🍰 Carrot Cake with Nuts, Warm Spices & Cream Cheese Frosting
A moist and generous cake where the natural sweetness of carrots meets the warmth of spices and the crunch of toasted nuts. Each layer is rich and fragrant, topped with a smooth cream cheese frosting that brings freshness and balance.
An Anglo-Saxon classic that has become a timeless favorite - comforting, aromatic, and deeply indulgent. ✨
Here is the complete recipe for a 24 cm (9-inch) round pan or a 20 × 30 cm (8 × 12 inch) rectangular pan 🥄
🛒 Ingredients
🥕 For the carrot cake
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300 g finely grated carrots
-
250 g all-purpose flour
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200 g brown sugar
(or half brown sugar / half white sugar)
-
150 ml neutral oil (sunflower or canola)
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3 large eggs
-
1 packet baking powder (10–11 g)
-
1 tsp baking soda
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1 pinch salt
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2 tsp ground cinnamon
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½ tsp ground nutmeg
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1 tsp ground ginger (optional but excellent)
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80 g roughly chopped nuts
(pecans or walnuts)
-
80 g de raisins secs
(ou cranberries séchées)
🍶 Cream cheese frosting
-
250 g cream cheese (Philadelphia style), well chilled
-
60 g softened butter
-
120 g powdered sugar, sifted
-
1 tsp vanilla extract
👨🏽💬 Preparation
1️⃣ Preheating
Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F).
Line the pan with parchment paper.
2️⃣ Mix the dry ingredients
In a bowl, combine:
-
flour
-
baking powder
-
baking soda
-
salt
-
cinnamon
-
nutmeg
-
ginger
Set aside.
3️⃣ Cake base
In another bowl, whisk together:
-
eggs
-
sugar
-
oil
Until smooth and well combined.
4️⃣ Combine
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Then fold in:
-
grated carrots
-
chopped nuts
-
raisins
Mix gently until evenly combined.
5️⃣ Baking
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
6️⃣ Cream cheese frosting
Whisk the softened butter with the cold cream cheese until smooth.
Add:
-
powdered sugar
-
vanilla
Beat briefly until the frosting becomes smooth and creamy.
7️⃣ Finishing
Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
Decorate with:
-
pecans
-
chopped nuts
-
or a light sprinkle of spices.
🌟 Astuces
-
Finely grated carrots: the finer the carrots, the softer and moister the cake.
-
Best the next day: carrot cake develops even more flavor after resting overnight.
-
Toasted nuts: toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes before adding to enhance their flavor.
💗 Un gâteau d’équilibre
-
deep moistness from the carrots
-
warm spice notes
-
crunch from the nuts
-
freshness from the cream cheese frosting
🛠️ Recommended equipment
👉 Titanium Chef Baker Stand Mixer - Kenwood
👉 Titanium Chef Baker XL Stand Mixer – Kenwood
Ideal for achieving a perfectly smooth batter and a silky cream cheese frosting.
🍴 Serve with…
-
Spiced black tea (chai or Ceylon)
-
Light filter coffee or espresso
-
Cinnamon latte
🌿 Good to know
Carrot cake is a classic of Anglo-American baking. Its particularly moist texture comes from the natural moisture of carrots and the use of oil rather than butter in the batter.
