Description
A moist and tender carrot cake packed with warm spices and grated carrots, topped with a rich and tangy cream cheese frosting. Perfect for spring baking—or any time you’re craving something cozy and delicious!
Ingredients
Scale
For the cake
- 300 g carrots (peeled and shredded)
- 260 g all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 4 eggs
- 160 g light brown sugar
- 120 ml vegetable oil
- 110 g Greek yoghurt
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 130 g walnut (toasted and chopped)
For the cream cheese frosting
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 245 g cream cheese (full fat)
- 120 g icing sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 175°C fan (350℉). Line two 7-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Peel and shred the carrots and set aside.
- Toast walnuts in a preheated oven for a few minutes until their fragrance begins to emerge (but keep an eye on them to avoid burning).
- Chop walnuts into small pieces (but not too fine).
- Save around 2 tablespoons of walnut pieces for decoration.
- Lightly mist the rest of walnuts with water and coat with a spoonful of flour. (This will help to suspend them in the batter).
For the cake batter
- Mix dry ingredients: in a bowl, mix together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix wet ingredients: in a large bowl, whisk oil and brown sugar until well combined.
- Add yoghurt and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Add eggs, one at a time, whisking until each is fully incorporated.
- Stir in shredded carrots until evenly combined.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet, in two additions. Gently mix until just combined.
- Add walnuts and fold until well blended.
Bake & Cool
- Divide batter evenly between the pans (weigh for precision, 1276 g in total, 638 g per pan).
- Bake for 35–40 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool in pans for 15 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting
- Beat butter until pale and fluffy.
- Sift in icing sugar and add a pinch of salt. Beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract and mix.
- Add cream cheese and beat until fully incorporated and creamy.
- Optional: add lemon juice and give a final mix. Frosting should be smooth, creamy, and spreadable.
Pre-Decoration Prep
- Once cakes are cool, trim the domed tops for even layers.
- Use a non-slip mat under your cake board on a cake turntable to hold the cake steady.
Assemble the cake
- Fill a generous layer of cream cheese frosting between the cake layers.
- Crumb coat the entire cake (I chose a ‘semi-naked’ finish) and chill for 30 minutes.
- Frost the outside, smooth the edges, and decorate with extra chopped walnuts if desired.
Notes
- Watch my video tutorial to see how easy it is to make.
- If you are/aren’t a fan of spices, feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your own taste.