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Carrot cake with maple cream cheese frosting. This is the best carrot cake recipe ever, with pineapples and spices. The cake is moist, crumbly, with a sinfully good frosting.
Carrot Cake Recipe
One of my favorite root vegetables is carrot.
I love carrot in my soups, drinks (carrot juice), so it’s no surprise that I also love carrot cake.
Even though the idea of adding carrots to a cake is rather unusual, but carrot cake is so delicious!
This carrot cake recipe is from Life is Great. The cake is topped with a rich and decadent maple cream cheese frosting.
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How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 397 calories per serving.
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Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrot cake with maple cream cheese frosting. This is the best carrot cake recipe ever, with pineapples and spices. The cake is moist, crumbly, with a sinfully good frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 18 oz. 510 g can pineapple slices
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 3 cups grated peeled carrots
- 2 inches fresh old ginger (finely grated)
- 1 cups walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 2 packages cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C /gas mark 4).
For cupcakes:
- Line 24 cupcake molds (2 12-standard muffin tins) with liners, or butter and flour them.
For layered cakes:
- Butter two 9-inch-diameter or three 8-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment, butter and flour paper; tap out excess flour.
- If using walnuts, lightly roast them on a baking tray or a frying pan, about 4-5 minutes. Leave to cool before processing them finely.
- Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger in medium bowl to blend. Set aside. Place the pineapple slices in a blender and add some of the juices from the can. Discard excess liquid. Puree until smooth and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk sugars, pineapple puree and oil until well blended. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add in the flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the vanilla, carrots and fresh ginger. Add in the walnuts and raisins, if using them.
For cupcakes:
- Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each. Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in pans for about 5 minutes. Transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before icing them.
For layered cakes:
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans, and bake the layers for about 30 minutes each for 8-inch cakes or about 40 minutes each for 9-inch cakes; or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for about 15 minutes. Turn out onto cooling rack. Peel off parchment; cool cake completely before icing.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat all the ingredients on medium speed until fluffy. Chill the frosting for about 20 to 30 minutes or until it has set up enough to spread smoothly and hold its shape.
For cupcakes:
- Place the maple cream cheese frosting into a piping bag fitted with your tip of choice and pipe onto cooled cupcakes accordingly.
For layered cakes:
- To assemble a layered cake, with an offset spatula, frost the top of one cake and place the other cake on top. Repeat for a three-layered cake. Frost the sides and top with a thin layer of frosting, chill the cake for about 30-45 minutes. Frost the cake completely to cover and decorate with swirls on the top. Chill cake for at least 30 minutes or till frosting is set. Bring to room temperature before slicing.
Notes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
For a soft batter and a cake with a melt-in-your-mouth crumb, like Smitten Kitchen I grated the carrots by hand with a box cheese grater and like her, I will not lie to you - it takes some elbow grease to get the required 3 cups. You can use the food processor but you will get thicker pieces - take care not to over do it or you will end up with carrot pulp swimming in carrot water. Like most cakes without butter and using oil instead, this is a very moist one so I chilled the cooled layers in the freezer prior to frosting.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 397
Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Polyunsaturated Fat 11g
Cholesterol 48mg16%
Sodium 250mg11%
Carbohydrates 62g21%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 46g51%
Protein 4g8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I baked the cupcakes version. I find the inside very long to bake and it took a me about nearly 30 mins to get the internal done. Otherwise when I test, it is still sticky and I keep adding on 2 mins until it is done.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hi, if I only bakes the cake and don’t do the maple cream cheese layering, is it ok ?
You sure can!
This cake is not only beautiful but it tastes amazing. Everyone comments on how good it is. Very moist. Different than any other carrot cake I have tasted. I have very few favorite deserts… this is one of them!
Hina, that’a awesome, please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipes/baking-recipes/
This by far my favorite carrot cake. It is also often requested birthday cake by my family
Hi Brenda, awww, thanks so much for liking this carrot cake recipe!
I made this cake today as a test run for my husbands birthday this weekend, it was amazing! Everyone, including all 5 of my young kids, loved it – which is not always an easy task!
I cooked the entire mix as one large square cake, it cooked perfectly, I plan to make two batches for a large square, 2 layer cake for the party.
No changes needed, I just need to try the sugared hazelnuts and source some local matcha powder.
Thank you so very much, my husband insisted on a carrot cake and I am so very glad I found this recipe.
Hi Deanne, I am so happy that you had success with this carrot cake and that everyone loved it. Happy birthday to your husband. :)
can you give me this cack i want now for eate
very nice
Hello! I love your photography and recipe sounds amazing! I was hoping you could please share with me where your cake plate is from? It’s gorgeous! Been looking for a nice one for a long time. Thanks in advance
Thank you so much for this lovely post ..
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times and it is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone LOVES it! No adjustments to the recipe needed. Thank you for an excellent recipe! :)
Thanks Jania!!