- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Serving: 8 - 10 servings
The spices in this carrot cake blend together perfectly and the orange adds a depth to the flavor and an interesting element of sweetness that just works. All of this combines to make this the best carrot cake ever.
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Ingredients
- for the cake:
- vegetable oil - 1 1/2 cups
- brown sugar - 1 cup
- sugar - 1 cup
- eggs - 4 large
- orange juice - 1/3 cup
- orange zest - 1 tbsp
- all purpose flour - 2 cups
- baking soda - 2 tsp
- baking powder - 1 tsp
- cinnamon - 1 tsp
- ginger - 1 tsp, ground
- nutmeg - 1/2 tsp
- salt - 1/2 tsp
- carrots - 3 cups, finely grated
- raisins - 1 cup
- for the icing:
- cream cheese - 1 8oz (200g) package, cold
- butter - 1/2 cup (115 g), room temperature
- orange juice - 3 tbsp
- orange zest - 1 tsp or more
- powdered sugar - 1 1/2 cups, sifted
how to
for the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) and grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with baking paper, then grease the paper. (I prefer a large round spring-form pan, but be aware the cooking time increases by about 20 minutes)
- Use an electric mixer to beat the oil and both sugars in large bowl until well blended.
- Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition then beat in orange juice and peel.
- In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together, then add to sugar mixture and beat to blend.
- Stir in carrots and raisins. (toss the raisins in a little bit of flour before adding them, this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick test comes back clean.
- Transfer to a rack and let cool for about 15 minutes before turning the cake out onto the rack – remove the waxed paper and let cool completely. (the cake can be prepared 1 day ahead -wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature)
for the icing:
- Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together in large bowl until light.
- Beat in orange juice and the orange zest, then add the sugar and beat until smooth.
- Let the icing rest in the refrigerator until thick enough to spread, about 20 minutes.
- Use a large serrated knife to cut the cake in half horizontally, into two equal sized layers. Place the bottom layer on a platter and spread with about 1/3 of the icing, then carefully place the top layer on it and decoratively spread the remaining icing on the sides and top.
To ensure that your icing is perfectly smooth and has enough body to create nice swirls make sure that you:
- Do not overbeat the cream cheese - it will break it down and makes it appear grainy, and too soft to hold it's shape.
- Use cold cream cheese - it gives the best texture. Have your butter at room temperature however - and make sure to sift the powdered sugar before mixing it in.
Wow! Looks yummy and delicious! I will surely try this recipe and share my experience here. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Here are more details about my best carrot cake recipe that relate to a couple of questions. I add well drained canned pineapple, crushed or bits, along with raisins to the batter. This is the last step and is folded into the batter with a large spoon. Regarding nuts, I add chopped nuts, about 1 cup, to the icing mixture. I like walnuts or pecans but use whatever your favorite is. So, use butter rather than oil plus the above mentioned variations and you will have the real best carrot cake!
PS: see my previous comment above dated 2-3-2014 for context.
Can I use gluten free flour in place of regular flour? Has anyone tried this..how did it work out as far a texture and flavor?
replace most oil with applesauce
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Very nice, thanks for sharing….. 🙂
Can I put nuts in it and how much and should you mix them in flour to?
i made this cake last night for my customers and they LOVED it. It has the perfect texture and moistness. I used the 13×9 pan and didn’t cut it ran out of time, but I lathered it up good with cream cheese icing YUMMY!
I love it look good
Any reason not to use two regular cake pans?
No reason at all. I guess I really like the texture from using only one pan, then cutting it in half, but absolutely – use two. 🙂
there is another recipe for pumpkin roll on this site and no oil.
Looks great and similar to my recipe which replaces the oil with butter. Try that and you will love it more! Hate that heavy, oil soaked taste.
Hmmmm. That sounds like a great idea. I don’t love oily carrot cake either, this one isn’t too oily. 🙂
this looks delicious, but my dad made the BEST carrot cake EVER and it’s a heck of a lot easier and less ingredients. Thanks for sharing though. 🙂
Thanks, will give it a try.
Instead of the raisins could you use pineapple in the same way?
Yeah, sure – if it’s canned, just make sure you really drain it well so it’s not too wet. 🙂
So sorry you’re having an issue. Did you try clicking on the “view printer friendly version” under “problems viewing this recipe?” That should work for you. My site is unfortunately not (yet) ipad friendly.
I confused as to what type pan to cook it in. It sounds delicious!
You can either cook it as a large rectangle or circle. I prefer to use a spring form pan, I like the way it releases. The only note is if you use a round dish then you need to increase the cooking time a bit.
CAN YOU USE LESS OIL AND PLAIN YOGURT??? THATS WAY TOO MUCH OIL I THINK BUT ITS A YUMMY RECIPE GONNA MAKE IT SOON:)
You could reduce the oil if you want, yoghurt will help, but the oil is what makes it so super moist. 🙂
this looks incredible!
It’s SO good, maybe I’ll have to make one for you!! 🙂