Carrot Cake Recipe for all Occasions
My kitchen has turned into a carrot cake factory since past two weeks. Requests by mom and kids to make this cake have driven me crazy. But that also gave me a great opportunity to tweak my carrot cake recipe many times to arrive at the best carrot cake ever made, atleast by me.
More carrots, less sugar, more whole-wheat, less spice, more nuts, etc… the tweaking options are plenty. But the one tweak I love the most and also have my kid hooked is healthiest carrot cake with lots of carrots, less sugar, less oil, more nuts and presto!! We have been enjoying some real moist, tasty and nutritious carrot cakes and carrot cupcakes for many occasions.
I have been a fan of carrot cake since my childhood. I was introduced to it by my mother’s friend who baked it for me for any special occasion. Soft, sweet, spongy, dreamy and sans-icing, were her yummy carrot cakes. Since then, I have believed that cakes need no icing to go with. Well made and well baked cakes are all we need to bite into. Icing the cake of course is ‘icing on the cake’.
Every carrot cake recipe calls for cream cheese icing which has become a de-facto standard for presenting carrot cake. But this one urges you to enjoy your guilt free carrot cake which has oodles of carrot and all other great ingredients that make it healthy, yet so tasty. This carrot cake recipe calls for no frosting or icing. This batter can also be scooped into cupcake papers to make tasty carrot cupcakes, an all-time favorite with kids.
I have gone light on adding the spice and I wanted more of carrot flavor in the cake. Cinnamon is a great ingredient for carrot cakes as it adds wonderful spice and aroma, even to fresh fruit cakes such as the Apple Cinnamon Cake. You can add host of goodies such as chocolate chips, more cinnamon, nutmeg, garam masala, exotic nuts, chocolate, bananas, other fruits and more to make it interesting. But to begin with, here is the basic carrot cake batter.
Here is my favorite carrot cake recipe – baked to perfection.
Ingredients for Carrot Cake:
How to Make the Carrot Cake in just 5 Steps:
1) Grease baking dish with oil and dust with flour. Keep aside.
2) Sift flour along with baking powder and salt. Keep aside.
3) Whisk eggs, add all the ingredients except the flour.
4) Fold in the chopped nuts. Finally fold in the flour mixture gently.
5) Pour the batter in the greased baking dish and bake at 160 degrees centigrade for about 25 minutes.Skewer test it to see if it is done.
Try this recipe to get the best, warm, fuzzy carrot cake that is not only healthy but tastes great. Drop a line for me if this recipe did wonders to your baking escapdes.
r4 February 9, 2010 at 7:58 am
These are one of my favorites, looking forward to making it. I usually celebrate my b’day at a restaurant, but this time I would like to make this sweet recipe at my birth day and will make it very special.
Thanks!!
Ishrath February 10, 2010 at 8:16 am
Albert: Happy birthday to you. Glad to see an Aquarian here. I really hope this cake turns out fantastic in your oven! Let me know how it was. cheers!
Iniyaal February 9, 2010 at 9:00 am
Looks lovely and so very tasty
Topaz Horizon April 2, 2010 at 11:32 am
I love carrot cake and this recipe of yours looks really yummy! I’ll definitely try to copy it this weekend. Thank you so much for sharing it =)
Ishrath April 3, 2010 at 8:26 am
Try it Topaz! Assured, you wont be disappointed.
Demi April 13, 2010 at 12:26 pm
This does look really nice. Can you make this in separate pieces for each individual helping? Thank you, I will try this later on today.
Ishrath April 13, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Best is to go the cupcake way. Same batter, fewer helpings and less baking time. Enjoy your creations.
Demi April 13, 2010 at 12:27 pm
never mind, I just read the information above. haha.
tabita May 9, 2010 at 1:58 pm
tried it was fabulous thanks a tonne for sharing it
Ishrath May 10, 2010 at 8:54 am
Im glad it helped you, Tabita. Do try the banana cake next time.
Mrs M Ritter November 3, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Tried your recipe this morning and am very pleased with the result…moist & soft and even with less sugar it’s still sweet enough to taste so good. Will leave out the sugar the next attempt for a healthier consumption! Many Thanks once again for posting this wonderful recipe. Will recommend to my friends who love to bake!
)))
Ishrath November 10, 2010 at 6:40 am
Mrs: Ritter: Im so glad the cake turned out tasty – just the way it should be. Im sure you will make it much better and tastier with repeated baking. Let me know if you improvise it further so that I get to hone my skills too.
Also check out my post on healthy banana cake soon
Jane December 11, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Just tried your recipe – absolutely delicious!! The cake is moist and yummy – I dont’ think it’ll last long in my house!!
I’ve been looking for a carrot cake recipe like this one for ages. Thank you so much for sharing it
Ishrath December 12, 2010 at 5:45 am
Jane: So lovely that it turned out well. Makes me feel very happy. Keep baking. I will try to share some more recipies soon.
Cindy January 18, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Was looking for a healthy recipe,for my daughters birthday cake,and I am Weight Watchers aware, so your moist Moreish version fit the bill,and I didn’t need the frosting!! I threw in some dried cranberries. Thanks for my new favorite!
Julia April 12, 2011 at 5:37 am
OMG!!!!! Thank you sooo much for the recipe. It is so good and moist. I was looking for a recipe that doesn’t ask for tons of sugar and oil and this is the only one. I’m not a baker but I have to say that this recipe is what I will take to parties from now on.
Ishrath April 12, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Julia: Im so glad to hear this. Keep baking and arrive at your signature carrot cake… and do share it with me. Thanks for wandering by.
Birdee August 30, 2011 at 11:44 pm
how many servings does this recipe make what size pan should i use?
ishrath August 31, 2011 at 10:41 am
Birdee: I used a square cake tin which is about 8 x 8 inch. I find square tins good for carrot cakes. Let me know how you got it. Thanks for wandering by
moncler jassen heren October 18, 2011 at 1:11 am
Eat well. Stay fit. Die anyway.
Corinne December 15, 2011 at 1:39 am
This was a truly brilliant surprise! I wanted to make a birthday cake for my daughter’s preschool, but I wanted it to be nutritious as well as delicious! AND IT IS!!! Thank you and I will share it!
Celina January 10, 2012 at 7:30 am
This was good!!! got lots of compliments so sharing it with you
Thank you!
Reshmi January 19, 2012 at 2:31 am
I’m so glad I chanced upon this ‘healthy’ version of the carrot cake recipe. Just baked it.. and it turned out amazing!!! Thank you!
I’ve also been checking out the other articles in this site. Must say, you are awesomely talented!!! Keep up the great work! I’m totally inspired
ishrath January 22, 2012 at 11:13 am
Reshmi: So good to hear this. Hope you keep baking, improvising and inventing your own unique recipe. Good luck.
Heba January 22, 2012 at 2:47 am
I tried it it turned out ok but not moist at all. How come there is no liquid in this recipe except oil?
ishrath January 22, 2012 at 11:12 am
Heba: I avoid adding other elements to make it as basic as possible. There are many recipes that call for butter milk, golden syrup, honey, etc. I am happy to forgo most of these for I get a good cake. With oil itself, it turns out quite nice, spongy and greasy enough. This cake is not a wet cake that needs to be doused with a fruit syrup or anything. Hope this helps.
nilitica March 16, 2012 at 3:31 pm
What a fantastic recipe! I baked this cake half an hour ago and I am now enjoying a generous slice with coffee. It turned out excellent, soft and moist, yet full of flavour. I was looking for a carrot cake like this (fewer eggs, no icing) for ages since I am not too keen on indulging in sugar and I always thought five-six eggs for a batter is a bit of a waste. Thanks for showing everyone that you can bake a superb carrot cake with only two eggs and no frosting at all.
I used a bit less sugar btw, because I used dried apricots instead of nuts.
ishrath March 17, 2012 at 10:07 am
Nilitica: So good to hear that you got the cake you wanted. Im as happy as you are. I know there are so many recipes floating on the web.. but to find the right one, that actually turns out right, is the best part. Thank you for wandering by. I hope I can share something more that may help you. Do subscribe to stay posted of my other baking recipes.
Rania April 3, 2012 at 3:07 am
It was excellentttttttttt, we loved it alot. Easy, simple buy delicious! Thank you
jane pier April 21, 2012 at 5:28 pm
your brain is a wandering mist — no food baked with refined flour, sugar and oil is nutritious in any way…you’re only fooling yourself!
Bella May 1, 2012 at 1:07 am
Gonna try this recipe tomorrow! It sounds really good. Instead of using sugar I’m going to use trivia Baking Blend…hope it turns out well!
ishrath May 4, 2012 at 10:53 am
Bella: I dont know about Baking Blend but hope that this cake turns out fantastic for you. Keep me posted!!!!
Leah July 16, 2012 at 9:07 am
Hi Ishrath..i have tried it and it was a success outcome!!i really really love it!!thank you so much for sharing. God bless you
ishrath July 29, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Leah: So glad to hear this. Thrilled here too. Wish I could dig into it too for it has been a long time since I made this one
Lutz July 19, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Hi there, just wondering if you say “vegetable oil” do you actually mean s.th. likerape seed oil?
Lutz
ishrath July 29, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Lutz: Not grapeseed oil. Here in India, we use a lot of sunflower oil and I use that too. What kind of oils do you get there, other than olive?
Camille July 25, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Hi If I make this as cupcakes, how long should I bake it? Thanks!
ishrath July 29, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Camille: For cupcakes, you need to bake for about 15 minutes or keep checking till it is done. Good luck.
Virginia October 20, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Thank you so much for the carrot cake recipe…I´m just about to bake it…the only thing is that I had to add a little bit of milk as the mixture was too dry…I´ll let you know how it was….
Monique November 9, 2012 at 7:16 pm
This was very delicious. Thanks for the recipe! I substituted some peach applesauce for the oil, and added raisins and a few choc chips as you recommended. Wonderful!
Nathali May 14, 2013 at 10:58 pm
Greaat recipe! So Yummy