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This easy carrot cake recipe is easy, delicious, and perfect for feeding a crowd! It’s ideal for Easter, but tasty all year long!
This easy carrot cake is an Easter must-have. If you’re looking for more, check out our Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
The Easiest Carrot Cake!
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE carrot cake, it’s one of my favorite desserts. While it’s delicious year-round, I especially crave it in the spring and around Easter.
Why we love it:
- Easy. Just simple ingredients, easy prep, and a more-than-satisfactory result.
- The flavor! The spices, moist cake crumb, and tangy cream cheese frosting (preferably lots of it) are all divine, making it a great Easter dessert.
- Feeds a crowd. It’s made in a jelly roll pan – sheet cake style – perfect for feeding everyone!
Carrot Cake Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- salt
- vegetable oil
- sugar
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- sour cream – or greek yogurt
- fresh grated carrots – Freshly shredded carrots are a must. Prepackaged shredded carrots are too dry and crunchy, and won’t produce as good of results.
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- heavy whipping cream
- chopped walnuts – are optional. You can also use chopped pecans.
How to Make Easy Carrot Cake
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 13×17-inch jelly roll pan.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- WET INGREDIENTS. In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat together the oil and sugars until evenly combined. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream until no sugar lumps remain.
- You may need to turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- COMBINE. With the mixer on low speed, carefully beat in the flour mixture, followed by the grated carrots. Be careful not to over-mix.
- BAKE. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, and if you give the pan a gentle nudge the middle doesn’t wobble.
- COOL. Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- WET INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat together the butter and cream cheese until very well softened and evenly combined.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. Turn the mixer down to low speed and carefully beat in the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat in the whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, or add in a little extra powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
- FROST THE CAKE. Frost the cooled cake, then decorate with chopped walnuts if desired.
Pro Tip!
Adding whipping cream will make it more thin and creamy, and adding more powdered sugar will thicken it up. Change this based on the preferred consistency.
Recipe Tips
- Different pan sizes. Insert a toothpick in the center to know when the cake is perfectly baked.
- 9-inch round or square cake pans: Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes. (If using smaller pans, a frosting filling can be added between the first layer and the second layer of cake).
- 9×13 pan (with sides at least 2 inches tall): Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes.
- Cupcakes: Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes.
- Mini cupcakes: Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
- Ways to decorate.
- Orange flowers. With a piping set, use orange frosting to pipe on beautiful flowers.
- Frosting carrots. Use a piping bag of orange frosting with a small piping tip and a bag of green frosting with a small tip. Space the carrots so that each square serving has a single carrot in the center, pipe them on randomly, or create other designs.
- Chocolate-covered strawberries. Top with Easter Chocolate Covered Strawberries.
STORING Info
- STORE unfrosted carrot cake at room temperature for up to 3 days, covered with plastic wrap or foil. If it is frosted, keep it in the fridge for up to a week (since the frosting has perishable dairy items in it).
- Store the leftovers in the pan, or slice it up and keep the individual slices in an airtight container.
- FREEZE. This easy carrot cake recipe freezes well, even if it’s iced. If making carrot cake in advance and freezing the whole thing, cover the cooled cake with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil, and place it in the freezer.
- To freeze frosted leftovers, wrap the pieces in plastic wrap and foil, or place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag for 4-6 months.
For More Easter Sweets:
Carrot Cake Recipe
Classic sheet pan carrot cake is easy, delicious, and perfect for feeding a crowd! It's ideal for Easter, but tasty all year long!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs room temp
- 3 tablespoons sour cream (greek yogurt works too)
- 2½ cups grated carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2½ – 3½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream as needed
- ½ cup chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 13×17-inch jelly roll pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat together the oil and sugars until evenly combined. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream until no sugar lumps remain. You may need to turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, carefully beat in the flour mixture, followed by the grated carrots. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, and if you give the pan a gentle nudge the middle doesn't wobble.
- Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan before frosting.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat together the butter and cream cheese until very well softened and evenly combined.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and carefully beat in the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat in the whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, or add in a little extra powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
- Frost the cooled cake, then decorate with chopped walnuts if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 224kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 261mg, Potassium: 172mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 2890IU, Vitamin C: 0.9mg, Calcium: 84mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This seriously looks delicious and perfect for any function! Thanks, Fiona! For more great recipes from her, be sure to head on over to Just So Tasty.
I love carrot cake! Will definetly try it for Easter! Thank you
I am not a baker and this is my first time making this- it really was easy!! And the best part is my husband said it’s better than his mom’s lol!
One of the best carrot cake recipes I’ve tried! So delicious and tasty!
This cake was amazing, my whole family loved it and it was gone before we knew it. I already have plans to make this again!
Love to hear that!! Thank you!
when you said this was an easy cake recipe, you did not disappoint! thank you so much for sharing this delicious cake recipe
You are so welcome!! Thank you for saying that!
I recently needed a dessert that would feed a crowd, and this one was perfect. The carrot cake was moist and delicious and who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting? It was a hit!
Happy to hear that! It sure does feed a crowd, that’s why I love it! Thank you!
Delicious! A big hit at our Easter lunch 😊
Yay!! So glad to hear that!
I Cut this recipe down to 5 servings in An attempt to make a mini cake for two. It turned out perfect and so delish! I made it in a 6” round pan and Baked it for about the same tIme. Just had to do a little math to bake with the decimal measurements.
Thank you for sharing what you did! So happy you liked it!