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Best Ever Carrot Cake 2

BEST EVER CARROT CAKE

This truly is the Best Ever Carrot Cake! Moist and tender, it's packed with carrots, sweet pineapple, crunchy walnuts, and warming spices. Topped with a luxuriously smooth cream cheese frosting, it's a classic dessert that's sure to become a family favorite.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 10 Slices

Ingredients
  

For the cake:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar (or you can use raw or coconut sugar)
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 3/4 cup rice bran or canola oil
  • 2 cups standard flour (or use gluten-free flour)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 3 cups grated carrot
  • 3/4 cup - from a 7.9 oz can - drained unsweetened crushed pineapple in juice
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup sultanas or raisins
  • Optional: 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
  • 1 tbsp grated orange zest use (one medium orange)

For the cream cheese icing:

  • 1.7 oz butter, softened
  • 4.4 oz cream cheese
  • 1-1/2 cups icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Instructions
 

For the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F). Grease a 23 cm (9 inch) cake tin – 6 cm (2.5 inch) deep – and line base and sides with baking paper.
  • Beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla essence for 5 minutes until thick.
  • Add oil and beat for 1 minute.
  • Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices into a large bowl and set aside.
  • Combine carrot, pineapple, walnuts, sultanas, coconut and orange zest. Fold into egg mixture. Then fold in dry ingredients until just combined.
  • Spoon mixture into tin and smooth surface. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean (you may find you need to lightly cover the cake with foil part way through the bake once it’s brown enough). Leave in tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool.

For the cream cheese icing:

  • Beat butter and cream cheese together until combined. Stir in icing sugar, then beat mixture on high speed until light and fluffy.
  • Once the cake is cold, spread the cream cheese icing over the surface and decorate as you like (I used chopped dried apricots, chopped pistachios and edible flowers), then serve.

Notes

You might consider wrapping some foil around the outside of the tin during baking, as I found the long bake did dry out the outside out a little. Mind you, some people love that crust!
Keyword Cake, Carrot Cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how if you liked it in the comments below!