My old fashioned carrot cake is an authentic retake of the original, marrying the traditional spiced cake flavors with a melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese frosting. The carrots are coated with cinnamon and ginger before being added to the batter. So, each forkful is spiced to perfection with pops of toasted pecan pieces and a sugary base note comprised of both granulated and brown sugars. A touch of heavy pineapple syrup lends a moistness to the cake that makes it melt-in-your-mouth delicious even after a few days in the fridge. Yep and yay...
Jump to:
There's a Food Season For Everything, Y'all...
Old fashioned carrot cake is a true-to-the-original adaptation of the popular springtime treat that's usually served at Easter in the South to celebrate the changing of the seasons.
My take on the classic cake includes just a few unique touches that enhance the classic flavor profile without overpowering it. A super moist cake topped off with a 4-ingredient homemade frosting, my easy old fashioned carrot cake is made in a 9 x 13 pan for optimal convenience.
Old Fashioned Carrot Cake Ingredient Essentials & Substitutions
- I used a one-pound bag of baby carrots to save time and energy for this recipe. It was super easy to give them a rinse, and then throw them all into my food processor. I pulsed them twice for about 10 seconds at a time. I was pleased with the texture, which was not too big or too small. You can also use regular fresh carrots, just peel them first and then pulse them a bit. Or, you can also hand-shred them, too, if preferred.
- I used vegetable oil in this old fashioned carrot cake recipe. You can also use canola oil or high-heat olive oil, as well.
- I love the mix of granulated and brown sugars in this cake. However, you can use all granulated sugar or all brown sugar, if you'd like. It'll still be good.
- I drained a can of pineapple to use the heavy syrup out of it. It worked well, injecting each forkful of this old fashioned carrot cake with an impressive amount of moisture. You can use pineapple juice, too, if that's all that you have on hand. But definitely use one or the other because it makes this recipe truly foolproof.
- Cinnamon and ginger give this cake its customary spiced flavor profile. If you don't like ginger just use a tad more cinnamon.
- I use toasted pecans because the post-baked texture is a little more sophisticated than if you use untoasted pecans. You can also use toasted walnuts in this recipe.
- I used all-purpose gluten free flour. You can sub gluten free baking flour if you have it and the recipe will turn out the same.
- Beat the cream cheese and the butter together first, then add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract. If the mixture is too thick, add a few tablespoons of milk or heavy cream to the icing to thin it out some.
- You will probably have extra icing to store and use for another treat. You can also half this icing recipe if you don't want any extra to deal with after you've made the cake.
Storage
Store the old fashioned carrot cake with cream cheese icing covered tightly in the fridge for up to 6 days.
How to Make Old Fashioned Carrot Cake
To begin the recipe, preheat the oven. Then, pour the dried cinnamon and ginger over the carrot pieces.
Next, stir until all of the carrots are coated evenly with the spices.
Now, pour the oil, the heavy pineapple syrup, and the eggs into the bottom of a very large glass mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
Now, whisk the granulated sugar and the brown sugar into the mixture.
Add the spiced shredded carrots and pecans to the mixture. Stir well.
Now, add the flour to the old fashioned carrot cake batter a little at a time. Stir until incorporated, then add more flour and repeat the process until you use all of the gluten free AP flour.
When you're done adding the flour, stir the baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the mixture.
The old fashioned carrot cake batter should look like this at this point.
Lastly, pour the batter into the bottom of a well-greased 9 x 13 baking pan and bake until done.
When you're ready to frost the cooled old fashioned carrot cake, beat the cream cheese and butter until very smooth. You can use your Kitchenaid stand mixer or a hand mixer for this process.
Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla to the mixture, and process until smooth. Then, stir the frosting by hand right before you frost the cake with it.
And that's it, y'all!!
The first thing that you notice about this old fashioned carrot cake is that it is incredibly moist. Yep, the heavy pineapple syrup helped to make this possible. So, each bite just straight melts in your mouth as it releases cinnamon, sugar, ginger, and brown sugar flavor bombs all over your mouth.
And the cream cheese icing, y'all!! It's sooo incredibly luscious that you may feel like it's worth making the cake just for this creamy, perfectly sugared and spiced icing. For realzz!!
Share this old fashioned carrot cake with those classics who've been with you through many, many life transformations. Much food love, and see y'all on the yum side...
Other Scrumptious Desserts
NOTE: This post was originally published on March 29, 2024, and updated and republished on September 1, 2024.
Old Fashioned Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Spiced Carrots
- 1 1-pound bag baby carrots rinsed and pulsed in a food processor or blender until shredded
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
For the Old Fashioned Carrot Cake
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup heavy pineapple syrup from a can of sliced pineapple or pineapple juice
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup toasted pecan pieces
- 2 cups all purpose gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder make sure gluten free, if necessary
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8-ounce block cream cheese softened
- 1 stick salted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract make sure gluten free, if necessary
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Sprinkle the dried cinnamon and ginger over the shredded carrot pieces.
- Use a large spoon to coat the carrot pieces with the spices. Set aside.
- Pour the vegetable oil, heavy pineapple syrup or juice, and eggs into a large glass mixing bowl, and stir to combine.
- Stir the brown sugar and the granulated sugar into the mixture.
- Add the toasted pecan pieces and the spiced carrot pieces to the bowl, and stir until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add the gluten free all-purpose flour to the mixture about a half-cup at a time, and stir until combined. Repeat until all of the flour is absorbed into the batter.
- Stir the baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the batter.
- Pour the gluten free carrot cake batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out mostly clean. (The cake is done when it does not jiggle when moved back and forth. It may have a few pieces stuck to the toothpick because the pineapple syrup or juice keeps the ingredients really moist.)
- Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for at least one hour, but preferably two to three hours.
- When you are ready to frost the cake, pour the cream cheese and the butter into a large glass bowl or the bowl of a Kitchenaid stand mixer.
- Process over medium speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer until the butter and cream cheese are well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar to the mixture, and continue to process until smooth.
- Use an icing spatula to frost the cake, then cut the cake into twelve equal square pieces before serving.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Leave a Reply