Carrot Cake

Historical References to Carrot Cake (recipes below):

In 1783, the Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan served carrot cake [Reputedly, it was served to George Washington on 25 November 1783, per Molly O'Neill in her New York Cookbook (1992)].

Carrot Cake featured prominently in the Uncle Wiggly (the rabbit) children's stories, which started about 1910. The earliest recipe called Carrot Cake that CooksInfo.com can find in American newspapers dates from 1913. It was baked in a pie shell.

CooksInfo.com found references to iced Carrot Cakes in the 1920s. In the “Little Jack Rabbit” children’s story by Davidy Cory, 1923, Carrot Cake is referred to as something frosted: “.. picking up a lovely hot steaming carrot cake, he began to nibble on the frosting…” — In New Castle News, New Castle Pennyslvania. 2 July 1923. Page 6.

“Carrot Cake: Gold loaf cake, fresh diced carrots added, vanilla icing. 23 Cents.” — Mutual Grocery Store Advertisement. San Mateo Times, San Mateo, California. 21 December 1928. Page 6.

The earliest recipe CooksInfo.com could find in American newspapers which is what we would expect to be served as Carrot Cake dates from 1931, and is iced.

“The final item of the afternoon which Mrs. Heath demonstrated from the platform was carrot cake with cream Icing. The recipe is as follows:

Three-fourths cup butter or other shortening, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 4 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups granulated [Ed: sic] carrots, 1/2 cup rich milk, 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon lemon extract.

Cream the butter and sugar until lemon colored. Separate the eggs and add the yolks one by one unbeaten, beating after each addition. Add salt and then the grated carrots and stir well for five minutes. Add the milk and the flour sifted with the baking powder then the lemon extract and fold in the beaten egg whites. Grease and flour a loaf cake pan. Bake in moderate oven (325 degrees) for 30 minutes. This makes a delicious large cake. Cover with cream icing as follows:

Two cups powdered sugar, 1 cup cream, 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix the sugar and the cream and the butter and let come to a boiling point. Boil for three minutes stirring constantly. Remove from fire and add vanilla. Beat well and spread on the cake while the icing is hot.”
— Dinner Table Decoration Subject at Cooking School. San Antonio Express Woman’s Department, edited by Martha Jane Heath. San Antonio Express: San Antonio, Texas. 11 March 1931. Page 13.

Carrot Cake started to become popular in America in the 1960s and, it seems, the earliest American print references to frosting carrot cake with cream cheese are from this decade. It was hugely popular in the 1970s, being seen as a healthy, whole food at the start of the whole-foods movement.

[1963] "Cheese Frosting Another reader recommends a cream cheese frosting for carrot cakes: "Use 4 ounces cream cheese and mix with 1/4 stick margarine. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and half a box of confectioners' sugar. Mix into smooth frosting. Mrs F.F.E. Edgewood Arsenal, Md." ---"Reader Exchange: Carrot Cake Encore," Washington Post, Times Herald, September 10, 1964 (p. D4)

Carrot Cake Recipes

A standard, moist carrot cake typically uses a ratio of 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 to 1.5 cups oil, and 1.5 to 2 cups total sugar (often a mix of white and brown) for a 2-cup grated carrot base, usually accompanied by 4 eggs. A 1:1 ratio of flour to sugar is common for sweetness, while reducing oil to 2/3 cup can prevent a gummy texture.

Why Carrot Cake is Often Oily: I found that reviewers often say a Carrot Cake recipe they made was too greasy or oily.

Carrot Cake Recipe

FMM: This is the recipe I used years ago. It requires a large amount of honey.

This is an excellent recipe. For a 9 x 9" cake pan reduce the ingredients by 1/3.

1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup honey
4 eggs
1 1 /2 cup grated carrots
1 cup water
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour
2/3 cups chopped nuts

Mix the flour and baking powder; set aside. Mix the cinnamon, mace, and salt with the butter. Gradually add the honey. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the carrots. Add the water alternately with flour mixture. Add the nuts.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13" cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool and ice with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake
from https://preppykitchen.com/

This recipe is very similar to the one on the right from https://sugarspunrun.com/.

Carrots — Grate the carrots yourself on the large holes of a box grater or with a food processor. The pre-shredded kind at the grocery store are too thick and very dry and will not give you moist crumbs and the softness that carrot cake is known and loved for. I always peel my carrots before grating them for carrot cake because the peel can sometimes be bitter and have a different texture from the rest of the carrots. Your carrots will taste sweeter with the easy extra step!

To use less oil: You can replace ⅓ cup of vegetable oil with an equal amount of applesauce, canned crushed pineapple (drained well), or Greek yogurt. All of these options reduce the fat in the cake while still providing lots of moisture.

Vary the mix-ins: You can replace the nuts with dark or golden raisins or sweetened shredded coconut for texture. Or use a combination of these ingredients with the nuts—just keep the total volume of mix-ins to 1 cup.

Use different frostings: Try my ermine frosting, vanilla buttercream, or coconut frosting instead of using cream cheese frosting. Each complements the flavor of the carrot cake very well!

Pan Size Conversions

  • 9-inch layer cake - this cake recipe
  • 8-inch layer cake: Divide the batter among two 8-inch round cake pans (greased and lined as directed in the recipe) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The cake layers will be slightly thicker.
  • Sheet cake: Grease but do not line a 9×13-inch cake pan. Fill with batter and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in the pan and spread the frosting on top of the cake. You can halve the frosting recipe if desired.
  • Cupcakes: Line cupcake pans with paper liners (you will get 26-30 cupcakes). Fill each liner two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a wire rack.

For the Cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (300g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil (320ml)
1 cup packed light brown sugar (220g)
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
4 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10mL)
3 cups grated carrots (from 1 pound of carrots) (315g)
1 cup chopped pecans (120g)

For the Frosting:
1 (8-ounce/227g) block cream cheese room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar (480-600g)

For the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray or butter, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir together just until combined and only a few streaks of flour remain.

Fold the carrots and pecans into the batter. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake layers to cool completely in the pans set on a wire cooling rack. Once cooled, invert the layers and remove the parchment paper.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until very soft and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese and beat until fluffy, about 30 seconds.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the powdered sugar. (Use more sugar for a firmer, sweeter frosting.) Once combined, scrap down the bowl and add the vanilla. Beat on medium-low speed until fluffy and easily spreadable, about 1 minute.

For the Assembly:
Place one cooled cake layer top-side up on a cake stand or serving platter and spread ¾ cup of frosting over the top, all the way to the edge of the cake. Place the other cake layer top-side down on top. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake.

If you desired, you can save some of the frosting to pipe decorations onto the cake or press chopped toasted pecans onto the frosting. Chill the cake for 30 minutes to set the frosting before slicing. Keep leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Servings16 slices

The Best Carrot Cake
from https://sugarspunrun.com/

See below for Cupcakes

Flour. All-purpose flour works best here. Avoid cake flour whichi s lighter and finer and doesn’t give us the structure required for this heartier cake.

Oil AND butter. This combo is key for maximizing the flavor and texture of the cake. While oil adds moisture (and helps keep the cake soft and moist, even after refrigeration) butter adds rich depth of flavor. A blend of these two ingredients balances flavor and texture.

Cake pans, different sizes:

The following bake times have been reported by readers who have tried making this cake in different sized pans. Keep in mind bake time will generally be longer when using a glass pan, and very dark pans may require less time. The best way to test that your cake is finished baking is to use the toothpick test: a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter) or clean.

  • Two 9" pans: bake for approximately 30-33 minutes.
  • 9×13" pan: bake for approximately 45-50 minutes
  • Bundt pan: bake for approximately 55 minutes.
  • Four 6" pans: bake for approximately 40 minutes

Cupcakes: She has a separate recipe for cupckaes, It it basically 1/2 of the cake recipe, but she does not use butter and uses 3/4 cup cooking oil instead. She also adds 2 Tbsp. milk. Otherwise, the ingredients are the same, just 1/2 of what is used for the cake. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. It makes 12 cupcakes.
She says, "The recipe is almost identical to the cake portion except for a bit more liquid in the batter — the original is perfect for cake but I found it to be too dense in the small space of a cupcake liner and added some milk for a bit of levity."
"I use all oil in this recipe (no butter) for the moistest cupcakes, and thanks to the spices you’re not missing anything in terms of flavor, I promise! I found that butter just didn’t give these cupcakes the texture that they really needed."

Cake
2 1/2 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (235 ml) cooking oil, use canola, avocado, or vegetable oil
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups (340 g) grated carrots, peel before grating
1 cup (125 g) chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened (brick-style, not spreadable)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar

More Frosting Options: Instead of cream cheese frosting, this carrot cake recipe would also be excellent with my brown butter frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, ermine frosting, whipped cream frosting, or vanilla frosting.

Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8-inch pans⁴ (see note for using different sized pans) by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing and flouring the sides.

In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Add your canola oil and melted butter and stir well (batter will be pretty stiff and thick at this point, I usually use an electric mixer or my stand mixer to combine everything nicely).

Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Stir in vanilla extract.

Stir in carrots and nuts (if using) until ingredients are well-combined.

Evenly divide carrot cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake on 350F (175C) for 37-40 minutes (a toothpick inserted in center should come out mostly clean with only few moist crumbs).

Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Allow cake to cool completely before covering with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.

Add vanilla extract and sprinkle salt into the bowl and stir well to combine.

With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until ingredients are completely combined (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula).

Once your cake has cooled completely, cover with frosting.

Storing: If you’re eating this cake the same day you make it or within 48 hours of making it, and you are able to store it somewhere cool and dry, you do not have to refrigerate it–though you do want to store it in an airtight container. Any longer than that I would recommend storing in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep for about 5 days.

Servings: 14 slices