Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Single Layer or Small Batch)
Moist, lightly spiced carrot cake with silky smooth cream cheese frosting. Your choice of small batch size: single layer or loaf pan!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Single Layer (8 or 9 inch round cake)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 10 Tablespoons oil* (olive, neutral oil, or combination of both)
- ¾ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 2 cup finely grated carrots* (2-3 large)
- ½ cup shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened (optional)
Small Batch (loaf pan cake)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- 5 Tablespoons oil* (olive, neutral oil, or combination of both)
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 1 cup finely grated carrots* (1-2 large)
- ¼ cup shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting for 8 or 9 inch cake
- ½ cup (4 oz) cream cheese*, room temperature
- ¼ cup (2 oz) butter*, room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting for loaf pan cake
- ¼ cup (2 oz) cream cheese*, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (1 oz) butter*, room temperature
- ½ cup icing sugar
- small pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
chopped nuts like pistachios, walnuts, or pecans for topping (optional)
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch round pan with cooking spray, then line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. If making the small batch cake, grease a loaf pan with cooking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper or make a parchment sling to line it.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and brown sugar. Add the eggs (or egg for small batch) and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix with a spatula until combined. Add the grated carrots and coconut, mixing gently and folding until evenly combined. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake until tester comes out clean and cake springs back when touched, about 35-40 minutes for the round cake or 30-35 for the loaf pan cake.
- Let cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan then invert pan to remove and allow cake to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the icing sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix on medium to high speed until light, creamy, and smooth.
- Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake. Sprinkle the top with chopped nuts, if desired. Serve immediately or keep stored in the fridge (covered tightly to avoid fridge smell contamination). I think this cake tastes best room temperature rather than straight from the fridge.
Notes
- Oil - If you have a strong flavoured olive oil, you may taste it in the cake. Depending on your preference, use a more neutral oil or use half olive oil and half neutral oil like canola or avocado.
- Carrots - Grate by hand using a box grater or handheld grater. Do not use store-bought pre-shredded carrots, they are too coarse. The smaller holes on the box grater are better than the big ones, you want small shreds of carrot.
- Cream cheese - use the baking brick of cream cheese, not the spreadable kind
- Butter - you can use salted or unsalted