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The Ultimate Carrot Cake Recipe

Any special occasion calls for this decadent, loaded homemade carrot cake! Packed with sweet pineapple, carrots, raisins, and coconut and topped with a from-scratch cream cheese frosting, this is THE ultimate carrot cake recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Southern
Keyword Carrot Cake, holiday recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author I Heart Recipes

Ingredients

Carrot Cake:

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350.
  • In a large bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and sugar.
    3 eggs, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3/4 vegetable oil, 1 tbsp vanilla, 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
    2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • Slowly add the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until fully mixed together.
  • Next, fold in the shredded carrots, raisins, coconut, and pineapple until well combined.
    2 cups shredded carrots, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, 1/3 cup crushed pineapple
  • Divide the batter into two 9-inch pans. Be sure to grease and flour them, or use parchment paper.
  • Bake the cakes at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until done.

How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • Cream together the softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract using a stand mixer or hand mixer.
    8 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar to avoid lumpy frosting. Mix until smooth.
    4 cups confectioners sugar

To Decorate the Cake:

  • Allow the two cake layers to cool completely before frosting. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
  • Place a small dollop of frosting on a cake platter, then place the bottom layer of cake. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the cream cheese icing. Place the top layer, then finish frosting the cake.