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carrot cake recipe with cream cheese and toasted pecans on top
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Easy Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

This simple carrot cake recipe will serve a crowd or makes amazing muffins too! A great recipe for carrot cake that is perfect for beginner bakers.
Course Cake Recipes
Cuisine North American
Keyword baking, best carrot cake recipe, cakes, carrot cake, desserts, easy carrot cake, easy carrot cake recipe, simple carrot cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 24
Calories 403kcal
Author Judy Kahansky

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake

  • 4 eggs
  • 1  cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp cloves
  • ½ cup applesauce unsweetened
  • 3 cups grated carrots
  • 1 cup chopped pecans toasted

Frosting:

  • ½ cup butter softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans = toasted to sprinkle on top - some people like to mix them in we prefer them added at the very end.

Instructions

  • Making the cake batter Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. I use butter to grease my cake pans.
  • greasing and flouring a 13 x9 baking pan for the best carrot cake recipe
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, brown & white sugar and the vanilla
  • simple carrot cake mixing eggs and sugars with whisk in a glass bowl
  • Mix in all the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon,nutmeg & ginger
  • carrot cake recipe mixing wet and dry ingredients in a glass bowl with wooden spoon
  • Using a wooden spoon mix in carrots. The final step is to add the pecans.
  • easy carrot cake recipe mixing in carrots and pecans
  • Pour the batter  into your greased and floured 13 x 9 pan.
  • pouring carrot cake batter into the prepared cake pan
  • Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let your cake cool in the pan for about 8 to 10 minutes.

  • Making the frostingIn a medium sized glass bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, powdered (icing) sugar and vanilla. Using a mixer (stand mixers are great for this step!) beat everything until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
  •  
    mixing cream cheese and butter for cream cheese frosting
  • Spoon it all over your delicious carrot cake.Sprinkle with the toasted pecans
  • easy carrot cake spreading cream cheese frosting
  • easy carrot cake sprinkled pecans on top

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 222mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 36g
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