
shredded coconut that I toasted, and the sides
in finely chopped walnuts.
Is this helpful? 58

xtina 4 years ago

I made this for a friend's birthday, and
everyone kept asking who made the cake!
Probably the best carrot cake I've ever had. I
added nutmeg and allspice to the dry mixture
and orange and lemon zest to the frosting.
Is this helpful? 51

Randy 5 years ago

You're absolutely correct Betsy. Rose's White
Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream is the
best! Not too sweet because there is no added
sugar and the lemon juice gives it a luscious
tang which is a perfect counterpoint to the
sweetness of the carrot cake.
Is this helpful? 49

Kathy 4 years ago

Have not used this recipe yet but I make carrot
cake frequently and always buy a package of
pre-shredded carrots at the grocery store. You
can rough chop a little more if you like but if
I’m in a hurry I just use them as they are. No
different from grating them myself.
Is this helpful? 47

Emma 4 years ago

I made this cake using a bundt pan and it was
delicious! I ended up adding a quarter cup of
extra flour and a bit less sugar and it was
absolutely perfect. I left in the oven for 55
minutes and the texture was light and
wonderful. Would definitely make again!
Is this helpful? 42

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Credits
Adapted from "Baking From My Home to Yours"
by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton-Mifflin, 2006)

Recipe Tags
Carrot, Carrot Cake, Cream Cheese,
Dried Coconut, Freezer Friendly, Layer Cake,
Make Ahead, Pecan, Walnut, Dessert

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