This is the best carrot cake I have ever made. It’s absolutely perfect!
You’ll notice I used pineapple tidbits. Don’t do that. I had a moment of panic because I thought I had a can of crushed, but sadly, no only 2 cans of tidbits.
But no worries. I added the tidbits to the bowl of the mixer and bashed them up really good with the sugar, which essentially made them the texture of crushed.
For the oil I’ve been using Oleico high oleic safflower oil because high oleic oil is supposed to have some health benefits.
Cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.
Peel and shred the carrot (I do mine on fine) and mix the ingredients. I like to use golden raisins because they’re so juicy. I literally have never seen raisins as big as the ones I linked. They’re amazing. Some people like to use nuts in carrot cake but I detest nuts in cake. Oops did I say that out loud?
Distribute into 2 or 3 eight inch pans. I like to do three because it makes pretty layers and you can get more frosting in there.
And bake at 350 for 26 minutes.
For the frosting. This frosting has a very cream-cheese forward flavor (which I love!) and is not overly sweet.
A few tips with the frosting. Process the butter until all of the powdered sugar is completely mixed in and lump free. I use a Breville Sous Chef, and it’s amazing. So powerful!
I mean completely. I scrape down the bowl several times to make sure it’s smooth and no lumps.
Then add your cream cheese.
And only process until exactly incorporated with no lumps.
Why is that? Cream cheese has stabilizers (as does most sour cream). The high shear that is created by a food processor can break down the stabilizers. Therefore, if you over mix after the cream cheese is added, the frosting can get very runny and it will be ruined. The only way to fix it at that point is to add a WHOLE TON more sugar. And then it is far too sweet. If you love a very sweet frosting, this one is probably not for you. For my family, it’s perfect!
And frost your cake. This one was for Halloween. Maybe not holiday-appropriate but it was delicious!
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU WILL ALSO LIKE:
- Cherry Pie
- Key Lime Pie
- Goat Cheese, Apple and Honey Tart
- Classic Scones
- Pumpkin Pound Cake
- Instant Pot Lemon Layered Cheeseckake
- Lemon Sour Cream Ombre Cake
- Mini Desserts
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups flower
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated carrots
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple drained
- 1 cup golden raisins
Frosting
- 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Combine cake ingredients and mix until distributed. Pour into 3 eight-inch cake pans. Cook at 350 for 25 minutes until cake springs back. Combine butter and confectioners' sugar with 1 stick of butter in a food processor or mixer until there are no lumps. Add vanilla and mix. Add cream cheese and mix until combined and there are no lumps.
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