Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Submitted by sandra dooley
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting bakes a single tender butter-based cake layer with grated carrots, walnuts, and cinnamon. Topped with classic tangy cream cheese icing and brown sugar nut crumble.
YIELD
16 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minThis carrot cake breaks from the usual oil-and-three-layer formula. Instead of the typical American carrot cake built on vegetable oil, this version uses creamed butter and sugar like a traditional pound cake, then folds in grated carrots and walnuts at the end. The result has a tighter, more cake-like crumb instead of the dense, almost-pudding texture you get from oil-based versions.
A single 9-inch round keeps things simple: no layering, no leveling, no cake board needed. The cream cheese frosting goes on top and around the sides, and a sprinkle of brown sugar mixed with finely chopped walnuts adds crunch and a caramel note that ties everything together.
The cinnamon stays light at two teaspoons. This isn’t a heavily spiced carrot cake. The carrot flavor leads, with cinnamon as a warm undertone rather than the headline.
Grate the carrots fresh on the small side of a box grater. Pre-shredded bagged carrots are too dry and won’t release the moisture the batter needs to stay tender.
Pro Tips
- Cream the butter and sugar until truly pale and fluffy. The aeration here is most of your lift since the batter has heavy carrots and nuts to support.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat well between each. Dumping them in cold can curdle the batter and give you a coarse crumb.
- Use full-fat block cream cheese for the frosting, not the spread tub. The spread version has added water and gum and won’t hold a swirl.
- Cool the cake completely before frosting. Warm cake melts cream cheese frosting into a slick puddle.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Grease 9 inch round cake pan.
Dust with flour; tap out excess.
Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
Beat together butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each.
At low speed, alternately beat flour mixture and milk into butter mixture.
Stir in carrots and nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake cake until top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
Turn cake out onto rack to cool completely.
Prepare icing: Beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed until completely smooth.
Beat in vanilla.
Beat in confectioners sugar until well blended.
To prepare topping, mix together nuts and brown sugar.
Place cake on serving plate.
Spread icing over top and sides if needed.
Sprinkle with nut topping mixture.
Comments



