This classic Carrot Cake is soft, moist, spiced, and slathered in the dreamiest buttercream icing. It’s the kind of bake that you’ll make time and time again – perfect with a cuppa.
There’s a few conversations from my High School years that stick in my mind. There is one in particular though, which I always recall when someone mentions Carrot Cake!
Business Management was one of my most favourite classes at school. And it was by sheer luck that I actually ended up taking it at all. In S4 (Year 11 to those of you South of the Border) we choose what subjects we want to study as Highers (A-Levels in England) and my first choice subjects of Art and English left a remainder subject of either Business Management or Geography… I’m sure most of you sensible people would have made the same decision!
As fate would have it, I ended up in an amazing class, with my all-time favourite teacher and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the business world. In fact, I still use what I learned in that class in my everyday life now.
What’s this got to do with Carrot Cake though??
By S6 and my second year studying Business Management, we now had a lesson on a Friday morning. And in our local area, Fridays are only a half day of school. So because the lesson fell at the very end of the school week, we somehow got into the habit of having cake. Each week we’d take turns to bring in some cake and enjoy it whilst learning about Marketing and Operations.
Well, there was one week that Carrot Cake was mentioned and I can still recall, clear as day, when my close friend in our class piped up and said, “Why is it called Carrot Cake? Does it have carrots in it??”
Of course the entire class erupted into laughter. And since that day, whenever I hear mention of Carrot Cake, or see it on a menu anywhere, all I hear is, “Why is it called Carrot Cake? Does it have carrots in it??”
You’ll be pleased to know that this easy Carrot Cake does indeed have carrots in it! Along with some other delicious additions that make it – in my opinion and the opinions of many others who have tried it – the best Carrot Cake recipe in the world.
How do you make carrot cake?
To make a classic Carrot Cake, mix sugar, sunflower oil, eggs, grated carrots, sultanas/raisins, orange zest and chopped walnuts. Add self-raising flour, bicarb & spices, and fold to make a batter. Divide between two sandwich tins and bake for about 30–35 minutes. Once cool, sandwich the cakes with a buttercream icing and top with more buttercream to finish. Sprinkle with walnuts if you fancy!
Can you use olive oil to make carrot cake?
I mean, you can. But there is better alternatives like sunflower oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, even vegetable oil. Olive oil tends to have quite a distinctive flavour, so opting for a less flavoursome oil is usually a better choice for carrot cake.
Can you freeze carrot cake?
Yes! For the best results, freeze the cakes before adding the buttercream. Simply wrap each cake in clingfilm, then tin foil and freeze until required. Remove form the freezer and allow to defrost before adding the buttercream to the middle and top of the cake.
Ingredients:
Carrots
As we have established, carrots are a vital part of any carrot cake! The amount of carrot is listed in weight on the recipe but I tend to use a medium-large carrot, which will sometimes be a little more or less than 140g.
Sugar(s)
A lot of carrot cake recipes will use fancy brown sugars but I personally prefer to use a mixture of white and brown sugar. The light brown sugar gives the cake a more caramel flavour, with a slightly denser sponge. Where as the white caster sugar gives it a good kick of sweetness.
This recipes state half and half, but if you’ve got more/less of either you can experiment.
Sunflower Oil
Carrot Cake will generally use an oil as opposed to butter or margarine and I’ve found sunflower oil to be my favourite. Coconut oil is also wonderful but will require melting before adding to the cake batter and is somewhat more pricey. However vegetable oil is also a good alternative if that’s what you have to hand.
Eggs
Egg works as a binder in this recipe. I don’t tend to stress to much about the size of eggs in a cake, as long as they’re free-range.
Orange Zest
I’ve tried carrot cakes without orange zest before and it is honestly a game changer that I wouldn’t skip. You can of course swap it out for another citrus fruits zest but I find the combo of orange and carrot hard to beat.
Raisins or Sultanas
Whichever you prefer really. I tend to go with what I have on hand, even if that means mixing the two to have enough.
Walnuts
My most favourite nuts – if our Walnut Biscuits and Date & Walnut Loaf recipes didn’t already give that away! Of course if you have someone with a nut allergy you can bypass the walnuts. However, if you can, I recommend adding nuts as they give this Carrot Cake a beautiful bit of bite. Pecans are also an option if Walnuts aren’t your thing.
Self-raising Flour
As with most cakes, self-raising flour is required. But if you only have plain to hand, fear not! You can use a plain flour with the addition of some baking powder.
Bicarbonate of Soda
Carrot Cake has quite a dense batter, so a little bit of Bicarbonate of Soda alongside the Self-raising Flour helps give the cake a little bit of boost.
Cinnamon and Nutmeg
Two spices that pack a bit of punch and give your Carrot Cake a bit more depth and flavour.
Love this? Try this:
Carrot Cake
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- 75 g Light Brown Sugar
- 150 ml Sunflower Oil
- 3 Free-range Eggs
- 140 g Grated Carrot approx. one medium-large carrot
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 75 g Raisins or Sultanas
- 50 g Walnuts roughly chopped
- 175 g Self-raising Flour
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
For the Buttercream
- 150 g Butter or Margarine at room temperature
- 300 g Icing Sugar
- Zest of an Orange or ½ tsp Cinnamon optional
- 1 handful Walnuts roughly chopped - optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (160°c for fan-assisted ovens or Gas Mark 4). Grease and line two 18cm (7 inch) sandwich cake tins with grease-proof paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the oil, caster sugar and brown sugar, before adding in the eggs; one at a time ensuring they are mixed through well. Add the carrot, raisins/sultanas, walnuts & orange zest and mix to combine.
- Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda, add the cinnamon and nutmeg. before folding the mixture together to create a batter.
- Spoon the batter evenly into your prepared tins and bake in your pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for a little while, before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- In a large bowl, mix the butter/margarine with the icing sugar (and orange zest/cinnamon, if using), until you have a light and fluffy buttercream.
- Once completely cool, spread half the buttercream on the top of one of your Carrot Cake layers, sandwich the other on top and spread the remaining buttercream on top. Finish with chopped walnuts to finish, if desired.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
- For full explanations on each ingredient and possible substitutions, see the Ingredients section above.
- Carrot Cake should be stored in an airtight container, and will keep for about 1 week.
- You can freeze Carrot Cake, preferably before adding the buttercream icing. Tightly wrap your Carrot Cakes in clingfilm, then again in tin foil. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to warm to room temperature before adding the buttercream to the middle and top. Do not re-freeze once defrosted, and do not leave in your freezer for more than 3 months to avoid freezer-burn.
Free-from & Vegan
Gluten-free: To make this a gluten-free Carrot Cake recipe, replace the self-raising flour for gluten-free self-raising flour.
Nut-free: To make this a nut-free Carrot Cake recipe, omit the nuts from the recipe and add some extra dried fruit instead.
N.B. Any advice or suggestions to make recipes “free-from” or vegan are purely that – suggestions. Please be careful to double check all ingredients individually, taking extra caution when serving to those with allergies & intolerances.
Originally published in May 2020. Updated in April 2025.
Thank you to Naomi Seiler for creating the updated photos.
15 responses
Can’t comment on the carrot cake cis just got the recipe. But, the lemon cake is just gorgeous. A huge hit with 3 generations.
I cannot get this to print .im on email list by the by first husband was half Scottish loved the Scottish food which entered my diet.irish fish my mother made couldn’t hold a candle to Scottish fish n chips with hp sauce and vinegar sad to say my husband does all cooking baking my daughter an only child brutally murdered domestic violence March 1 2004 you might say I don’t do much tg for Mike plus he enjoys cooking I truly enjoy reading your recipes thank you
Hi,
Could you leave out the walnuts from the cake mix?
Or what could be replaced if you need some kind of nut?
Thanks
Hi Tina. Details on how to make this cake nut-free are listed in the ingredients list and the Free-from section.
Can’t comment on the carrot cake yet, I need to see these measurements in cups and teaspoons, etc.!
Would appreciate that you convert. Thank you.
https://bakingwithgranny.co.uk/why-do-we-use-grams/
I made this cake at the weekend, the first carrot cake I have been made and I WILL be making it again…it’s was absolutely delicious. I only got one slice as everyone else thought so too!
Can’t wait to try the new Gingernuts recipe now!
This was my first attempt at carrot cake, I love cake but not butter icing so I didn’t have a piece of this. However the friends who did assure me that it was delicious :)
Cake was enjoyable to make not tasted yet. I found the icing was too runny so had to add more icing sugar to thicken up.
I made the Banana Bread in the week as lost my normal recipe, Oh My Days, it is beautiful, so moist & it didn’t last long – beautiful!!!
Hi Granny and Amy. Please advise what size round tin you use for the carrot cake. Also, what ingredients I could use for vegan buttercream, please? I made easy cinnamon swirls and they were absolutely delicious, a bit sweeter than my family is used to but that’s a simple fix next time. Thank you
Just use vegan margarine like dairy free vitalite or soya margarine
I’ve made a few carrot cakes using different recipes, but this is the best! I use orange cream cheese frosting instead of the buttercream, but that’s just a personal preference (and my nephews!) I also slice the 2 layers into 4 so I can put the frosting inside the cake for easy transporting if I’m taking elsewhere. Great recipe thank you :)
Hi Amy I want to make the carrot cake in 2 x 8inch tins would I need to increase the ingredients
Many thanks
Carol
Thank you Amy for the carrot cake recipe. I made it today and it was lovely. I made half the buttercream and just filled the cake with it and dusted the top with caster sugar. I will definitely make it again.
Made the Carrot Cake last week, i can honestly say it was delicious & moist, nobody refused a slice and no bad comments.
Now onto the Lemon Drizzle which seems to have some great reviews.