Easy Carrot Cake
This Easy Carrot Cake recipe couldn't be more simple. Made wit ingredients like shredded carrots and oil instead of butter, this thick and fluffy cake is topped a signature cream cheese icing!
Servings 12 slices
Ingredients
The Cake
- 2 cups carrots, finely shredded
- 1 cup oil, neutral-tasting
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- a pinch of salt
The Frosting
- 9 ounces cream cheese
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Peel the carrots and finely shred them on the "small hole" side of a 4-sided box grater. Then set the shredded carrots aside.
- Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Briefly mix everything with your electric (hand) mixer. Add the eggs one by one and keep beating until everything is well mixed.
- In a different bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon (optional), and salt. Give the ingredients a good stir, then slowly add them to the wet ingredients in small increments while beating with your mixer on the lowest setting. Keep beating until everything is well combined.
- Set your electric mixer aside and fold the shredded carrots into the batter using a spatula or large spoon.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your 13 x 9-inch baking pan by greasing it lightly.
- Spoon the cake batter into your prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly with a spoon or spatula.
- Bake the carrot cake on the middle rack of your oven for approximately 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Since every oven is slightly different, your baking time might vary.
- When the cake is done cooking, remove it from the oven and let it cool.
- Once the cake has cooled, prepare the frosting by beating the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice with an electric mixer until creamy.
- Next, spread the frosting onto the cooled cake. You can optionally decorate the cake slices with bits of shredded carrots or small sugar/marzipan carrots (depending on availability - they are popular cake decorations in Germany).
Notes
- For this recipe, we use a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. If the dimensions of your baking pan are noticeably different, you will have to adjust the recipe accordingly.
- If you don't want to make a cream cheese frosting, you can also make a simple glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice.
- Adding cinnamon will give this cake a "fall/winter"-type flavor. So if you make this cake in the spring or summer, feel free to skip the cinnamon!
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 210mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 3929IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 2mg
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
