Carrot cake is a moist and flavorful cake that is perfect for any occasion. It is made with grated carrots, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. The cake is usually topped with a cream cheese frosting, but it can also be topped with a lemon frosting or a cream cheese glaze. This article provides recipes for all three types of frosting, as well as a recipe for the carrot cake itself. The carrot cake recipe is easy to follow and can be made in about an hour. The frosting recipes are also easy to follow and can be made in about 30 minutes. Whether you are looking for a classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting or a more unique carrot cake with lemon frosting or cream cheese glaze, this article has the perfect recipe for you.
Here are our top 6 tried and tested recipes!
CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE-LEMON ZEST FROSTING
Provided by Sarah Magid
Categories Cake Egg Dessert Easter Kid-Friendly Back to School Cream Cheese Lemon Raisin Coconut Walnut Carrot Birthday Organic Healthy Potluck Kidney Friendly Pescatarian Dairy Free Peanut Free Soy Free Small Plates
Yield Makes one 8-inch layer cake or 24 cupcakes
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper (to ensure that the cake will not stick), or place liners in 2 muffin pans for 24 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Place the dried coconut in a cup of warm water to soften and set it aside for 15 minutes.
- Place the carrots in a food processor and pulse on and off for 1 minute. Then add the pineapple and pulse until the carrots are cut into very small pieces and the pineapple is pureed, 1 to 2 minutes.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the brown sugar and use a whisk to break up any lumps.
- Drain the coconut and place it in a medium bowl. Add the oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and carrot-pineapple mixture, and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with a rubber spatula to incorporate but not overmix. When the batter is almost mixed, stir in the additions, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 55 minutes, or until the tops are a very golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (It may look as if the cake is too well done, but it takes a while to bake because it's so dense.) For cupcakes, the baking time is 35 to 40 minutes.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then invert them onto a wire rack and let them cool completely.
- Fill and frost the cake with the Cream Cheese-Lemon Zest Frosting (for added oomph, add 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger to the frosting).
- to decorate
- Fill and frost the cake with cream cheese frosting and let chill. Tint 1/2 cup frosting lemon yellow, and use the 10 tip to pipe 5 dots in a circle to create simple buttercup flowers. Then combine any remaining yellow frosting with some additional cream cheese frosting and tint it leaf green. I use tip #67, which pipes small fern stems. Pipe the center stamen with cream cheese frosting and chill to set.
OLD-FASHIONED CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
A pleasingly moist cake, this treat is the one I requested that my mom make each year for my birthday. It's dotted with sweet carrots and a hint of cinnamon. The fluffy buttery frosting is scrumptious with chopped walnuts stirred in. One piece of this homemade carrot cake is never enough-better than all the other carrot cakes recipes I've tried!-Kim Orr, West Grove, Pennsylvania
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 1h5m
Yield 16 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and oil. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; beat into egg mixture. Stir in carrots., Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in another large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Add enough milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Reserve 1/2 cup frosting for decorating if desired. If desired, stir walnuts into remaining frosting. , Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. If decorating the cake, tint 1/4 cup reserved frosting orange and 1/4 cup green. Cut a small hole in the corner of pastry or plastic bag; insert #7 round pastry tip. Fill the bag with orange frosting. Pipe twelve carrots on top of cake, so each slice will have a carrot. Using #67 leaf pastry tip and the green frosting, pipe a leaf at the top of each carrot. , Store cake in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 531 calories, Fat 28g fat (7g saturated fat), Cholesterol 67mg cholesterol, Sodium 203mg sodium, Carbohydrate 68g carbohydrate (54g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 5g protein.
CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES WITH LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
The classic carrot cake in a smaller cupcake form. Topped with a lemony cream cheese frosting, they make a special treat for Easter celebrations, bake sales, backyard cookouts and potlucks.
Provided by McCormick Spice
Categories Desserts Frostings and Icings Lemon
Time 50m
Yield 24
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For the Cupcakes, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Add oil, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add carrots; mix until well blended. Spoon batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
- Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.
- For the Frosting, beat cream cheese, butter and lemon extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in milk. Frost cooled cupcakes with frosting.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 362.3 calories, Carbohydrate 45.2 g, Cholesterol 51.5 mg, Fat 19.5 g, Fiber 0.8 g, Protein 3 g, SaturatedFat 6.6 g, Sodium 165.9 mg, Sugar 35.8 g
3-LAYER CARROT CAKE WITH LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
This is one of my all-time favorite carrot cake recipes. I inherited this recipe from a close friend about 12 years ago and it's still a favorite!
Provided by Roland G. Mandish
Categories Desserts Fruit Dessert Recipes Lemon Dessert Recipes
Time 2h
Yield 16
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with wax paper; grease wax paper with butter.
- Combine cooked carrots, flour, white sugar, walnuts, pineapple, corn oil, eggs, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl.
- Pour carrot mixture into a food processor, and blend, working in batches if necessary, until smooth. Divide batter among prepared cake pans.
- Bake cakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Beat cream cheese, 1 1/4 cup butter, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract together in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until frosting is smooth.
- Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate and spread with 1/4 of the frosting. Place a second cake layer on top of the first; spread 1/4 of the frosting on top. Place third cake layer on top; frost top and sides with remaining 1/2 of the frosting.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 844.2 calories, Carbohydrate 99.9 g, Cholesterol 117.7 mg, Fat 47.7 g, Fiber 2.6 g, Protein 8.3 g, SaturatedFat 18.7 g, Sodium 492.1 mg, Sugar 77.5 g
CARROT CAKE WITH LEMON ICING
A colleague at work bought this cake in for his birthday that his wife was kind enough to make. This is one of the best carrot cake recipes I've tried, so good I asked for the recipe!
Provided by Terese
Categories Dessert
Time 1h5m
Yield 8-10 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Sift flour, carb soda, mixed spice, ginger and salt into a bowl. Add sugar, carrot and nuts. Make a well add eggs, oil and vanilla.
- Beat well with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed.
- Pour into a well greased ring tin/cake tin. Bake in a moderate oven for approximately 45-50 minutes.
- Cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a cake cooler. Set aside.
- When cold, ice the top of the cake with lemon icing, sprinkle with slivers of lemon peel. This cake will keep fresh and moist for about 1 week.
- TO MAKE THE LEMON ICING:.
- Beat the icing sugar, lemon juice and softened butter well together. Add vanilla essence and if necessary adjust consistency with extra icing sugar or lemon juice.
- Spread thickly onto cooled cake and top with lemon peel.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 475.1, Fat 27.1, SaturatedFat 3.8, Cholesterol 47.8, Sodium 137.7, Carbohydrate 55.6, Fiber 1.6, Sugar 41.2, Protein 4.5
CARROT CAKE WITH LEMON FROSTING
Make and share this Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting recipe from Food.com.
Provided by lkadlec
Categories Dessert
Yield 1 cake, 16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- For Cake: Preheat oven to 350 deg.
- Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.
- Line bottoms with waxed pape r.
- Butter paper.
- Mix together oil, pineapple, eggs, vanilla and carrots.
- Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
- Stir into oil mixture. Mix in walnuts.
- Divide batter among prepared pans.
- Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- Cook cakes in pans on racks.
- For Frosting: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Gradually beat in sugar.
- Chill until firm but spreadable, about 1 hour.
- Turn cakes out of pans; peel off waxed paper.
- Place 1 cake on platter.
- Spread 3/4 cup frosting over.
- Top with second cake. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over.
- Top with third cake. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.
- Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand 3 hours at room temperature before serving.) Garnish cake with flowers.
- ** Actual recipe calls for carrots to be cut into 1/2-inch pieces and cooked in a large pot of boiling salt ed water until tender, about 12 minutes.
- Drain.
- Puree in processor, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.
- Transfer to large bowl and cool.
- I prefer to use the shredded carrots and have had very good results.
- I have also baked this in a large sheet cake size pan and adjusted the cooking time.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 830.7, Fat 46.4, SaturatedFat 17.5, Cholesterol 115.9, Sodium 512.8, Carbohydrate 99.7, Fiber 2.6, Sugar 77.2, Protein 7.9
Tips:
- Mise en Place: Before you start baking, measure and prepare all of your ingredients. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you don't miss anything.
- Use Fresh Ingredients: Fresh ingredients will give your carrot cake the best flavor. If possible, use organic carrots and lemons.
- Grate the Carrots Finely: Finely grated carrots will distribute evenly throughout the cake and give it a smooth texture.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar Together: This will create a light and fluffy batter.
- Add the Eggs One at a Time: This will help prevent the batter from curdling.
- Fold in the Dry Ingredients: Do not overmix the batter, as this can make the cake tough.
- Bake the Cake Until a Toothpick Inserted into the Center Comes Out Clean: This will ensure that the cake is cooked through.
- Let the Cake Cool Completely Before Frosting: This will help prevent the frosting from melting.
- Make the Frosting While the Cake is Cooling: This will give the frosting time to set.
- Spread the Frosting on the Cake Evenly: Use a spatula to create a smooth, even layer of frosting.
- Decorate the Cake as Desired: You can use chopped nuts, grated lemon zest, or carrot curls to decorate the cake.
Conclusion:
This carrot cake with lemon frosting is a delicious and classic dessert that is perfect for any occasion. The cake is moist and flavorful, and the frosting is light and tangy. With a few simple tips, you can make this cake at home that will impress your friends and family.
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