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Easy Carrot Cake Recipe

Published: Updated:
Quick and easy

28 Reviews

Total Time
55m
Prep Time
15m
Bake Time
40m
Serves 12
Serves 12
easy
Easy

About our simple carrot cake recipe:

This carrot cake recipe is delicious, moist and ready in under an hour. It’s at the top of our ‘favourites’ list and the perfect go-to for a sweet teatime treat.

The carrots and light muscovado sugar help make it a moist, flavourful bake and add sweetness - all the qualities we look for when creating our classic cake recipes. It's topped with a rich, moreish cream cheese icing, and is best enjoyed with your friends and a cuppa.

Fancy your next carrot cake challenge? Have a go at our carrot cake traybake recipe.

12 ingredients5 steps
  • Vegetarian

Method

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4). Grease and line a 20cm (8inch) cake tin with baking parchment.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk the oil and sugar together, then whisk in the eggs one a time, followed by the vanilla extract. 

    Ingredients for this step

    • 250mlSunflower Oil
    • 225gBillington's Unrefined Light Muscovado Sugar
    • 3Free range large eggs
    • 1 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
  3. Step 3

    Gently fold in the flour and spices, followed by the grated carrots. Mix gently until combined, then turn into the prepared tin.

    Carrot cake poured into a cake tin

    Ingredients for this step

    • 225gAllinson's Self-Raising White Flour
    • 2 tspCinnamon
    • 1/2 tspGround Nutmeg
    • 250gGrated carrots
  4. Step 4

    Bake for 40 mins until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

  5. Step 5

    For the topping, beat together softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla to a soft buttercream texture. Then gently fold in the cream cheese. Chill the topping in the fridge for 10-15 minutes if it is too runny. Meanwhile, carefully cut your cake in half horizontally, sandwich together with half of the cream cheese mixture and spread the remainder on top. Finish with decorations of your choice. Walnuts work really well or alternatively you could pipe carrots with green and orange coloured buttercream icing.

    Buttercream spread on top of a carrot cake on a white cake stand

    Ingredients for this step

    • 125gSilver Spoon Icing Sugar
    • 250gCream cheese
    • 125gUnsalted butter (softened)
    • 1 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract

Ingredients

  • For the Cake

    • 250mlSunflower oil 
    • 225gBillington's Unrefined Light Muscovado Sugar 
    • 3Free range large eggs 
    • 225gAllinson's Self-Raising White Flour 
    • 250gGrated carrots 
    • 1 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract 
    • 2 tspCinnamon 
    • 1/2 tspGround Nutmeg 
  • For the Icing

    • 125gSilver Spoon Icing Sugar 
    • 250gCream cheese 
    • 125gUnsalted butter (softened) 
    • 1 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract 

Utensils

  • 20cm
  • 10in round cake tin
  • Mixing bowl
  • Wooden spoon

Nutritional information per 124g serving

  • Energy 531cal
  • Fat 36g
  • of which Saturates 12g
  • Carbohydrates 44g
  • of which Sugars 30g
  • Protein 5.9g
  • Salt 0.45g

28 Baker Ratings

Made this cake twice tonight, first time I made the mistake of not testing it before taking it out of the oven after 40 minutes it was still raw in the middle.
Made it again with a little longer in the oven and it was absolutely beautiful and enjoyed by everyone after dinner.

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