Skip to Content

Homemade Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sharing is caring!

Last year I tried my hand at making a homemade carrot cake from scratch.

I got this recipe from a local charity cookbook that I purchased at one of those rummage sales.

My husband has always said what a wonderful dessert it is and that it has always been one of his favorites, so I tried making one. It became an instant hit in our household.

This post was originally published on Feb 4, 2010, and has been recently updated.

Not only has this become a very requested family favorite, but my friends love this cake so much as well. I think the reason for that is because the inside is just so moist and delicious!

How to Make a Homemade Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This cake is simple and easy to make and starts with 3 cups of freshly grated carrots.

You can buy the pre-grated kind, but they are like $2.99 a bag. Why do that when you can spend .69 for a bag of carrots and grate them yourself?

After grating the carrots, you just set them aside and make the cake batter. In your KitchenAid mixer, simply add your butter, flour, spices, and other ingredients to make the batter. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can totally use a handheld mixer as well.

Then, add your carrots in at the last. The reason for this is so you don't break them up too much. Once you get everything mixed together, just put it in a 9×13 baking dish and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 40-50 minutes.

Make a Batch of Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

While your cake is baking, you can make a batch of my homemade Cream Cheese Frosting. It is really what makes the cake taste so darn amazing!

I use 1 stick of butter, 2 blocks of cream cheese and about 3 cups of powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. It is so creamy and delicious and the cream cheese flavor really shines through.

Once the cake comes out, let it cool completely. You never want to put cool icing on a warm cake because it will melt instantly and just become a huge mess.

Take your cake and plop all your icing right into the middle of the cake. 

Now, using a frosting spatula, begin to spread the icing all the way to the edges until you have the entire cake covered. Keep moving it from the middle to the outside edges so that you can have an even spread of icing.

And, that's it! Now you can enjoy this delicious cake and all its cream cheese icing goodness. 

Looking for More Homemade Cakes? Check these out!

What kinds of cakes have you been baking lately?

Yield: 20

Homemade Carrot Cake

Homemade Carrot Cake

This classic homemade carrot cake with cream cheese icicing is amazing and so simple to make.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes 40 seconds
Total Time 1 hour 40 seconds

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups grated carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
  3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.Stir in carrots. Pour into prepared pan.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes.
  5. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture issmooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 473Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 362mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 43gProtein: 4g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sharon MacLeod

Wednesday 10th of February 2021

Is it best to have any dairy ingredients at room temperature before you add them into your recipe?

Jennifer Sikora

Wednesday 10th of February 2021

I don't. I just use them straight from the fridge.

Modern June via Facebook

Friday 5th of September 2014

mmmm love carrot cake!

ChristyRenee' Garth-Williams via Facebook

Thursday 4th of September 2014

LOVE carrot cake!

Artney Walker via Facebook

Thursday 4th of September 2014

So delicious!!!

Shirley Cumbie Wood via Facebook

Thursday 4th of September 2014

A slice of that and a cup of coffee would be nice right now :-)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe