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!
Hello! I can’t wait to make this cake!!!!
I’m not a baker lol! So, the butter…is un-salted or salted butter?
Hi Jenny!
I used salted butter in this cake. Sorry for overlooking that detail. Hope you have a wonderful week. Thanks for visiting.
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
This recipe looks amazing f!! I am allergic to pineapple. What do you suggest as a substitute so it stays moist?
Hi Ellen!
That’s a really great question! The two substitutes I think would work best are either applesauce or a can of peaches, chopped up fine like the crushed pineapple and include the juice. Hope that helps.
Thanks for visiting me! Have a GREAT Holiday!
Happy Nesting ~
Norine
Thinking of baking this for thanksgiving this year! (Think cake would be better to take than another side dish??♀️). I LOVE carrot cake! I will probably bake them in glass rectangle pans too, like someone mentioned above. I’ll take one to my moms and the other to my in laws. Question… how would you suggest I store the cake? I have a little 7mo old baby girl and as much as I’d love to bake these the day of thanksgiving–I highly doubt that will happen… so I’m thinking of baking them the day before —maybe even two days before ? Truly feel like I can’t get much done with having to attend to her ? Also, would you recommend I make the icing ahead of time too? Think I may have to do the icing the day of ? Thanks for taking the time to share and respond to everyone’s questions!
Hi Silvia!
Oh those little babes are so wonderful! I think you are being very practical in your thinking. Here’s the good news! If this were me I’d make the cakes up the day before and frost them…or bake the cakes two days before, cover them really well so they don’t dry out. Frost them the day before, cover them with plastic wrap, and put them in the refrigerator. I stack two rectangular pans on top of each other by placing a cookie sheet or baking sheet, in-between the two. Does that make sense? The morning of Thanksgiving just take them out so they can warm up to room temperature and the frosting will be soft and not firm from the cold of the refrigerator. Truthfully you can even make these up and cover them and leave them out for a day or two. They will be fine. I’ve done it numerous times. Yep, even with cream cheese frosting, but if you’re worried about it…refrigerate them. The sooner you can get the frosting on the cakes the better because it will help keep them from drying out. This is a really moist cake. It truly is the BEST I’ve ever had. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thanks for visiting with me. I’m always happy to help.
Happy Nesting
~Norine
Thanks Norine!!
You are so welcome!
How long would I bake if I made it in a rectangle glass pan. Making for thanksgiving and thought it would be easier to transport.
Hi Debbie!
Your bake time will be just a little bit longer. Check the cake at 40 minutes. It might need 5 more minutes, but shouldn’t need more than a total of 45 minutes. Hope this helps. This is going to make a GREAT Thanksgiving dessert. You’ll be the hit of the day! 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting with me. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.
Happy Nesting ~
Norine
The comment regarding the picture on the print page? Perhaps she should take her own advice to be considerate and simply thank someone for a wonderful recipe given to her? Just my thoughts. Sorry – that comment just left me bewildered and sad that someone would write that to the person kind enough to share this recipe with her! Thank you, Norine, for an awesome recipe and your absolutely beautiful cake picture! I love photos with recipes! 🙂
Hi Tasha!
Thank you for your sweet support! It truly means the world to me. I love sharing my passion for cooking yummy food with my friends. It brings me a lot of joy and happiness. What I love even more is making awesome friends like yourself you send me such wonderful supportive messages. Thank You! I hope you have a fantastic weekend and visit me often! 🙂
Happy Nesting!
Norine
I made this cake and followed the recipe to the T . It was DELISH !!!! My husband loved it,too !!! 🙂
Hi Steph!
I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed this cake. It truly is my very favorite! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to share with me. I love making new friends and hearing from those who make my recipes! Have a GREAT weekend!
Happy Nesting~
Norine
Have you ever tried, or would you advise against, using brown sugar instead of white sugar? I see a lot of carrot cake recipes that use brown sugar, and I’m wondering what that would do.
Hi Suzanne,
I have never tried brown sugar instead of white sugar with this cake. I wouldn’t recommend it because the processing on these two sugars is different and the brown sugar contains more “molasses” than the refined white sugar. I think the brown sugar would be too heavy and moist for this cake that is already really moist. If you do try it let me know. I’d be curious to see how it turns out. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
Thank you for sharing recipe. I was searching for a carrot cake recipe, picked yours based on your cake picture, so glad I did. This is my absolute favorite cake. I had a recipe but lost it. Thank you again, I hope I can continue to see your recipes.
Hi Minnie!
I’m so glad you liked this carrot cake recipe. I’m flattered you liked the photo. Thank you. It’s my favorite cake too and I’ve been craving it like mad lately! I need to make it again. 😉 I hope you come back and visit with me again real soon. I love making new friends here at my Nest.
Have a GREAT week ~ Norine