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!
Hi Norine
I just find your recipe and I will like to know if I can double it up (thinking using a 25cm x 45 cm pan. I need to make a cake for my husband 60th birthday. The person that was going to make the cake is not available and I only have 2 days. So, he would like me to do it. I am thinking to make a rectangular cake and maybe put some fruits on the top. Do you think is good idea. I dont have much time and I am not a professional.
Hi Rose!
First…Happy 60th Birthday to your Husband. Second…you have plenty of time to make this cake. Let’s get to your questions.
Okay I’m not sure if I’m converting metric correctly, but I think that would be a 9 x 17 inch baking dish? If so…NO! This recipe normally fits into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish so adding only 4 inches and doubling the recipe will result in a huge mess in your oven! You could double it and bake it twice in that size pan and make a two layer cake.
I think you could add fruit on top, truthfully though…I don’t think it needs it. It would be pretty. You could sprinkle the edges with some chopped nuts and it would look beautiful.
This is a FANTASTIC carrot cake and everyone will love it. To me it’s more important that the cake tastes great than look pretty. Make two sheet cakes (rectangular) instead of one. Keep it simple and let the cake do all the “talking”. Trust me…you’ll have raves over this cake! 😉 You’ll do great and you don’t need to be a professional.
Thanks for stopping by…if I can be of more help don’t hesitate to ask. You can email me too at [email protected]
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
Merry Christmas Norine! Hope you are doing well.
Your recipe looks so amazing that I want to make it! I’m just learning to cook though, and since it’s hard to know so many recipes when you’re just starting out, I’d like to make this vegan & gluten free so that I can make it over and over for any kind of company. I used to know this girl whose digestive system didn’t agree with a lot, and seeing her struggle with food made me want to make sure I can feed most anyone!
I wanted to ask about my substitutions, to see if they are reasonable and have a good chance of working out, so I have a good place to start from in learning this recipe.
For the 3 eggs, I was thinking of using 1 cup of unsweetened cinnamon applesauce. I’ve read that a good substitution for 1 egg is 1/4 cup applesauce, however, since the cake is also going to be gluten-free and the flour won’t have as much “sticking power”, I thought I’d add in an extra 1/4 cup.
For the 3/4 cup buttermilk, I was thinking of using almond milk and cream of tartar. I’d heat up 1 cup almond milk for 30 seconds in the microwave and place it into a cup already containing 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, mix, and then let it sit to curdle. I’d have some excess, but that’s okay with me to throw out a little bit of it.
And then finally for the 2 cups flour, I was thinking of using 1 cup almond meal and 1 cup oat flour. The almond meal, I was thinking, might tie in well with the “buttermilk” and the oat flour would add some sweetness and fluffiness to the cake.
Do these substitutions sound reasonable? Do you think they’ll mix well with the coconut flakes, pineapple juice, and especially the walnuts? I’ve never really liked the texture of nut chunks in carrot cake, so I was thinking even if I kept them in I’d make sure the chunks were pretty small. I wouldn’t mind taking them out though if you think that would be better!
Hi Bea!
I’m going to be honest and tell you that I don’t do any vegan or gluten free baking or cooking. Your substitutions sound reasonable to me. However, having never made this cake with these substitutions I have no idea how the cake will turn out, or if it will even taste the same as my original recipe. Any time eggs are removed from a recipe, especially a cake recipe, I get nervous. It’s a leavening agent…and with cake that can be tricky. All I can say is try it and see if it turns out okay. I could also suggest looking to blogs that are dedicated to solely to vegan and gluten free baking. They may have a recipe already in place that would work well with what you are trying to accomplish. With regards to the nuts…you can certainly leave them out.
I think it is wonderful that you are thoughtful of those with food allergies and I wish I could be of more help. You seem very well informed in this area and like I said, they all sound reasonable to me BUT again…I have not tried it myself.
Thank you for stopping by and if you do make the cake with these substitutions I’d LOVE to hear back from you on how it turned out. I’m sure it would be very helpful to other readers in similar circumstances. Good Luck!
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
Hi Norine,
It’s the first time I made a carrot cake. I chose your recipe because it looked moist and light. I’m not a fan of dense cake but its my boyfriend’s favorite so I decided to try it. Your recipe makes the most delicious cake ever. My guests & boyfriend loved it. The cake is airy and not too sweet. The cream cheese frosting was a perfect complement. Thank you!
Hi Lisa!
Thank you so much for your kind comments. I love hearing from friends who have made this cake and love it. I’m so glad everyone loved it…especially your boyfriend. 😉 I hope he appreciates your thoughtfulness.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks again for sharing with me.
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
OMG Norine, Baaaaam!
I love this, I made a variant with extra protein because I’m benching PB’s weekly and I gotta stay pumped! I substituted the sugar for coconut flower nectar and the coconut flakes for dried edible grasshoppers (just as crunchy but heaps of protein) my cousin imports these, they’re amazing!
/C-Rock
The carrot cake recipe was the best I have ever made. I made a 5 layer carrot cake and it was 8” high when I got done frosting it. The next day less than 10 hours later, IT WAS TOTALLY GONE!!!!!! I NEVER EVEN GOT A TASTE OF IT☹️
I ended up making another one and inside of 2 days, it was gone again. I added walnuts, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, and a bit of clove dust to it to give it some zest. It was awesome! I have made 12 of them this month alone and am making 2 more for Christmas and New Years.
Thanks so much for this recipe, I will never lose it.
Hi Hanna!
THANK YOU! 12 Cakes?!!! You’re a ROCK STAR! I need to get on YOUR mailing list! 😉 I’m smiling from ear to ear after reading this. Thanks so much for sharing with me and making my entire day, week, and month! Have a Wonderful Christmas…make sure you get some of that cake! 😉
Happy Nesting and A Happy New Year!
~Norine
Made the recipe and it turned out great! I made it 3 layers it was so beautiful ? will be making it again this weekend!
Hi Meliza (love your name)
I am so happy to hear someone made this into the three layers. It’s so pretty when it is layered with all that luscious cream cheese frosting. Thank you for stopping by and sharing with me. I love making new friends and appreciate the time it takes out of your day to chat with me. Have a Wonderful Christmas!
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
I was looking for a carrot cake recipe that resembled the one I had so many years ago. I had since retrieved it, but it just wasn’t quite the moisture and texture I was looking for. I just found Norine’s Nest recipe yesterday. I made a couple adjustments to my recipe and confirmed some measurements. It is almost the same as NN. I use 2 1/8C flour, 2 1/2C shredded carrots, 1/3t ea of mace, cardamom, nutmeg, 2T melted butter, And I must have 1 1/4C mixed raisins. I am so thankful to find this recipe. The buttermilk is a must too! And it helped me increase the crushed pineapple to 3/4C. I use 1 1/4C walnuts because I like the nut bites. Thank you so much! It helped me so much. I am finally done looking!
Hi Annie!
I’m so tickled to hear from you! I bet with the adjustments and the spices you use this is going to be the BEST carrot cake ever!! Thanks so much for sharing with me. I absolutely love making new friends and hearing from fellow carrot cake lovers! I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season. Come back and visit soon!
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
Thanks for sharing about such a best carrot cake here. I must try it.
Hi Ravi!
You are so welcome! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. Enjoy the carrot cake and have a happy day!
~Norine
Hi Norine,
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday a couple days ago. The only change I made was to only use 1 cup of sugar. I’ve made him a carrot cake every year for MANY years now. I have used a different recipe each year because I hadn’t found the keeper recipe…until now. This is definitely THE ONE! I will be using your recipe every year from now on. My husband loved it and my Mom even said it was the best carrot cake she has ever had. I’ve never been a fan of carrot cake, but I always take a bite or 2. I actually would like this one if I had omitted the walnuts, but my husband likes them and it’s his birthday cake. Thanks for a great recipe that I will definitely make many times!
Hi Cindy!
I am SO flattered that your tribe loved this recipe and you made it for your husbands birthday! Can we be friends on my birthday? lol I love this cake too. It’s hard for me to explain to people just how great this cake is until they try it for themselves. I love the reduction of sugar. Going to try that. It makes great cupcakes too. I made them for my daughter’s graduation party.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share with me. It really means so much when friends take the time to leave me a comment and reach out to me. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year. (with lots of carrot cake in your future!)
Happy Nesting!
Norine
Hi Norine im giving a try to bake this carrot cake today. But my oven is only upto 250degrees 🙁 should i increase the time of baking?
Hi Em!
I’m going to be honest and tell you I’m not sure what to tell you do with a lower baking time. You would obviously have to bake it longer because it won’t cook at the lower temperature. However, I’m not sure how will the cake will rise and maintain it’s original density with the lower cooking times. All you can do is try and you’ll probably have to increase your bake time by 30-40 minutes? Sorry I can’t be of more help. Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. I hope this works for you. It’s a wonderful cake.
Have a great holiday season.
Norine