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World’s Best Carrot Cake

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Hundreds of have spoken…this is The World’s Best Carrot Cake! Layers of moist flavor filled cake with coconut, crushed pineapple, carrots, spices, and nuts come together with a delectable cream cheese frosting.

World's best carrot cake on cake stand with a slice on a plate in front

I felt like I needed to add more veggies to my diet so I made my favorite carrot cake! Ummm…Heck yeah! I’m happy to report that about three more slices of this baby and my eye sight should be back to normal!

I’m obsessed with this carrot cake recipe! It truly is the “World’s Best Carrot Cake”! That is no exaggeration. This recipe ALWAYS receives rave reviews! (It makes me look good!)

It’s the perfect balance of everything I love!  This cake is bursting with flavor and ultra moist, but not overly sweet like some traditional carrot cakes.

How To Make The World’s BEST Carrot Cake

First you are going to place your wet ingredients into the mixer and blend.

wet ingredients in mixing bowl of mixer

Next add your dry ingredients and mix.

Cry ingredients for Carrot Cake

Then add your carrots, pineapple, coconuts and lastly the nuts and mix again. (Nuts are optional)

carrots, nuts, pineapple, and coconut

When you have blended all the ingredients together you’ll have a very thin batter like pictured below.

Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans, or you can do two 8-9  inch cake pans too. I wanted a three layer cake with thinner layers because I love how this cake looks with three layers. It’s a personal choice and totally up to you!

Tip: I only had two cake pans so I baked two, and then did the third after the first one had slightly cooled and I could invert it onto my cake plate.

carrot-cake-batter

Once you have baked your cakes  in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, place on a cooling rack and allow them to completely cool in the pans!

cakes cooking on rack

The reason for this… remember how I said this cake is “moist”…it’s really moist! I placed mine face down on a cooling rack the first time, and had to carefully lift mine with two spatula’s. (It’s a nightmare you don’t wanna live through! Trust me!) Place your cake pan up against your cake plate and invert.

Use your favorite cream cheese recipe (I’ll include mine…I promise) Frost the tops of each cake layer.

carrot-cake-4

I love that this cake is only frosted between the layers. You could go around the outside if you really want to, but Mars and I are not huge frosting fans so this method of just frosting in between the layers and on top is perfect for us.

I don’t do a ton of frosting either, just a nice medium layer. Again this is a personal choice. You can do whatever floats your boat! (Don’t take all your baking advice from me! lol  I’m the lady eating cake to get her vegetable count in!) (wink, wink)

carrot-cake-5

Here is the finished cake. I didn’t go all fancy with piping frosting around the edges or adding any garnish. I really believe sometimes more is just that…more! Not necessarily better.

This cake so beautiful on it’s own! It doesn’t need all that “Froufrou”! (I hate my kitchen table and am re-doing it soon!!! Just in case you were wondering.)

cake on cake stand

I do think it deserves a moment of silence…. tick- tock…tick-tock….

Okay… enough of that! Let’s get to the good part…the eatin’! Ooooh…so super moist and so yummy! Makes eatin’ your veggies a divine pleasure!

One bite and you can feel yourself start to elevate to new heights! (I said “heights” not “weight”! This cake has fruit and veggies it cancels out all calories!… Your Welcome! lol)

Slice of carrot cake on plate

Frequently Asked Questions About Carrot Cake

  • Can I use desiccated coconut? Yes you can! 
  • What is the bake time for a 9 x 13 cake? It’s about the same cook time, but be sure to check the cake and if it springs back in the center its done.
  • How long should I bake these if I make cupcakes? Adjust the cook time to 18-22 minutes.
  • Why did my carrots turn green and is the cake safe to eat? The carrots turned green because they contain pigments that are sensitive to to changes in pH balance. When shreds of carrots come into contact with the alkaline baking soda, a chemical reaction takes place that causes pigments to change color. Make sure that the baking soda is well mixed into your batter. The cake is safe to eat. It just doesn’t look super pretty. Side note…I’ve never had this happen. That’s because I mix my flour and baking soda well before adding wet ingredients.
  • Can I use fresh pineapple instead of canned? YES! Just be sure to pulse in your food processor or chop finely. Reduce amount by 1/4 cup.
  • Can I bake this cake the day before hand or several days before hand? Yes! Be sure to cover the cake well so that it won’t dry out. 
  • Can I freeze the cake after baking and frost it later? You can, but I caution that it will be extremely moist and very hard to handle. DO NOT FROST the cake and freeze it. 

I made this for dessert the other night and my kids… who both told me they don’t usually like carrot cake…loved it! Mars who has always “Passed” on my carrot cake asked for a slice and then proceeded to “ewww and ahhhh” and ask me why he’s never tried it before? (Mmmmm…That’s a question only the other martians can answer! Us Venusians eat any carb covered in frosting!)

If you like this Carrot Cake here are some other great Cake Recipes

The printable recipe is located below.

If you try this recipe…I’d REALLY love to hear from you! I want to know if you love this splendid carrot cake as much as I do.

 Have a GREAT day! Happy Veggie Eatin’!

Photo of Norine and her signature.
Yield: 16 servings

World’s Best Carrot Cake

World's best carrot cake on cake stand with a slice on a plate in front

This recipe makes a fabulous and moist carrot cake. Five stars all the way! I always get rave reviews whenever I serve this cake! It makes amazing cupcakes too!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two or three 8 inch pans, depending on if you are doing a two layer or three layer cake. You can make either two thicker 8 inch cakes or three thinner layers. It's up to you and the desired look you're trying to achieve.
  2. In your mixer bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. mix well.
  3. Add in your flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix till well blended.
  4. Next add your carrots, coconut, crushed pineapple with juice and chopped walnuts. Mix till just blended.
  5. Pour into prepared 8 inch cake rounds, bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Check to see if done. If finger lightly pressed in center bounces back it is done.
  6. Allow to cool in cake pans. Invert onto cake plate and frost each layer.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. 1/2 cup butter (softened)
  2. 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
  3. 1 tsp vanilla extract
  4. 1 lb. powdered sugar
  5. Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and sifted powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth. Test the consistency of the frosting. Too thin? Add powdered sugar 2 Tablespoons at a time. Too thick? Add a teaspoon of milk at a time.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 328Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 5g

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Kathleen

Sunday 26th of March 2023

This cake is amazing. I've never used pineapple and buttermilk but having done so, its very very delicious. Everyone who came over had to have some and one friend had to take some home for her husband.

norine@norinesnest.com

Monday 27th of March 2023

Hi Kathleen! I'm SO glad you enjoyed this cake! Isn't the pineapple amazing in this carrot cake? It's one of my favorite additions to this carrot cake. Thanks for stopping by and sharing with me. I hope you'll come back soon! Have a great week! Norine

Morgan

Thursday 9th of March 2023

Hello Norine!

I'm so excited to make your carrot cake today for my boyfriend's birthday! I had a question for you because he loves raisins and I was wanting to include it to the recipe, but didn't know how much and how that would affect the baking process? Any suggestions would be so helpful!

Thank you!

norine@norinesnest.com

Monday 13th of March 2023

Hi Morgan! I'm SO sorry I'm just seeing this...I took a couple days off! You can add raisins and I would do about 1/2 cup. I hope your boyfriend had a wonderful birthday and enjoyed your gift of love in the form of this favorite Carrot Cake! Have a great week! Norine

Darlene

Monday 20th of February 2023

Do you think this carrot. Cake recipe can be made in a rectangular cake pan? I am going to a banquet. For special needs kiddies and don’t want to make a layer cake! Thanks

norine@norinesnest.com

Wednesday 22nd of February 2023

Hi Darlene! Sorry for the delayed response. I've been out of the office. YES! It can be made in a rectangular cake pan. I've made this cake as cupcakes, bundt cake, and sheet cake. It works well. You will want to keep an eye on it during baking just to make sure that you don't over bake the cake. My best to all the wonderful kids! Norine

Rita

Tuesday 7th of February 2023

This is the best carrot cake recipe have ever tried. Flavors balanced not dry, not so overly sweet like most other carrot cake recipes,I used pecans which worked great. I took it to a Birthday party and everyone loved it. This recipe is a keeper.

norine@norinesnest.com

Wednesday 8th of February 2023

Hi Rita! Thank you so much for your kind review! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It is hands-down my favorite cake recipe. Come back soon! Norine

Cathy

Thursday 1st of December 2022

I after losing my carrot cake recipe I was a little nervous making this recipe for the it’s time for my husband’s birthday party but it came out amazing and everyone loved it. Thank you.

norine@norinesnest.com

Thursday 1st of December 2022

Hi Cathy! I'm so glad you found this recipe and that it turned out great for your Husband's Birthday Party! Happy Birthday to him. Thanks for stopping by! Come again! Norine

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