Grammy's Kitchen · Carrot Cake · The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frost
One of 70 carrot cake recipes we measured
283 cooks on www.melskitchencafe.com rate it 4.7★.
Every ingredient resolved to grams, expressed against the recipe's own base — next to the median of all 70.
| this recipe | typical | |
|---|---|---|
| fat | 96% | 89% |
| total sugar | 219% | 233% |
| brown sugar share of total sugar | 16% | 14% |
| egg | 67% | 67% |
| leavener | 3% | 3% |
| salt | 1% | 1% |
| liquid | 5% | 0% |
| dairy | 80% | 94% |
| vegetables and beans | 151% | 107% |
| flour strength | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Adapts cleanly: egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free (documented swaps, applied on the dish page)
Weights computed by us.
| 454 g | 1 pound medium carrots, 6 to 7 large carrots, ends trimmed (no need to peel) |
| 300 g | 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar |
| 106 g | 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar |
| 200 g | 4 large eggs |
| 218 g | 1 cup vegetable, canola or other neutral-flavored oil (see note) |
| 122 g | 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (see note) |
| 300 g | 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour |
| 5 g | 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder |
| 3 g | 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| 5 g | 1 teaspoon baking soda |
| 3 g | 1/2 teaspoon table salt |
| 1 g | 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg |
| 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves | |
| 227 g | 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature |
| 71 g | 5 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature |
| 14 g | 1 tablespoon sour cream |
| 2 g | 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract |
| 250 g | 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar |
| Toasted chopped pecans, for garnish (optional) |
Method: 14 steps, published by www.melskitchencafe.com — open the original ↗ or use bake mode for a follow-along with a screen that stays on.
“This is by far my favorite carrot cake recipe! This time I baked this (1x) recipe in a half sheet sized baking pan (~17"x 12" at the base of the pan) lined with parchment. After baking, I cut out rounds to make a layer cake similar to the Milk Bar style, lay” — a cook, 5.0★
“Another Easter, another Mel’s carrot cake. I’ve been making this recipe for 6 years now and it’s always perfect. I do add 2 Tbsp well-drained crushed pineapple and a small handful of chopped raisins to the batter. I make 1.5 recipes of frosting for 2 9-inch ro” — a cook, 5.0★