Easter is just around the corner and many homes will be filled with the aroma of warm, spicy carrot cake baking in the oven. Here is my Best Carrot Cake recipe that I bake for my family’s Easter every year. It’s so moist and delicious everyone will surely want seconds.
Our family Easter dinner always included a cute Easter Bunny carrot cake that grammy and grampa would make for dessert. They would make a sheet cake and carve it into a bunny head.
Coconut was sprinkled on to give the appearance of fluffy fur. Jelly bean eyes were added and string liquorice was put in place for whiskers.
This year my fun Easter themed cake is topped with a spun sugar nest and filled with Cadbury mini eggs.
Cadbury mini eggs are my all time favorite Easter candy treat so they were the perfect filler for my little nest.
My Spun Sugar recipe can be found by clicking the link.
Best Carrot Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 Cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 3 Large eggs
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Canola oil
- 3/4 Cup Buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 2 Cups Grated carrot
- 1 8 ounce can Crushed pineapple Drained
- 1/2 Cup Shredded coconut
- 1 Cup Chopped walnuts optional
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 8 ounce package Cream cheese softened
- 2 Sticks Unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 5 Cups Confectioner sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 3 (8 inch) round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with wax paper or parchment. Spray with cooking spray and dust with flour. Set aside.
For the Cake:
- In a medium bowl stir or sift the first four ingredients together and set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs and the next four ingredients together. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet to incorporate. Fold in the carrots and remaining ingredients.
- Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes on center rack of oven or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for 15 minutes in pans then loosen edges of cake from pan with a butter knife and flip cakes onto a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- In a medium bowl cream the butter and cream cheese for 3-5 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Gradually add confectioner sugar a cup at a time mixing between each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix on high for 3 minutes to produce a creamy fluffy frosting. If frosting still seems too runny you can add more powdered sugar a half cup at a time to attain desired thickness.
Nutrition
Learn how to make this Spun Sugar Nest Here.
Carrot Cake adapted from My Recipes.
I came across your recipe by searching for a carrot cake. Love it. I made into mini muffins for Easter tomorrow. The only change I made was to eliminate the walnuts and coconut for one tray (I have a son who dislikes nuts) then added all of the called for nut amours to the remaining batter. Each tray cooked about 12 minutes. So moist — I made the frosting and put into a piping bag and frosted a couple and my two teen boys LOVED THEM as did I!! ..will frost the remaining tomorrow morning — loved your frosting technique. Thanks very much. I have bookmarked your site to check often.
I’m so glad you that you all like it! It’s one of my family’s favorite recipes. I don’t always add the nuts either due to my sister’s allergy to them. Cupcakes are always a great idea. That way you can make them to suite everyone’s taste. It’s not Easter without Carrot Cake!
my go to recipe for carrot cake. And love the nest you topped it off with!
Best carrot cake I have ever had! I have made this recipe in cupcakes for events and they are a huge hit! Thank you for sharing