Carrot cake. I've tried many carrot cakes, and this is my favorite recipe. I feel like carrot cake is a dessert most people tend to only make around Easter. But honestly, carrot cake is such an incredible dessert and I think it should be enjoyed all year long.

It wasn't until recently that we realized just how much we love carrot cake. This carrot cake cake sets the standard for carrot cakes everywhere. It's deeply moist and filled with toasted pecans. You can have Carrot cake using 18 ingredients and 8 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Carrot cake

Prepare of For the cake.
You need 175 g of plain flour.
It's 175 g of brown sugar.
Prepare 175 ml of sunflower oil.
You need 140 g of grated carrot.
Prepare 100 g of raisins.
You need 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
You need 3 of large eggs.
It's 1 teaspoon of baking powder or bicarbonate of soda.
You need 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Prepare 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
It's 1 of orange (optional).
Prepare of For the topping.
Prepare 200 g of cream cheese.
You need 150 g of caster sugar.
It's 100 g of softened butter.
Prepare 1 of orange (optional).
Prepare Handful of chopped walnuts (optional).

Most of its flavor comes from brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and carrots. Carrot cake is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. Most modern carrot cake recipes have a white cream cheese frosting. The origins of carrot cake are disputed.

Carrot cake step by step

Heat the oven to 180C / fan 160C. Oil and line the base and sides of a cake tin with baking paper. I used a square tin about 22cm across - you’ll need to adjust temperature and heat if you’re using a differently sized tin..
Lightly beat the eggs and mix them with the brown sugar, sunflower oil and vanilla. You can use any type of brown sugar, and substitute vegetable oil if you don’t have sunflower..
Stir in the carrots, raisins and if you want an extra bit of zing add the grated zest of 1 large orange..
Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg, and mix it all together. You’ll have a fairly runny batter..
Pour the mixture into your prepared tin, and bake for 30 minutes. If you’re using a smaller tin, you may want a lower temperature and a longer cooking time. It’s done when it feels firm and springy, and a skewer comes out clean..
While the cake is baking, make the topping. Make sure the butter is softened, rather than melted, and mix together with the cream cheese and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. I also mixed in the juice of half an orange. If it’s a bit loose, you can put it in the fridge to set a little..
Once your cake is cooked, leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before you add the topping. Don’t be tempted to do this too soon, or you’ll end up with a runny mess..
When ready, spread the topping generously over the cake, all the way to the edges. Finish with some orange zest and chopped walnuts..

A wonderfully moist, perfectly spiced carrot cake recipe. Whether you want a carrot cake that's dense, moist and full of spice and nuts, or you like Try Rachel Allen's easiest carrot cake loaf for afternoon tea, Dan Lepard's carrot cake cupcakes for Easter, or. This truly is the best carrot cake recipe! It's perfectly moist and delicious, made with lots of fresh carrots, and topped with the most heavenly cream cheese frosting. My family's best carrot cake recipe dates back to my great-grandmother!