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4.39 from 13 votes

Carrot Cake

This homemade Carrot Cake recipe is begging to be on your baking to-do list! It's made with airy, light, fluffy cake topped with everyone's favorite silky cream cheese icing and sprinkled with crunchy walnuts.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 591kcal

Ingredients

Carrot Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups carrots shredded
  • 3/4 cup walnuts chopped

Cream Cheese Icing

  • 12 ounce cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups confectioners sugar same as powdered sugar or icing sugar

Topping

  • 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. 
  • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.
  • In another bowl add the sugar, eggs and vegetable oil. Whisk until it all comes together. Alternatively you could use your mixer.
  • Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk everything until well combined.
  • Add the carrots and walnuts. Using a spatula mix everything together until the carrots and walnuts are well incorporated into the batter. 
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
  • Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting it.
  • While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the cream cheese together with the butter, then add the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Spread icing over cake. Sprinkle with walnuts.
  • Cut into squares. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Allow your cake to cool fully before storing it. Keep the cake in a large airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days
You can freeze carrot cake slices in airtight containers for several months. Wrapping carrot cake slices individually allows you to thaw slices one at a time, as needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1square | Calories: 591kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 254mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 6065IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1.9mg