This past week was my husband Tyler’s birthday and he requested Carrot Cake. We have a fun tradition where the birthday person gets to pick their dinner and dessert for the day. There are a few different ways to make carrot cake, some recipes include nuts and even raisins. What makes this cake special is not the recipe, but the amount of care you can take in slicing it to make the delicious layers and cream cheese frosting which allow a sweet amount of frosting to be eaten with each bite.
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Published April 14, 2022
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An amazing husband and father
To say that Tyler is an amazing father is literally an understatement. He teaches, plays, encourages, provides, entertains, supports and trains our four kids. We are coming up on our fourteenth wedding anniversary this June and this guy has me still enamored with him. Since we were married and had Samuel in 2009, Tyler has been nothing short of the best father that God provided for our kids. He supports our family financially and has allowed for me to be a stay-at-home-mom to care for our kids.
No nuts added
There is one reason that there are no pecans or walnuts added to this carrot cake, and that is because I just do not like nuts in my dessert. This has been a life-long dislike with a list including cake, donuts, brownies and cookies. I just have never liked having nuts in desserts. Cake should be soft and chewy, not crunchy. Peanut butter also falls into this category and there has not been a recent memory where crunchy peanut butter was a regular purchase on grocery day, much to Tyler’s dismay as he loves crunchy. This possibly stems from my newly found almond allergy, however, the dislike of nuts in dessert is from my childhood.
There are many a carrot cake recipe that adds chopped pecans or walnuts right to the frosting and cake batter. Additionally, there are recipes with a round and frosted carrot cake with chopped nuts on the side stuck to the frosting.
Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 cups flour
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans, optional
Frosting Ingredients
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
8-oz cream cheese
2 cup confectioners sugar
Directions
1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9 X 13 baking pan or springform pan then set aside.
2. Secondly, in the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and vanilla.
3. Then measure and mix in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon to the KitchenAid bowl.
4. Rinse the carrots in a sink colander, then on a cutting board, peel and cut the ends off and shred them using either a box grater or Cuisinart Food Processor.
5. Measure and add 3 cups of shredded carrots to the bowl of the mixer and blend well into the cake batter until just combined.
6. Fold the pecans into the carrot cake batter if using and then pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
You can additionally add a piece of parchment paper to the base of the baking pan to help the cake come out of the pan cleaner. To do this, place the cake pan on the parchment paper and trace around the pan, then cut out the piece and place it in the bottom of the cake pan before adding the batter.
7. Bake the Carrot Cake for 40-65 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out the cake onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Make the Frosting
1. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and then beat until combined and smooth.
Elliana was acting as quality control today, making sure the cream cheese frosting was just perfect for dadas birthday carrot cake. This unicorn princess has such a character developing! Not only did she lick the spatula clean, but she struck a pose while doing it!
2. When the cake is cooled, to add layers cut the cake and additionally cut off the top to level off the carrot cake.
3. Lay pieces of wax paper on the cake stand and then place the bottom layer of carrot cake on the stand. The wax paper helps to keep any frosting off of the stand and reduces any mess, then frost the first layer using an offset spatula.
4. Lay the next piece of carrot cake on the frosted bottom and then add more frosting to the top and use a spatula or offset spatula to spread the cream cheese frosting all over the cake.
Serve and enjoy, with many birthday wishes to my amazing husband Tyler.
~Monica
Recipe for Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake Recipe – How to make it nut-free
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Cuisinart Food Processor
- Sink Colander
- 9-inch Springform pan
- Non-stick spray
Ingredients
- 3 Eggs
- 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 1/2 cups White Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 cups Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 3 cups Carrots grated cheese
- 1 cup Pecans chopped, optional
Frosting Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Butter softened
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 2 cup Confectioners Sugar
- Pecans OR Walnuts chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease and flour a 9 X 13-inch baking pan or round pan then set aside.
- In the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer, beat together 3 eggs, 3/4 cup oil, 1 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.
- Measure and mix in 3 cups flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon to the KitchenAid bowl.
- Rinse the carrots in a sink colander, then peel and cut the ends off and shred them using either a box grater or Cuisinart Food Processor.
- Measure and add 3 cups of shredded carrots to the bowl of the mixer and then blend well into the cake batter.
- Fold the pecans into the carrot cake batter if using and then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- You can additionally add a piece of parchment paper to the base of the baking pan to help the cake come out of the pan cleaner. To do this, place the cake pan on the parchment paper and trace around the pan, then cut out the piece and place it in the bottom of the cake pan before adding the batter.
- Bake the Carrot Cake for 40-65 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out the cake onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Frosting Directions
- Combine the 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 8-oz cream cheese, and 2 cups confectioners' sugar in a large bowl and then beat until combined and smooth.
- When the cake is cooled, to add layers cut the cake and additionally cut off the top to level off the carrot cake.
- Lay pieces of wax paper on the cake stand and then place the bottom layer of carrot cake on the stand.
- The wax paper helps to keep any frosting off of the stand and reduces any mess, then frost the first layer using an offset spatula.
- Lay the next piece of carrot cake on the frosted bottom and then add more frosting to the top and use a spatula or offset spatula to spread the cream cheese frosting all over the cake.
Notes
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