My Family's Favourite Carrot Cake
A soft and moist homemade carrot cake filled with grated carrot and cinnamon, finished with an easy cream cheese icing.
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Ingredients
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
Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 50 g butter softened
- 150 g cream cheese softened
- ¼ tsp vanilla essence
Optional
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C bake. Grease and line a cake tin with baking paper.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon to a large mixing bowl. Stir until evenly combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix until just starting to combine.
- Add the grated carrot and fold through until evenly distributed. Don't overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and spread evenly.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.
- To make the cream cheese icing, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
- Add the vanilla essence and icing sugar and beat until smooth and well combined.
- Spread the icing over the completely cooled carrot cake.
- Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, if using, before slicing and serving.
Notes
Stacey's Kitchen Tips
- Don't overmix the cake batter — a gentle mix helps keep the cake soft.
- Measure the carrot after it has been grated.
- Let the melted butter cool slightly before adding it to the eggs.
- Make sure the cake has completely cooled before adding the cream cheese icing.
Variations & Substitutions
- Add a little nutmeg or mixed spice for extra warmth.
- Swap the walnuts for pecans or leave the nuts out completely.
- Skip the cream cheese icing and dust the cake with icing sugar for a simpler finish.
- Make the batter into muffins instead, reducing the baking time to approximately 20–25 minutes.
Servings: 12 Slices