Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake

Topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting, this Old Fashioned Carrot Cake is incredibly moist, deliciously spiced, and melt-in-your-mouth good!

Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake Recipe

If you've ever been hesitant to make a carrot cake from scratch, don't be.  Once you realize how easy it is to make this cake from scratch, you'll want to make it again and again. 

And once you taste it? Boom! New favorite.

This cake is perfect for serving at parties and celebrations, too. I can almost guarantee you won't be bringing any leftovers home. It will be the hit of the event!

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Why You Will Love this Carrot Cake

• It's super easy to make.
• It's moist and flavorful.
• It's sweet, but not too sweet.

How to Make a Moist Carrot Cake

Maybe you've tried to make a carrot cake before, but it turned out too dry. One cause for that is prepackaged carrots. Buying a bag of carrot sticks will not serve you well when it comes to making a carrot cake. The moisture content of the carrots is what gives the cake moisture. Once carrots have been sliced and bagged, the moisture evaporates. 

Use freshly grated carrots.

If you do that, this is a fail-proof recipe.

How to Make Old Fashioned Carrot Cake - Step by Step

• First you'll whisk together your dry ingredients which are the flour and spices. This is also where you add in the optional ingredients - nuts, raisins, coconut, pineapple or whatever. Then you'll set those aside.

• Next, you mix beat sugar and oil on with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at time, beating until mixed well into batter. 

• On low-speed, gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in grated carrots.

• Pour into two 9-inch round cake pans that are greased and floured. Gently tap the filled cake pans on the counter to release air bubbles.

• Bake for 40 minutes. 

• Place pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and continue to cool completely on racks before icing.

See how easy that is? Dry ingredients>wet ingredients>mix ingredients.

How to Store Carrot Cake

While most cakes can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature, this is not the case with carrot cake. Due to it's vegetable content, carrot cake is prone to mold if it's stored at room temperature. As well, the cream cheese frosting, being a dairy product, obviously cannot be left on the counter top. 

Storing an unfrosted cake

Once the cake as cooled, wrap the sides and bottom with plastic wrap. Alternately, you could place the layers in large zip storage bags to prevent the cake from absorbing any odors from the refrigerator. Store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to frost it. Bring to room temperature before frosting.

Storing a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

The safest way to store your frosted cake is in the refrigerator. Stored in the refrigerator, and uncut cake will stay fresh for up to one week. Once the cake is cut, use plastic wrap, an over-turned plate, a cake keeper, or fresh frosting to cover the exposed sides of the cake to prevent drying.

Can you freeze a carrot cake?

Absolutely! Freezing your carrot cake allows you to store it up to three months. This is perfect if you're making it ahead of time for a special event or occasion. Whether frosted or unfrosted, wrap the layers in plastic wrap or tin foil to prevent freezer burn. Write the date and cake type on the wrapper. When it's time to thaw the cake, loosen the wrapping and place in the refrigerator* one day before frosting.

*Note: Thawing at room temperature will change the texture from frozen to mushy. Don't do this.

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Helpful Tips, Tricks, and Equipment

• If you want added moisture, you can split the 2 cups of white sugar - 1 cup of white and 1 cup of brown sugar.
• Make sure you use freshly grated carrots.
• Recommended equipment: Cake Pans | glass mixing bowls | hand mixer | Grater

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