World’s Best Carrot Cake
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.

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 eyesight 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.

Next add your dry ingredients and mix.

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

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.

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!

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 spatulas. (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.

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)

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 is so beautiful on its 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.)

I do think it deserves a moment of silence…. ticktock…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!… You’re Welcome! Lol)

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!)
Here are some other great Cake Recipes
- Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- The Best Dark Chocolate Cake with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream
- Cake Mix Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Best Vanilla Cake with Special Buttercream frosting
- Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese frosting
- Best Pound Cake Recipe from Julia’s Simply Southern
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’!


World’s Best Carrot Cake
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
- 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.
- In your mixer bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. mix well.
- Add in your flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix till well blended.
- Next add your carrots, coconut, crushed pineapple with juice and chopped walnuts. Mix till just blended.
- 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.
- Allow to cool in cake pans. Invert onto cake plate and frost each layer.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lb. powdered sugar
- 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
Meet The Author
Hi! I'm Norine, the cook, baker, and recipe creator behind Norine's Nest. I love sharing and creating recipes that invite family, friends, and neighbors to gather around the dinner table. Sharing good food and creating memories with those we love brings me happiness. Thanks for stopping by my Nest!
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.
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
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.
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
Getting ready to make this delicious cake. Can I use three 9″ cake pans?
Hi Cathleen!
Sorry this response is late. I was busy cooking. Yes you can use 9″ cake pans. Sorry. Hope this worked out for you.
Happy Holidays!
Norine
Hands down the very best carrot cake I’ve ever made. It’s become my go to recipe and I’m now known for it and have been requested to make it. I don’t take credit though. You’ve perfected it.
Hi,
I made this cake yesterday and it was soo delicious. It’s moist, fluffy and lots of favors. I reduced the sugar because my husband like the sweetness to be to the minimum and it was still perfect. Thank you for this great recipe.
Hi Rana!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It is one of my very favorite recipes. It is very forgiving to changes. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. We hope you’ll come back soon.
Happy Nesting!
Norine
I would like to make this in a bundt pan. How long do I bake it?
Hi Christy!
Great Question! I recommend starting out setting your timer for 35 minutes. This cake is known for baking quickly! So start there and check it. You may need to add another 5-10 minutes.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope this helped a bit.
Norine
I baked this cake as cupcakes. They were delicious!!! Everybody asked me where did you buy it. Im from south africa!!!I just love your recipe!!!! Its the best!!
Hi Ursula!
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us! We love hearing that our carrot cake recipe is loved by others. It is one, if not THE one, of our favorite recipes! I love making cupcakes out of this recipe. I made them for my daughters graduation one year and everyone reacted like your guests did. Made me feel so good.
Hope you stop by again soon! Have a great weekend.
Norine
Hi
Can I substitute water for buttermilk? And if I use dried carrots how much would I need to use for this cake?
Thank you
Hi Janet!
No you can’t substitute water for the buttermilk. I’m sorry. Also I have no idea how much you would need for Dried carrots. I’m sorry. Maybe one of our other followers can help?
Thanks,
Norine
@Janet, I have a similar recipe and the difference is it uses 1.5 cups of oil instead of 3/4 cup of buttermilk and 3/4 cup of oil. So if you can’t use milk in your recipe, you can just double the amount of oil and it should turn out just fine. I do prefer the buttermilk, but I understand not everyone can have milk in their diet, so I wanted to offer this bit of help. I know your comment is from 2022, so maybe you already found your answer. The recipe with 1.5 cups of oil is one I spent years trying to replicate that my friend made and she finally gave me, but I had found Norine’s recipe before my friend relinquished hers and I think it’s better, even though the oil and buttermilk are the only differences.
Has anyone made this with gluten free flour??
Hi there, I’d like to exclude pineapple and add cranberries-are there any adjustments I need to make to the recipe?
Hi Kristy!
This is a really interesting question! Are you adding fresh cranberries or dried? My concerned with fresh might be the tart to sweet ratio…another concern I have the moisture content in adding fresh cranberries. I have never added cranberries to this cake, so in all honesty I can’t give you a clear answer. If it were me…I’d just add the cranberries and see what happens. I think you’ll be fine. I might suggest chopping the cranberries rather than leaving them whole just to give the cake a consistent consistency and a better bake.
Hope that helps some. I’d be really interested in knowing how this turns out with this substitution.
Norine