Homemade Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I hope everyone had a beautiful Palm Sunday! We enjoyed some family time yesterday grilling outside, swimming in the pool, and then making this fun homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting in the afternoon.

This simple carrot cake turned out delicious and was so easy to make. It’s super moist, full of carrot goodness and finished with a simple cream cheese frosting that tastes amazing.

I iced this cake when it was still slightly warm, so it absorbed even more of the frosting between the layers. This isn’t the correct way to do it, but it sure makes it taste amazing and makes the cake even more moist!

The cake recipe is super simple. Just start by hand grating up 1 lb of carrots. Yes, this cake has a whole lot of carrots! And then add sugar, oil, eggs and dry ingredients.

For the oil, I use peanut oil for a nuttier taste. It pairs really well with the flavor of the carrots. I also added yummy bourbon vanilla extract and delicious cinnamon.

After the cake is baked, I make the cream cheese frosting simply out of a stick of butter, block of cream cheese and four cups of powdered sugar.

Then I add a little bourbon vanilla extract before shipping it up until it’s nice and creamy.

Then I wait as long as I can, and then ice the cakes.

Then instead of getting orange and green frosting, I just went to my yard and got some fresh sprigs of rosemary to help decorate my cake.

This was so simple and the smell of the fresh rosemary is amazing too!

Yield: Serves 16

Homemade Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

3.40 stars (5 reviews)

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Cook Time:   50 minutes    Total Time:   1 hour 10 minutes
method: Baked    course: Dessert
cuisine: American   diet: Enjoyable

A delicious recipe for Homemade Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

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Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups peanut oil (can substitute vegetable)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract
• 1 lb grated carrots (about 3 cups)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

• ½ cup softened butter
• 8 ounces softened cream cheese
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract

For garnish:

• fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2-3 baby carrots

Directions:

Heat oven to 350° and butter and line 2 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add grated carrots and ix well. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix well and combine the dry ingredients with the wet.
Mix well and pour into prepared cake pans.

Bake caked in oven for 40 - 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of cakes comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in pans and then run a sharp knife around the edge of cakes to make sure the cakes didn't stick to the sides of the pan. Then turn cakes out on cooling racks and cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Frost cake and decorate with fresh rosemary and baby carrots. Add chopped pecans if desired.

RECIPE NOTES:

• Optional: Add 1 cup roasted, chopped pecans to cake batter and 1/2 cup roasted, chopped pecans for garnish.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: 405 calories, 26 grams fat*

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All text and images © Angela McGowan / Eclectic Recipes

*Nutritional Information is not guaranteed for 100% accuracy.

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Hope everyone has a fabulous Easter and enjoys this hopefully non-busy time in our lives. Just remember to live in this moment and make it the best you can!