Southern Style Carrot Cake has a super moist crumb and loads of warm spices. This is truly the best carrot cake you’ll ever make. Roasted pecans and a homemade cream cheese frosting make it extra special.
Who doesn’t like a good old fashioned, southern style carrot cake? It's such a wonderful dessert that is perfect to serve during the holidays, or any special occasion.
It’s a dessert that’s made from the heart!
Carrot cake is a favorite dessert for many because it contains a variety of delicious warm spices like ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg paired with, toasted pecans and raisins.
Put all of those flavors together with a fluffy cream cheese frosting and you've got a little slice of heaven on a plate!
You can make this cake a day ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy.
Not only is this recipe is easy to make, you'll be proud to serve it with these simple little carrot decorations on top!
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Step by step instructions
This is an easy carrot cake to put together but it does require a few steps to prepare the ingredients.
Prepare cake batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cake pans with oil and coat inside with flour.
- Grate carrots, chop 1 cup of pecans, and toss raisins in flour to coat them evenly. Set aside.
- Dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together with a whisk.
- Wet ingredients. In a separate batter bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the oil, eggs, light brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla for 2 minutes on high speed.
- Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. Add the carrots, raisins and pecans and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes and then place onto a cooling rack to let cool completely.
How do I know the cake is done?
There are a few ways to tell if the cake is done. A toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, the sides are pulling away from the cake pan or the cake springs back when pushed down in the middle.
Prepare cream cheese frosting
You can use store-bought cream cheese icing if you don't feel like making your own, but I highly suggest making homemade cream cheese frosting. It makes a huge difference!
- Place the room temperature butter, cream cheese and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar ⅓ third at a time, mixing with the electric mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula after each addition.
- Mix until smooth and creamy.
How to decorate carrot cake
This cake can be decorated in so many ways, but this is my favorite. It's simple and makes a stunning presentation!
- Stack the layers onto a cake stand and use an offset spatula to spread the cream cheese frosting in between the layers, the top and the outside of the carrot cake.
- Use your hands to press the extra pecans onto the outside of the cake. Place a baking sheet under the cake stand to help catch any nuts that fall off during the process.
If you are using the raw carrots to decorate the cake, place them on the cake right before you are ready to serve. If they are left on too long, the moisture from the carrots will seep out and cause the frosting to become "wet" around the edges of the carrots.
- Peel 4 large carrots and cut the end off. (They should be at least 2.5 inches long.)
- Cut the pieces in half lengthwise to get 8 little carrots. (One side will be rounded and the other side will be flat.)
- Place them on top of the cake with the pointed ends towards the center as you see in the picture below. Use parsley leaves or any kind of herb you have, to create the "carrot leaves".
Tips for success
- 3-Layer Cake: If you'd like to make a 3-layer cake use three 8" cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Cupcakes: This recipe makes 18-24 cupcakes. Use cupcake liners and bake for 25 minutes.
- Pre-grated Carrots: A 10 ounce bag of pre-shredded carrots and be used instead of grating the carrots. I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces before adding them to the batter.
- Substitute Oil: Vegetable oil can be substituted with 1 cup melted coconut oil or 2 sticks melted unsalted butter.
- Nut options: The pecans can be substituted with walnuts. For even more nutty flavor, toast the pecans in the oven at 350°F on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- Use a good quality cinnamon for the best taste.
- Parchment paper is not necessary but helpful in ensuring the cake does not stick to the pans when removing. Run a knife around the cake to help release the sides before trying to remove it.
How to store leftovers and freeze
- Fridge - The cake can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - Wrap the carrot cake layers, unfrosted, individually in 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.
4 easy holiday dessert recipes
Your friends and family will enjoy every single bite of this carrot cake!
Southern Style Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
Dry ingredients:
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for flouring the cake pans and tossing the raisins)
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Other ingredients:
- 3 cups grated carrots
- ½ cup raisins (toss with flour to prevent them from sinking in batter)
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 16 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Garnish
- 1-2 cups chopped pecans to press on the side of the cake
- 4 whole carrots
- cilantro leaves or any other herb to use as carrot leaves
Instructions
Carrot Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9" cake pans with oil and cover the bottom of the pans with parchment paper (optional). Add a handful of flour to the pans and rotate the pans to coat with flour to prevent sticking. Shake out excess flour.
- Dry Ingredients: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 2.5 cups flour, 4 teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder and set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: In a medium sized batter bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar and 1 cup vegetable oil on high speed for 2 minutes.
- Combine: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir them together using a spatula until combined. Stir in the 3 cups of carrots, ½ cup of raisins and ½ cup of chopped pecans.
- Bake: Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool: Remove from oven, let cool for 20 minutes before transferring the cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract using an electric mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar ⅓ at a time and beat until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Assembly
- Place the first layer on a cake stand and cover with cream cheese frosting. Stack the second layer on top and spread the top and outsides of the cake with frosting. Use your hand to press the additional 2 cups of toasted pecan pieces to the outside of the cake.
- Right before you are ready to serve, cut the ends off the whole carrots and then cut the carrot in half lengthwise. Place them on top of the cake with the pointed ends facing the center. Use a the cilantro leave as the carrot tops. (See notes.)
Notes
- Store covered in the fridge for up to4 days.
- If you are using the fresh carrots to decorate the cake, place them on the cake right before you are ready to serve. If they are left on overnight, the moisture from the carrots will seep out and cause the frosting to become "wet" around the edges of the carrots.
- For a 3 layer cake use three 8 inch cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- This recipe makes 18-24 cupcakes. Use cupcake liners and bake for 25 minutes.
- Vegetable oil can be substituted with 1 cup melted coconut oil or 2 sticks melted unsalted butter.
- A toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, the sides are pulling away from the cake pan or the cake springs back when pushed down in the middle.
- Parchment paper is not necessary but helpful in ensuring the cake does not stick to the pans when removing. Run a knife around the cake to help release the sides before trying to remove it.
- Carrot Cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the slices individually in 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil.
This recipe was originally posted in 2014 and updated in March 2020 with new photos, an enhanced recipe card and expert tips.
- Change to the original recipe - The original recipe called for 1 cup granulated sugar. We cut that down to ½ a cup and added 1 cup of light brown sugar to create more moisture in the cake.
Kate says
The cupcakes are delicious but I ended up with 30. I made half recipe of icing and had more than enough.
Dena says
Is there milk in this recipe??? Seems odd not to
Amy Duska says
No milk!
Molly says
Love this recipe! My father and mother and law have birthdays a week a part this time of year and they beg for me to make this carrot cake every year. However - did you change the recipe? It used to have ingredients listed by weight (easier for me to measure and more precise).
Amy Duska says
Hi Molly! Sorry about that. We have been updating all of our recipe cards and somehow that got taken out! I just added the weight measurements back in!
Laurie says
This is the best cake I’ve ever made! I added some chopped pineapple.
I used the frosting recipe included, with half sugar half Swerve.Between the layers I used Cheesecake Pudding Mix, sugar free, mixed with cream.
Holy crap.
I’m fighting the urge to go back for more!
Amy says
LOL, thanks for the great review! I made this cake for my friend's birthday last month and I felt the same way! It is so good! 🙂
Laura says
This is my absolute favorite traditional carrot cake! Just a tip for adding raisins! I put them in my little chopper w/about a tablespoon of flour, chopping them up small before adding to cake batter. I also use golden raisins! Believe me!! No one even knows they are in there! Lol! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Amy says
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Meg says
Did you rehydrate your raisins before adding them? If not, did they seem to pull moisture from your cake?
Amy says
I did not rehydrate my raisins and I didn't notice any moisture loss at all!
Angela says
Can you bake this in 2 10inch round pans instead of 3 9 inch pans? What would the bake time be?
Amy says
Hi Angela,
Yes you can and I would keep the baking time the same, 20-25 minutes.
Bev says
Loved this carrot cake recipe it was delicious!
Amy says
Thank you so much Bev!
Linda says
Hello I'm making this carrot cake can't wait to taste it -I added pineapple instead of raisins
My other recipe was reined - Easter eve 2018
Thank for sharing your recipe
Linda
Danielle says
So all your doing is substituting the raisains for canned pineapple? How much pineapple?
Lindsay says
Hi!
Has anyone made this in a 9x13 inch dish? How long should I bake it at 350?
Thanks
Amy says
I would check at around 30 minutes.
Anna Boyett says
I used your recipe and wrote about it over here: https://yeslittlehummingbird.wordpress.com/2018/03/23/a-completely-normal-carrot-cake/ It was delicious! Thank you do much for posting it!
Amy says
Hi Anna! Thanks for letting me know and thank you for the credit 🙂