The Best Carrot Cake – Spend With Pennies

This really is the best Carrot Cake Recipe.

This extra moist carrot cake has a tender moist crumb and is jam-packed with add-ins including pineapple, nuts, and raisins if you’d like! It’s all topped off with our favorite cream cheese frosting.

Incredibly moist this homemade cake is the dessert I am known for and one of my most requested. There is so much to love about this easy, from-scratch recipe!

A Classic Cake Recipe

This is a cake I’ve been making for about 25 years now and it’s one I’m known for. I’ve made it literally a hundred times (and I think most of the times are for my friend Billy who loves this cake more than anyone else)! I love that it’s made in a single pan, fiddling with cake layers.

• This carrot cake recipe is extra moist and incredibly flavorful.
• It is fully loaded with add ins from nuts and pineapple and is perfect every time.
• Rather than making layers, we love that this easy carrot cake recipe is baked 9×13 inch pan. No layering required.
• This cake is so good and so moist, that frosting isn’t needed and it can be sprinkled with powdered sugar. That being said, we all know that carrot cake deserves a good homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.
• Once baked, this cake freezes well (even with the frosting).

Ingredients & Variations

DRY INGREDIENTS All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and some warm spices like cinnamon and ginger are the base. Add a tiny pinch of nutmeg if you’d like.

WET INGREDIENTS Eggs, applesauce, oil, buttermilk, and sugar are combined and make this extra moist and decadent. Use a light flavored oil like vegetable or canola oil.

Use unsweetened applesauce for this recipe. No buttermilk? No problem, simply add 1 tbsp of vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let sit for a few minutes. The remaining 1/4 cup will keep for another recipe.

ADD-INS Crushed walnuts (or pecans), coconut, raisins, and a can of pineapple are what set it apart from other carrot cake recipes in both flavor and texture.

Making a cake with crushed pineapple makes it incredibly moist, just like this Hummingbird Cake which calls for pineapple and banana.

VARIATIONS Don’t feel like making a cream cheese frosting? This cake is also amazing when it is topped with whipped cream. This cake would also work well as cupcakes, like these Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

How to Make Carrot Cake

Have a dessert ready that they will all love.

1. In separate bowls, combine the wet and dry ingredients.
2. Stir dry into wet ingredients in a large bowl just until combined. Fold in the add-ins.
3. Pour the prepared batter into the prepared pan and bake (per the recipe below).

Let the cake fully cool then top with cream cheese frosting, or your favorite frosting recipe!

Tips for Moist Easy Cake

• Grate carrots using the larger holes on a cheese grater, or with the shredding option of a food processor.
• Ensure ingredients are at room temperature.
• While a lot of carrot cakes are made in layers, this cake is easier because it is baked in just one layer. Line your pan with parchment paper if you’d like to lift the cake out to slice.
• No need to pull out the stand mixer, this cake is so simple that I use a spoon or rubber spatula and a bowl.
• This cake is deliciously rich cake and very moist, so store it, covered in plastic wrap or in an air tight container, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  It tastes best if you bring it to room temperature before serving.
• Keep in mind that this freezes well, in case you want to bake it now and enjoy it later!

More Great Cake Recipes

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