Carrot Cake

Prep 20 min
Total 1 hr 5 min
Servings 12

The natural sweetness and beautiful color of carrots make them the star ingredient in this easy carrot cake recipe. This homemade carrot cake is crowned with an irresistibly sweet-and-tangy cream cheese frosting. Short on time? Substitute Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting instead. MORE+ LESS-

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

Updated February 24, 2020

Make with

Gold Medal Flour

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/2

cups granulated sugar

cup vegetable oil

eggs

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

teaspoons ground cinnamon

teaspoon baking soda

teaspoon vanilla

1/2

teaspoon salt

cups shredded carrots (5 medium)

cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4

cup butter or margarine, softened

to 3 teaspoons milk

teaspoon vanilla

cups powdered sugar

Nutmeg, if desired

Steps

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1

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of one 13x9-inch pan or two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans with shortening; lightly flour. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt; beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into pan(s).
2

Bake 13x9-inch pan 40 to 45 minutes, round pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangle in pan on cooling rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost round layers with frosting. Sprinkle nutmeg on frosted cake, if desired. Store in refrigerator.

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Expert Tips

Treat this as an after school snacking cake—pour the batter into two square 8-inch baking pans. Bake them up, making one unfrosted cake available for the kids right away, allowing them to frost or ice their own pieces as they go. Wrap and stash the second cake in the freezer until you need it.
Greasing and flouring cake pans for this kind of dense, moist cake is your most important first step (after properly pre-heating your oven). Especially if you want to unmold cake rounds to stack. Generously grease the pans, then spoon a couple of teaspoons of flour in—tap the pan back and forth or in a circular motion so the flour just lightly coats the surface. Tap out any excess. But to be doubly sure you can remove layers in one piece, line the bottom of the just-greased pans with a circle of parchment paper.
Save yourself time by using a 16-ounce container of Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting instead of the from-scratch recipe.
A thick cream cheese frosting is the go-to finish for carrot cake, but for a lighter approach glaze with an orange icing: mix powdered sugar with a few teaspoons of fresh orange juice and a little grated zest until the right consistency for drizzling on top of cake.
Some people aren’t nut fans, so if you leave them out consider adding some golden raisins or snipped apricots. Or if walnuts aren’t a favorite, try toasted pecans or macadamia nuts; both offer a contrasting texture without infusing a strong nut flavor into the cake.
Stir grated fresh orange peel into cake batter or frosting—both play up the sweet earthiness of the carrots and brighten the richness of the cake and frosting.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 440
Calories from Fat: 240

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 26g; 40%
Saturated Fat 3 1/2g 18% Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol: 55mg; 18%
Sodium: 230mg; 10%
Potassium: 170mg; 5%
Total Carbohydrate: 46g; 15%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9% Sugars 27g
Protein: 6g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 100%; 100%
Vitamin C: 2%; 2%
Calcium: 4%; 4%
Iron: 10%; 10%

Exchanges:

2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 5 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

According to food historians, carrot cake is probably a variation of the carrot puddings that were popular in Medieval Europe. Since sugar and other sweeteners were precious at that time, enterprising cooks used the naturally sweet root vegetable as delicious substitute sweetener in many versions of a simple carrot cake recipe. As legend has it, George Washington celebrated the British evacuation in 1783 with a slice of carrot tea cake at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan. Some things haven’t changed: Not only is carrot cake still popular, but the restaurant is still in business. While some version of a carrot cake recipe can be found going to many centuries, the addition of cream cheese frosting seems to be a uniquely American innovation that began to appear in the 1960s. To keep the tradition going in your own kitchen, consider trying other versions of carrot cake recipes that feature clever plays on classic flavors.