This To Die For Carrot Cake recipe receives rave reviews for it’s unbelievable moistness and delicious flavor! Truly the BEST Carrot Cake you’ll ever try! So easy to make and as an added bonus, there’s no oil or butter. I know this cake will quickly become a family favorite! Looking for a layered cake alternative? Check out these Carrot Cake Bars!
Carrot Cake
There is nothing like a cake to transform an ordinary party into a celebration. There’s something so festive about cakes that scream it’s time to PARTY! Today I’m sharing a cake recipe with you all that’s a family heirloom. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to share this recipe with you!
This is my Nana’s recipe – slightly modified – and it is sooo amazing! I get requests several times a year for this To Die For Carrot Cake and made it just last week for my sister’s birthday. I love this recipe because it’s a one-two-three recipe and that makes it so easy! It also is a one-bowl wonder which I love.
I have made this recipe hundreds of times and all my friends and family love this cake so much so that I get asked to bring it to parties, holidays, potlucks, and BBQs all year long. I just love that it’s SO easy to make and completely foolproof!
Best Carrot Cake Recipe
This carrot cake with pineapple makes it so moist and the addition of coconut adds a sweet, delicate flavor that you’re going to love!
I have many carrot cake recipes on my site – like these Carrot Cake Bars – but they are all variations of this one. There isn’t another recipe that I’ve ever tried that even comes close to this carrot cake recipe for flavor, moistness, and texture. It’s hands down the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. Period.
What’s In Carrot Cake
This easy carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting stands out from the rest for two important reasons: I use both applesauce (instead of oil) and pineapple for extra moistness. The rest of the ingredients are typical cake ingredients that you most likely already have on hand,.
- unsweetened applesauce or oil (my Nana used oil, I use applesauce)
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
- cinnamon
- carrots
- shredded sweetened coconut
- chopped nuts optional
- vanilla
- crushed pineapple
Does Carrot Cake Have Raisins?
This is totally up to you. I don’t include it in my recipe because so many in my family don’t like raisins. If you’d like to add raisins to this recipe, add half a cup of raisins in with the shredded carrot in Step 3. Golden raisins are especially delicious in this recipe!
Carrot Cake Frosting
My Nana’s recipe is super simple (as easy as 1-2-3) and tastes incredible but what’s a carrot cake without cream cheese frosting??
Cream cheese frosting is the standard when it comes to carrot cake and with good reason. Soft and gooey with a hint of tang from the cream cheese – it’s the perfect complement!
How To Decorate!
You can decorate the cake however you want and I do it differently every time. You really can’t do this wrong!
- After the cakes have finished cooling, invert one of the cakes onto a cake plate or stand. Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread to cover. An offset spatula will make quick work of this. Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting.
- For this carrot cake recipe, I chose to decorate with the nuts. I chopped up some toasted pecans and then inverted a bowl onto the cake.
- Gently spread the pecans around the bowl and you’ll end up with a nice clean circle on the center of the cake. Watch the video below to see how I did it!
- I could have left it like this but my family loves coconut so I filled in the center with shredded coconut. Turned out really pretty!
What a cake!! I’d love for you to give this from scratch carrot cake recipe a try – it really will blow your mind! I like to use light cream cheese frosting and then subbing the applesauce for the oil, well, obviously you can now have two pieces of cake!
Do you have family recipes that the whole family just LOVES like this cake recipe?? I’m so thankful that I was able to get so many fabulous recipes from my Nana. Every time we eat this cake, I think of her and all the yummy times we had together.
Tips for the Best Carrot Cake
- Toasting the pecans (if you’re using them) adds even more amazing flavor to this recipe.
- DO NOT use pre-shredded carrots. Buy standard carrots, peel and grate by hand for the best results. You want the fresh flavor in this cake – it’s what makes it so outstanding!
- I used three 8-inch cake pans in the video. I really like the size of the cake with three layers. These are the pans I used – they’re amazing!
- These cakes are SUPER moist – amazingly so. Make sure to adequately grease your pans before adding the cake batter. My little brother likes to grease his pans, and line them with a piece of parchment before baking. I’m far too lazy for that. Using the pans above, and some baking spray that has the flour added in (like Baker’s Joy or Pam with flour), I have never, ever had any sticking issues.
- I’ve had several requests from people wanting to know where I got my cake serving set from… Amazon, of course!
How To Make Carrot Cupcakes
This recipe can easily be converted into a cupcake recipe. I do recommend that you use parchment liners because this cake is very moist and could stick to regular paper liners.
To make carrot cupcakes:
- Follow instructions 1 and 2 below.
- Place liners in muffin pan and fill two-thirds full.
- Bake at 350F for 18 to 22 minutes.
- Let carrot cupcakes cool before frosting.
Try these cake recipes!
- Orange Creamsicle Cake
- Lemon Zucchini Cake
- Best Ever Texas Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Roulade
- Zucchini Spice Cake
How To Make Carrot Cake
To Die For Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
One
- 1 ¼ cups unsweetened applesauce or oil, this is what my Nana used
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs room temperature
Two
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Three
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped nuts optional
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup Dole crushed pineapple not drained! {use the pineapple in JUICE not syrup}
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- top with toasted pecans or coconut if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine #1 ingredients. Add #2 ingredients. Stir in #3 ingredients.
- Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 , two 9-inch pans or three 8-inch pans. (The cake is very moist so cutting parchment for the bottom of your pans will ensure they don't stick. I prefer to use the non-stick baking spray that has the flour in it for easy cake removal.)
- Bake for 35-40 minutes for the 9x13 and 9-inch pans and 25-30 minutes for the 8-inch pans. You're looking for an inserted toothpick to come out clean.
- Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth.
- Invert the cake onto a cake plate or stand.
- Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread...
- Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting. Repeat with the third cake if you made three.
- Refrigerate for an hour before serving for best results.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Original post published August 18, 2012. Updated February 27, 2018.
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phoebe says
hi when u mix in the wet ingredients do u just mix it with a spoon like for muffins or do u beat the eggs and sugar ?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I just mix it in with a spoon Phoebe. You can kind of pre-beat the eggs though to make sure they get mixed in well. Thanks!
Krystle says
I’m making this cake for my daughters second birthday this weekend, but I just thought I’d ask a question.
That being, do you do anything to get these to bake up so nice and flat (meaning level.) They look perfect!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
They typically just bake up that pretty Krystle 🙂 This is one recipe that I never have finagle – thank goodness! If, for some reason, they don’t bake up perfectly, you can always use a long, serrated knife to trim the tops so they are nice and even. I don’t like doing that because then you for sure will have to do a crumb coat with the frosting, but if it’s necessary, then that’s an option. Happy Birthday to your daughter! Second birthdays are SO much fun!
Michelle says
This looks amazing must get some ice person to make it for me
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Hehe! I hope you find someone 🙂
Hannah Johnston says
With the exception of the applesauce instead of oil, I cooked this cake last Christmas and it is out of this
world great!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will try the applesauce next time. Thanks for your recipe. I could not wait for another
occasion to cook this cake. I craved it after Christmas and when an occasion arose I thought of this first.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Definitely give the applesauce a try – I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised 🙂 My Dad who has been eating this cake his entire life thinks it’s better with the applesauce! Thank you so much for the sweet comment Hannah!
Holly Waterfall says
So my mom is begging me to make this for Mother’s Day, since I shared it on my FB. The guys are in charge of putting the food together for the holiday, but no one bakes and quite frankly, we’re a little nervous lol. So I may come in and save the day with your cake. YUM!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
LOL! That’s awesome Holly! You will LOVE it if you make it – it’s sooo good!
Meggan says
I made this today and it’s so delicious and very moist! I’ve been craving carrot cake and this recipe popped up on my Pinterest feed, so I decided to try it out! Thank you for sharing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Meggan – it’s one of my very favorites 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Jessie says
Your carrot cake looks amazing! I nearly licked the screen. I can’t wait to make it. Thank you
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s so sweet Jessie – thank you! Hope your weekend is off to a great start 🙂
Krystle says
Made this for Easter and everybody LOVED it! It was so simple to make and so very moist- love the idea of using applesauce instead of all that oil! I ended up having enough batter to make 3 layers and just 1 batch of the frosting was enough to cover it all.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the sweet comment!
Lids says
Found this on Pinterest and will be making it for Easter. Is the coconut unsweetened or sweetened? Thank you.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome! I used sweetened but you could use either. It’s not as if this isn’t sweet enough already 🙂 Happy Easter!
Jeannette Shields says
This sounds so very good! I’m going to make it as soon as I get all the ingredients. Thank you! I’ve been craving carrot cake! I found your recipe on Li’l Luna.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Jeannette! Thanks for stopping by!
Charlotte Moore says
This is beautiful and looks so tasty.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Charlotte!
Kim says
Have you ever done this recipe in cupcakes instead of cake? Your recipe was delicious but I would like to try cupcakes next time. This cake was super moist so I’m a little worried how it will turn out. Do you need to cut any ingredients or change bake times? Do you know how many it makes?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
It is VERY moist. Hmm, I’ve never tried it a cupcakes but you could check the back of a cake box and see roughly what the difference in bake times are and also how many cupcakes it would yield approximately. Let me know if you give it a go and how it turns out!
Kim says
I made the big cake today for dessert tomorrow. I did scoop out one cupcake worth to bake and test. It baked ok, but it stuck to the sides of the paper so it was pretty messy.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yeah it is just such a moist recipe that cupcakes would be hard – unless you did them without liners…
kate says
this looks delicious, but I don’t like pineapple in my carrot cake – can you substitute? (if so, any recommendations on what to subs?)
Henrietta says
This carrot cake was delicious! I followed the recipe but added some ginger, subbed some honey for some of the sugar and used cool whip frosting in the tub instead of making my own, it turned out so good and my mom loved it for her 60th birthday! I blogged it and linked back to you for the recipe, thanks for sharing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Xee XC says
Believe it or not, I’m 28 years old and has never had carrot cake in the past. I was feeling adventurist and wanted to try something different, so i Pinterest carrot cake. Your recipe caught my eyes, so I pinned it. Today, I had time to bake so I gave this cake a go and omg…….this carrot cake is soo yummy, moist, and flavorful. I didn’t have applesauce, so i used oil….still, sooooooooo out of this world delicious!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Ahhh! I am SO glad that you enjoyed the recipe! My Nana used to make it with oil so I know how good it is like that 🙂 This is definitely my favorite carrot cake recipe and I’m happy you gave it a try. Thank you for your sweet comment!