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Classic Carrot Cake

sunnyfarmhouse
The only carrot cake recipe you’ll ever need!
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Cook Time 35 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Carrot Cake

  • 1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour Kamut flour is a great option but use scant cups.
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice or other desired spices like nutmeg, ginger, allspice, &/or more cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Pink Salt
  • 4 Large Eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar I prefer dark!
  • 1 cup + 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 4 cups Grated Carrots approximately 1 pound
  • 1 cup Walnuts OR Pecans
  • 1 cup Shredded Coconut I prefer unsweetened.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 12 oz Full-Fat Cream Cheese at room temperature
  • ½ cup Unsalted Butter at room temperature
  • ½ cup Full-Fat Sour Cream Try Daisy!
  • ½ cup Powdered Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Brown Sugar Try dark!
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • ⅛ tsp Pink Salt

Optional Toppings

  • Shredded Coconut
  • Edible Flowers
  • Coarsely Chopped Walnuts or Pecans

Instructions
 

Carrot Cake

  • Make the carrot cake. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of both pans with parchment or waxed paper; grease paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in both sugars. Beat in the oil and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
  • On a low speed, or by hand, beat in the flour mixture in two additions until there is no dry flour. By hand, mix in the carrots, nuts, and coconut.
  • Pour the batter in to the prepared pans ensuring that the batter, carrots, nuts, and coconut are evenly distributed between the two pans.
  • Bake the layers for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove the layers from the pans, and removed the parchment paper, then set them on wire racks to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Make the cream cheese frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the remaining frosting ingredients.

Assembling the Cake

  • Place one layer of cake on a serving plate or cake stand and spread a layer of frosting over the top. Place the second layer of cake on top and frost the top (and sides, if desired).
  • If covered {a glass cake dome if preferable since it will not touch the frosting}, this cake will store nicely at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also store if in the fridge. Experiment by eating the cake at room temperature and straight out of the fridge to see how you like it best. I personally like it best at room temperature 24+ hours after it was baked and assembled.