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I’ve always been a fan of carrot cake but not the stuff that tastes like it was made with a cake mix, in my mind carrot cake should be chunky, chewy and spicy and that’s just what this Fully Loaded Carrot Cake is.
If you like this type of cake, be sure to try my Australian Lumberjack Cake as well!
This Carrot Cake Has EVERYTHING
You either hate it or you can’t get enough of it but the fact remains, carrot cake is one of those universally served cakes that you can find gracing almost every menu around the world. The history of the cake is a bit unclear but the one that rings true the most states that the cake originated back in 1800’s in a book called “L’art du cuisinier” but whether that’s factual or not is unclear.
Ingredients
You can get the full list with the correct measurements in the recipe card below but is what you’ll need to gather:
- coarsely grated carrots
- raisins
- drained crushed pineapple
- pineapple juice reserved from above
- brown sugar
- eggs
- white sugar
- oil
- vanilla
- flour
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cloves
- ginger
- walnuts
How to Make Carrot Cake
To make this carrot cake, you’re going to need quite a few ingredients as I like to make sure mine is chock full of the crunchy, chewy goodness that makes this cake so tasty.
- Combine the carrots, raisins, pineapple, 2-3 tbsp of pineapple juice, and brown sugar.
- Mix the eggs, white sugar, oil, and vanilla together.
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- Add the raisins mixture to the eggs one and combine. Then add in the flour and spices. Lastly, in go the walnuts, so they retain some crunchiness.
- Spoon the batter into a well-greased and floured 9×13 pan.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until you can poke a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
- Serve with my cream cheese buttercream icing or my basic buttercream icing recipe on top.
Tips and Tricks
- For your grated carrots, remove some of the juice by pressing them with a cheesecloth, or, if you are like me and don’t have any, a thin cotton tea towel will also remove the juices without leaving fibers in the food. Just pat them a little bit.
- Try not to overbake this! This is meant to be a dense, moist cake.
Now, this carrot cake made it into my first cookbook, that’s how good it is!
Happy baking!
Love,
Karlynn
Fully Loaded Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups coarsely grated carrots
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple reserve juice
- 2-3 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved from above
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 cup of walnuts
- 1 batch cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Combine the carrots with the raisins, pineapple, 2-3 tbsp of pineapple juice and brown sugar
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, white sugar, oil and vanilla together.
- In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- Add the raisin/carrot mixture to the eggs one and combine. Then add in the flour and spices, mixing until combined completely. Stir in the walnuts.
- Spoon the batter into a well greased and floured 9×13 pan, add in this chunky, awesome batter. This is not for the fainthearted!
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until you can poke a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
Notes
- Frost this with a cream cheese icing for the best results!
Nutrition
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Have you tried making this in a bundt pan? Just wondering with all the surfaces how it might turn out. Thanks.
Charlotte says
This carrot cake was terrible!!! what a waste time and money! so dense and not moist at al
Lisa says
I made this for my friend’s birthday, it was perfect! They raved about it! I made it in a 9×13 metal pan lined with parchment paper for easy release. I stored it in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic and then frosted the next day. SCRUMPTIOUS!
Lori Thurrott says
Can I substitute some of the oil for applesauce? What would you recommend?
Trisha G Dahl says
Can I put this in cupcake liners/pan? Will they turn out and release from the papers? Thank you!
Diane VanGorder says
Is the 1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon a typo? Thanks
Allison says
Hi Karlynn, from a fellow Winnipegger! Carrot cake is my absolute favourite…I had it as my wedding cake a long time ago. I froze the top tier in the deep freeze, and when I got divorced, I ate the evidence! LOL – I couldn’t resist telling that story. Anyway, if I leave out the walnuts, should I replace them with extra raisins? I’ve just never been a fan of walnuts. Thanks! Love your recipes so much!
Karlynn Johnston says
Hey!! LOL that’s a great story about the wedding cake! 😉
You can totally leave out the walnuts and add in extra raisins if you want! Hope you enjoy!
LHyde says
Can this same recipe used to make muffins??
Mama K says
My son wanted carrot cake for his birthday this year. (He’s turning 8. What other 8yo wants carrot cake for their birthday???) Anyway, I chose this recipe because it had nearly double the carrots of other recipes I found online and because it called for brown sugar (which I increased slightly, while also decreasing the white sugar).
My house is now filled with the glorious smells of all these spices, and my son voted to start eating it warm–without frosting (again, what 8yo wants cake without frosting???)–so that he didn’t have to wait any longer. Ah-ma-zing!!
Since we have cake at lunch AND supper for birthdays (because what kiddo wants to have singing and candles only once?!?), we’re planning to add the cream cheese icing for our second round this evening. Can’t wait!
Thanks for the delicious recipe. We’ll definitely be making this one again!!
Karlynn Johnston says
I’m so glad that it was a a hit for his birthday! He has good taste! Happy birthday to him!
Karlynn says
Fabulous! I love that it turned out for you and that it improves with age! We eat it too fast to have known that….
brandi says
I made this cake one week ago for my boyfriend; we are on a “carrotcake quest” as we call it. We wanted something chewy, chunky, loaded and moist. This cake has just gotten better and better as the week has elapsed; allow me to elaborate.
Firstly, I baked it in a 9″ round springform cake pain (hey, it’s what I had laying around). So, it took over 60 minutes to bake. Seriously, I stopped counting. I’d just reset the timer for another 10 and then come check once more. Not done? Repeat.
But our patience was rewarded. It finished cooking completely and, too eager for words, we brought it out, waited 10 minutes, and slathered it with a simple cream-cheese buttercream frosting that I whipped up. The outside of the cake was a bit tougher/crunchier/crisper than I had wanted it to be. However, the great news is that as the cake (wrapped in plastic wrap) sat in the fridge all week, this crust has softened and the inside has firmed up, making a dense, super-moise cake. I also like that the nuts have softened somewhat. In short, every day that we take another piece, we both agree that the cake gets better and better and better. It honestly has improved with resting in the fridge all week. This is a recipe I will definitely make again.
Next time, I will be soaking the raisins in rum prior to making, and adding a touch of orange zest. Otherwise, no changes. The cake was PERFECTLY what we wanted. Thanks so much for sharing.
Dave says
Would be nice to state what kind of flour. Some may use the wrong type and ruin their efforts.
Lori says
Me again Karlynn. For some strange reason, I can not read any update about this gorgeous bad boy your are posting.
So. Short of using *egg replacer* (yuck yucky poo poo chemicals) or flax eggs (I dont really want the *nutty flavour*), what do you reccomend? Come one smart lady. I want some cake. I even bought TOFFUTTI to make the cream cheese. Do you know how hard toffutti is to come by in this area. My lord.
Please please please tell me.
Id give you six stars….but theere isnt a sixth. LOVE this cake.
Rowena says
Hi just wondering if it’s Self Raising Flour or Plain? Looks delish!
Karlynn says
Plain flour.
Heather says
No prob, that’s what I figured since there’s no other fat in the batter. It came out beautifully!! He’s going to love it, thanks!!!!
Heather says
Where’s the oil come in? I’m assuming with the wet, but even in the pic I can’t tell. I’ve never seen a carrot cake batter without oil, but this is a bday present for someone and I wanna make it perfect 🙂
Karlynn says
Yes with the wet, sorry about that! Fixed it.
Jackie says
Hi
Can I make this into a layer cake.
Karlynn says
You can try two small 8×8 round pans, but with such a thick, chunky batter you will have to be very careful handling it once it’s baked. It’s not a fluffy cake that will stand up to some moving and shifting
Lori says
This little gem is baking as I type this, the smell is wafting through my house – making the dreary winter day, warm and spicey!
Ever helped (read splashed) stir the batter, and I think I ate more batter than cake.
I love it.
Unfortunatly for Michel he hates carrots, sultanas, ginger, and walnuts – SUCKA! More for US!
Lori says
I will make this in T’ville. On the boat. Oh my gawd it sounds divin.
Karlynnize a lumberjack cake for me! If u ever have a moment! Drools…