Introduction

Every family seems to have a few recipes that are made again and again, and this carrot cake is one of ours.

It’s a simple, old-fashioned style of cake with plenty of grated carrot, a good amount of cinnamon and a soft texture from the combination of butter and oil. Then there’s the cream cheese icing on top, which for me is one of the best parts of any carrot cake.

There’s nothing complicated about the method either. The dry ingredients are mixed together, the wet ingredients are added, then everything is combined with the grated carrot before going into the oven.

You can keep it simple with just the cream cheese icing or add chopped walnuts on top if you like a little crunch. Either way, this is the carrot cake I come back to when I want something reliable for afternoon tea, visitors or simply a bit of baking for the family.

Watch the Video

You can watch me make My Family’s Favourite Carrot Cake over on my YouTube channel.

In the video, I take you through the recipe from start to finish, including making the cake batter and finishing the cooled cake with that simple cream cheese icing.

It’s a straightforward recipe that doesn’t require any fancy decorating or complicated techniques — just a good homemade carrot cake that we’ve enjoyed plenty of times in our house.

Watch the video here: My Family’s Favourite Carrot Cake

Other Recipes You May Like

If you’re looking for some more easy homemade baking, you might also enjoy:

• Cranberry & White Chocolate No-Bake Slice
• One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
• Apricot & Coconut No-Bake Slice
• The Easiest Cinnamon Scrolls

How to Make My Family’s Favourite Carrot Cake

This cake is very straightforward to put together. The biggest job is grating the carrots, and once that’s done, the batter comes together quickly.

Ingredients

For the Carrot Cake

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 5 cups grated carrot
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup oil

For the Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 50g butter, softened
• 150g cream cheese, softened
• ¼ tsp vanilla essence

Optional

• ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C bake. Grease and line your cake tin with baking paper.

Add the plain flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon to a large mixing bowl. Stir together until evenly combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until they are just starting to come together.

Add the grated carrot and fold it through the batter until evenly distributed. Avoid overmixing — you only need to mix until there are no obvious pockets of dry flour remaining.

Pour the batter into your prepared cake tin and spread it out evenly.

Bake at 180°C for approximately 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin before transferring it to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before adding the cream cheese icing.

How to Make the Cream Cheese Icing

Make sure your butter and cream cheese are softened before you start. This will make it much easier to get a smooth icing.

Beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.

Add the vanilla essence and icing sugar, then beat again until everything is well combined and you have a smooth, spreadable icing.

Once the carrot cake is completely cool, spread the cream cheese icing generously over the top.

If you’re using walnuts, roughly chop them and sprinkle them over the icing before serving.

Stacey’s Kitchen Tips

• Don’t overmix the batter. Once the wet and dry ingredients come together, mix gently. This will help keep the finished cake soft.
• Grate the carrots fairly finely. They’ll distribute more evenly throughout the cake and soften nicely as it bakes.
• Measure the carrot after grating. This recipe uses a generous 5 cups, so you’ll get plenty of carrot throughout every slice.
• Let the melted butter cool slightly. It should still be liquid but doesn’t need to be piping hot when it’s added to the eggs.
• Use softened butter and cream cheese. This will give you a much smoother icing without little lumps of cold butter.
• Cool the cake completely before icing. Cream cheese icing will soften quickly if it’s spread over a warm cake.
• Check with a skewer. Baking times can vary between ovens and cake tins, so use the 35–40 minutes as a guide.

Variations & Substitutions

• Walnuts: Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the icing, fold some through the cake batter, or leave them out completely.
• Pecans: These can be used instead of walnuts if you prefer.
• Extra spice: Add a little nutmeg or mixed spice alongside the cinnamon for a warmer spiced flavour.
• Simple finish: Skip the cream cheese icing and dust the cooled cake with icing sugar instead.
• Muffins: Divide the batter between muffin tins rather than making one large cake. They’ll cook more quickly, so start checking them at around 20 minutes.
• Icing: If cream cheese icing isn’t your thing, a simple vanilla buttercream would also work.

Storage, Freezer & Make-Ahead Notes

Room Temperature: The un-iced carrot cake can be kept covered at room temperature for a short period, provided your kitchen isn’t particularly warm.

Refrigerating: Once you’ve added the cream cheese icing, keep the cake covered in the fridge. For a softer texture, take the amount you plan to serve from the fridge a little before eating.

Freezing: The un-iced carrot cake freezes well. Once completely cool, wrap the whole cake or individual slices well and freeze. Allow it to thaw before adding the cream cheese icing.

Make Ahead: You can bake the cake a day ahead, allow it to cool completely and keep it covered until you’re ready to ice it. The cream cheese icing can also be prepared ahead and refrigerated; let it soften slightly before spreading it over the cake.

Final Thoughts

Some cakes are made for special occasions, while others become the recipes you pull out whenever you feel like doing a bit of baking. This carrot cake definitely falls into the second category for us.

It’s simple, generous and packed with carrot, with just enough cinnamon running through it. The cream cheese icing gives it that classic carrot cake finish without needing to do anything elaborate with the decorating.

And that’s probably why it has stuck around as a family favourite — it’s just a good homemade cake that everyone is happy to see sitting on the bench.

Stacey