Moist Carrot Cake
This Moist Carrot Cake is unbelievably moist and full of flavor. Carrots, crushed pineapple, cinnamon, and nutmeg give this carrot cake that classic taste. I know everyone likes their carrot cake made differently but this version stole my heart. The perfect dessert for Easter.
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MOIST CARROT CAKE
If you’re looking for an easy moist carrot cake, this is it! Easter is just around the corner and you cannot have Easter without a good carrot cake in your back pocket.
This is a sheet cake which means no double layers, no intimidating frosting job…it’s pretty straight and forward. Of course you can make this double layered if you want.
This version uses crushed pineapple and oil to get it’s incredible moisture.
I know you might be cringing at the oil part but in my opinion you just can’t get that kind of moisture with butter.
I have replaced half of the oil with applesauce and it works great so know that can be an option.
DIFFERENT CARROT CAKE RECIPES
Full transparency I have three carrot cake recipes on my site. Here’s the breakdown.
- This Moist Carrot Cake in this post – this is made in a 9×13 and the most pineapple out of all the recipes giving it the most moisture. This is the most popular carrot cake recipe on my site.
- Carrot Cake recipe: This recipe is full of spices and has a bigger crumb.
- Easter Carrot Cake recipe: Is my go-to. It’s no fuss, always turns out, and is super moist with pineapple in the batter.
CARROT CAKE FROSTING
The cake is frosted with my favorite cream cheese frosting.
It’s equal parts butter and cream cheese and with carrot cake you want a little bit more of the tangy cream cheese flavor to come through.
I said the pecans were optional but I really liked them on top for texture and taste. Enjoy!
FREEZING:
You can freeze the cakes up to three months. Bake as directed and let cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. When ready to use frost frozen cake and let sit at room temp until using or frost and store in the fridge.
OTHER EASTER RECIPES:
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
- Easter Bunny Cake
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Watergate Salad
- Carrot Cake
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Funeral Potatoes
- Carrot Cake Truffles
Moist Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded carrots
- 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup chopped pecans, (optional)
FROSTING:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- (optional) chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish or two 9"inch round cake pans. In a large bowl, beat the first six ingredients until well blended. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pecans if using; gradually beat into carrot mixture. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
- For a 9x13 cake bake for 35-45 minutes, for 9" round cake pans cook for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You can cover it with foil towards the end if the top looks like it's getting too brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. If freezing, see notes.
- For the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth adding a little milk if needed. Spread over cooled cake and topped with pecans if desired. Cover and refrigerate until serving. If making a layer cake, you will need 1.5x the frosting.
Made it for my adult son’s birthday (his fav), and celebrating Mother’s Day with family. As he and other family members said “The cake was amazing!” This recipe is so moist & delicious! 😋
Aw thank you Charlotte!
Can you bake in bunt pan
You could but I haven’t tested it to be sure.
Best carrot cake recipe ever. I work in a senior home and this is hands down a favorite of our twenty ladies that we care for. Twenty ladies all agreeing ? I know right… You’ve got to try this recipe
Oh wow, That’s awesome
Excellent!
Thank you!
The only carrot cake I make🥰
My favorite carrot cake recipe! Thanks for sharing! X
You are welcome!
Hi does this recipe only use baking soda and no baking powder?
Baking soda and baking powder are both leaveners. When the baking soda reacts with an acid (pineapple in this case) it causes the cake to rise. That’s why baking powder isn’t necessary.
my absolute favorite recipe, made it 5 times now, thank you!! just wondering if it freezes well? xx
I haven’t tried freezing it!
This is the best carrot cake! Super moist, and my family loves it. It’s Delicious!!
Thank you!
The recipe sounds delish and I love carrot cake. Pineapple gives me acid reflux. If that is makes the cake moist may I use some cinnamon apple sauce instead? If so how much would you suggest that I use? Thanks so much!
Yes, just use a 1 for 1 substitution. Should work great!
Can this recipe be halved???
Yes!
Hi I’m baking the carrot cake I guess my pan is different so if not fully baking in the middle so adding more time then the time you gave us. It definitely smell delish and thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Hi Christy,
Can I make this same cake in an angel food pan? Do you think any of the cooking instructions would change?
Thanks!
Sarah
Yes, the cooking time would definitely be different but I’m not sure what time. I would check to see when brown on top and done in the middle.
Hey, I was wondering, if I wanted to bake this cake into 2 layers, would I need to dbl the recipe? Thanks so much!
Nope! should be good for two layers.
What kind shredded carrot to get,,,is bag ok or get carrot and grate it
As small shredded as you can!
Hi Christy – my husband loves the J. Alexanders Carrot Cake. Since you live in South Florida I thought that you might be familiar with that restaurant and would know if the cakes are similar. Thanks.
Hi, found this recipe through Pinterest because my boyfriend loves carrot cake. Then I realized we went to high school together! Oh the craziness of the internet!
Becaaaaaaa. Oh my gosh. Hiiiiiii! It’s been 20 years.
I made this before and it was awesome 😋 I’m wondering if I can make cupcakes with this recipe?
I’m sure you can!
Can this be made using less sugar? The answer is yes, I suppose…but just wondered how it tastes. Anyone tried this with less sugar?
Of course. It would be to taste so I’m not sure how much.
So for the powdered sugar… Is it 3cups and 3/4 cups of it? Or 3 of the 3/4 cup? Lol sorry for the confusion
Sorry if that’s confusing. It’s 3 cups plus 3/4 cup total. Does that make sense?
This is now my go-to carrot cake recipe. I used fresh pineapple I crushed in my food processor, but honestly, the canned would be just as good and not as much work! Everyone who had some raved about it. And I thought it worthy of joining my arsenal of awesome cakes to take to pot lucks!
Well I’m glad it passed!
Hey! For sugar do you use white sugar or brown?
I use white but brown would work too!
Hi. If i want to make these into cupcakes, how long should i bake and at what temperature
I would do 350 for 15-18 minutes.
Cake was very moist, but EXTREMELY bland! Thank goodness for the icing. Very disappointed in this recipe overall.
I’m sorry that you feel that way.
Super moist, easy and tastes great
Definitely keeping this recipe to make again
So good to hear!
It’s only bland of you don’t shred the carrots enough. I use the smallest grader . So small i have to squeeze some of the moister out . If anyone has a negative outcome it’s something they did because i don’t even like carrot cake but this recipe i changed my mind. It’s the best!!
Aw thanks!
I made this today in Dhaka, Bangladesh! Turned out fabulous! Bengalis love cake so I WILL be making this again. I toasted the pecans before sprinkling on top. NOT optional- totally necessary 🙂
I agree. And welcome! All the way around the world.
Can I use fresh pineapple? And brown flour?
Sure! I don’t see why not.
Just made this – too much sugar! The cake mixture needs no more than half a cup and the frosting around quarter cup I reckon.
Sorry. I guess my sweet tooth is different than yours.
this recipe for carrot cake was scumptus.we ate it in one day.yummy.although i never use oil in cakes,i sub with applesause.it was so moist .cant wait to make it agian.
This is hands down the most delicious and moist carrot cake recipe! How have I never used pineapple before??? I followed the suggestion of using the fine shred side on my box shredder to ensure this cake had the carrot throughout. I’m going to confess this. I forgot the eggs! All 4 of them!! I thought the cake was a goner. It was a perfect cake despite. Please do not ignore the small addition of nutmeg. It added that extra something. The frosting was spot on creamy and buttery. Would not change a thing. Still sublime after a week in the fridge but I’ll freeze some next time to avoid too many trips to Splurgeville, haha! Thank you! This one goes straight into the recipe box with credit to you!
I just pulled out from my oven…. something went wrong. I bake 3 round pan and they will not measure more than 3″ in height when stacked. Did not rise, seems they are very densed. Afraid to frost and waste the cream cheese frosting. Hmmm? Any thoughts?
Sounds way off. Are you sure you added eggs?
Amazing. I doubled the recipe. Adding 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup pecans nuts, and an extra cup of carrots. I also Added half cup extra crushed pineapple with the juice. I kept the oil at 1 cup, and added cloves, all spice, and salt to the mixture. I used 3 cups brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar. The cake itself came out not too sweet with a perfect amount of sweetness from the frosting. I decorated the top of the cake with pecans and toasted coconut. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
I just moved and can not find my cake pans but I did find a bundt cake pan, could I use that?
Beautiful moist carrot cake. Didn’t change a thing……..
Thank you!
Did you ever add raisins to this recipe?
No but you sure could.
Where’s the baking powder?? I made this recipe, and thought ” gosh, shouldn’t there be baking powder in a cake recipe?” And surprise! It hardly rose! I shoulda gone with my gut and looked for another recipe 😣.
Baking powder and baking soda have the same lifting agents. Baking soda just needs an acid (like pineapple) in this recipe to do it’s magic.
This cake is SUPER MOIST and really good…the only thing I would change is I would add a bit of salt or lemon juice just for a slight “tang”…its a bit more bland than I thought it would be. For many years, I have had an amazing recipe for a carrot cake almost exactly like this. I took the recipe out of town to fix, and somehow lost the recipe (praying I will eventually find it!!)…so I was looking for a recipe that was as close as possible to the one I’ve used for years. This was ALMOST as good…just that one little thing is all I’d change! Thanks for an easy to follow YUMMY recipe!
Thank you for your feedback Laurie!
Do you think I can use coconut oil instead of canola and use applesauce for the sugar?
Sure! I think that would be great!
I usually make the traditional version of carrot cake but saw this and had to try it. I love it. I made a second into a bundt cake with pecans in the batter for a family gathering and it was a hit. I left off the frosting too, as the cake is so yummy without it. Thanks for sharing this. Will definitely be making it again in the future.
Thank you!
Can I freeze this? I’d like to make it in advance to save some time!
I’m sure you could freeze it but I haven’t tried.
Can i make cupcakes with this recipe? And would the frosting be thick enough to pipe?
The frosting is definitely thick enough to pipe. I haven’t tried them in cupcake form but I don’t see why not.
what does prepared pan mean? you don’t say anything of that
It just means the greased 9×13 dish that I talk about in the first line of the instructions. Sorry if that was confusing.
Just made this a few minutes ago! BEST carrot cake recipe i have ever had. I halved the recipe and put it into two 8×8 pans. Giving one half to a sweet coworker, and another half to my parents!
So glad you agree!
this was amazing!! so delicious, best ever!!!
Yay!! love hearing that
Would I be able to completely leave out the pineapple since I don’t have any on hand?
It’s definitely what makes this extra moist. I wouldn’t leave it out.
This recipe is pure delight (even though I had to grate the carrots by hand, eek!). It turns out very light, and I used all oil. Next time, though, I am going to cut down the amount of frosting because it was excessive. Sugar coma.
Haha. Yes. I guess that’s why I like it.
Has anyone cut this recipe in half and baked it in a 8 inch pan?
Made this today….crazy good! Split in half, and use GF flour for my daughters half….just as good! Thanks!
Ooh! Perfect! Glad it worked gluten-free.
Your instructions say you replaced half the oil with applesauce, but the recipe doesn’t include applesauce. Do I use 1/2 cup canola oil & 1/2 cup applesauce (to equal the 1 cup canola oil the recipe calls for), or use 1 cup of both canola oil and applesauce? I want to try this, but don’t want to taunt my family with the promise of carrot cake that doesn’t completely bake b/c I included too much liquid. Thanks for your reply!
You can replace the oil with applesauce if you wish. Just an option. So you could use 1/2 cup canola oil and a half cup of applesauce.
hey girl I would love this! Yummy!
Gorgeous cake Christy! Your photos are always so simple yet show stopping. I want to be like you when I grow up. Oh and crank up that reality TV, squeaky mice are no joke! 🙂
Haha. You’re so funny!
I think she meant to say crushed pineapple and then if you want you can replace 1/2 the amount of oil with applesauce.
Thank you. Yes I did.
I wondered the same thing about the pineapple versus applesauce. Hey, Christy, help us out here……thanks!
Sorry! Use the crushed pineapple called for in the recipe. If you want to replace some of the oil with applesauce you can using equal amounts.
I think I’m confused. Does she mean crushed pineapple instead of applesauce? She mentions applesauce twice. So can half of the 1 cup of oil be subbed with that?
Sorry! I fixed it.
No she means applesauce instead of oil, you need the pineapple, just wouldn’t be as moist without it
Yum!! This sounds great! Thanks for sharing! I love your other carrot layer cake that you have posted…which one do you prefer? Thanks!! 🙂
totally different. Don’t make me choose!!
Love this super moist carrot cake!
Love this! I’m happy you added the nutmeg, so many people underestimate the flavour it adds.
I agree!
Looks awesome! 🙂
Mm, carrot cake’s best version, probably!