Spiced Carrot Cake

This simple and delicious spiced carrot cake recipe ticks all your boxes! It’s packed full of freshly grated carrots, warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and smothered in a tangy cream cheese frosting. Best of all, it works out perfectly every single time!

In all honesty, this is the best spiced carrot cake I’ve ever tasted anywhere. Better than any patisserie carrot cake, and even better than my Grandma’s carrot cake. It’s very forgiving, too, meaning that if you’re not 100% exact with measuring your ingredients, the recipe will forgive you. It’s simply the best.

While we are talking about cakes, be sure to try out my delicious lemon drizzle cake as well, everybody in my house loves it!

Ingredients – What You Need

For a full list of ingredients – including quantities – please see the recipe card below. Here are the main ingredients and why I use them:

Spiced Carrot Cake

• Carrots. Freshly grated carrots deliver a level of moisture that works really well with this recipe. I’ve tried using store-bought shredded carrots to save time, but they are just too dry. Also, don’t be too fussy about the quantity of carrots; the recipe can withstand up to an extra cup, and can also work with less.
• Eggs. Allow eggs to come to room temperature before using. Room temperature eggs mix more easily into the batter, help the cake batter rise, and keep cooking times more consistent and therefore reliable.
• All purpose flour. Also known as plain flour, all purpose flour does not contain salt or a leavening agent. Self-rising (sometimes called self-raising) flour does a small amount of salt and a leavening agent (ie, baking powder). Therefore, if you are using self-rising/ self-raising flour, please halve the amount of salt and baking powder in this recipe.
• Olive oil. If there was a debate between olive oil and butter (in terms of healthiness), olive oil would always be the clear winner. Butter is mostly saturated animal fat – type we should limit in our diet. However, naturally plant based olive oil is mostly monounsaturated fat which is good for heart health because it helps to lower cholesterol. And it works really well in this recipe; the end result is rich and tasty – I promise!
• Nuts, dried fruit and spices. The recipe below works perfectly every time and tastes delicious. However, if you feel comfortable adjusting the flavors, you can use whichever nuts, dried fruits and spices suit your tastebuds (and pantry items!). Just stick to the quantities I’ve listed in the recipe card below.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream cheese. I use full fat cream cheese and recommend you do the same. In my experience, lite cream cheese has a softer texture and doesn’t keep its form so well on the cake.
• Powdered sugar. Also known as icing sugar, so don’t confuse it for granulated sugar. It beats well with the cream cheese to produce a great tasting and textured frosting.
• Heavy cream. Also known as double cream or dollop cream, it has the highest fat content (usually somewhere between 40-60%. The lighter/ thinner the cream you use, the runnier your frosting will be. If you use a lighter/ thinner cream, you will need to add cornstarch (or corn flour).

Instructions – What To Do

For detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below. However, these are the basic steps, so you’ll notice there’s nothing difficult involved!

• Preheat the oven to 350℉ (or 180℃).
• Grease and flour the cake tins and line with parchment.
• Grate the carrots.
• Combine dry ingredients into a large bowl.
• Whisk eggs in a medium bowl.
• Add wet ingredients to egg mixture.
• Fold wet & dry ingredients together.
• Add grated carrot, nuts and fruit.
• Spoon batter into cake tins and bake for 45 minutes.
• Test and remove from oven when done.
• Allow to cool on rack.
• Make frosting while cake cools.
• Beat cream cheese in medium mixing bowl until creamy.
• Add in powdered sugar and heavy cream (and cornstarch, if you’re using it) and keep mixing.
• Chill frosting in refrigerator until cake has cooled.
• Spread 1/3 frosting on top of base cake, 1/3 frosting on top of top cake, and remaining 1/3 frosting for the sides.
• Garnish with chopped nuts, serve and enjoy!

Spiced Carrot Cake Tips

There are several ways you can customize my spiced carrot cake recipe to suit your taste or dietary requirements.

• Spiced Carrot Cake Muffins. If you would prefer muffins (or cupcakes), spoon the batter into 24 muffin paper liners. Reduce the baking time to 25 minutes, but test for doneness after 20 minutes. Don’t forget to allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan before turning out onto a cooling rack.
• Single Layer Cake. The cake will work if it’s cooked in one large slab tin, rather than two 9-inch tins. Remember to increase the baking time to 55 minutes, but test for doneness after 50 minutes.
• Dried Fruit. My recipe is really versatile; you can substitute the dates for any dried fruit, like apricots, cranberries, raisins, sultanas, blueberries or a dried fruit mix.
• Nuts. Likewise, you can use any type of nut. I prefer walnuts or pecans, but you slivered almonds also work well, as do roughly chopped macadamia nuts.
• Pineapple. You can add some freshly chopped or drained canned pineapple into the mixture. Substitute 1 cup of grated carrot for 1 cup of chopped, drained pineapple pieces. Delicious!
• Shredded coconut. Yum! If you’re a fan of coconut, try this variation! Add 1 cup of shredded coconut to the grated carrot, cover, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This gives the coconut time to soften into the carrot, taking on some of its moisture. Then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and proceed according to recipe instructions. Delish!!

I said at the beginning that this is the very best spiced carrot cake that I’ve ever eaten – bar none. I’m really keen to hear whether you agree with me or not, so please leave me a note in the comments. And I’d love you to leave a great star rating, too, if you’ve enjoyed this cake as much as I do! Thanks!