This simple, one bowl, single layer Carrot Cake is going to become a go-to recipe because you already have all the ingredients, it requires one bowl, and is endlessly forgiving and flexible. And it goes without saying it's spicy, carrot-y, and ultra delicious.
Explore More
- What is Carrot Cake?
- Oil vs. Butter in Baking
- Is Carrot Cake Healthy?
- What Ingredients You Need for Carrot Cake
- How Many Carrots Do You Need for a Single Layer Cake?
- What's the Best Oil for Carrot Cake?
- Can You Use Different Pans or Sizes to Bake Carrot Cake?
- Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs
- Best Single Layer Cakes
- Carrot Cake, Easy Single Layer Recipe
This Carrot Cake is one of, like, three dessert recipes I actually bake All. The. Time. In fact, the only other recipes for baked goods I make are essentially variations on this olive oil based cake (links to those recipes included), and of course, banana bread. At some point I will come full circle and bake an olive oil banana bread.
What is Carrot Cake?
Carrot cake is a type of spice cake made with carrots mixed into the batter, most often grated carrots, though it can also be made with carrot puree. Because it comes together in one bowl with oil instead of butter, carrot cake is easy and unfussy.
Almost always, carrot cakes are topped with a cloud of cream cheese frosting, which, let's be real, is a great reason to make them.
Oil vs. Butter in Baking
Aside from the fact that the two ingredients having very different flavor profiles, oil and butter render final products with noticeably different textures. Oil-based cakes are denser, moister, and stay moist for much longer than cakes made with butter.
Generally speaking, olive oil is considered a healthier fat choice over butter because of its omega-3 ratio, making an olive oil cake a more appropriate choice for people with certain health and dietary needs. However, cakes and other baked goods, even with olive oil, have other ingredients like sugar, wheat flour, eggs, and dairy, that affect the nutrient density of the final dish. Which brings us to...
Is Carrot Cake Healthy?
Depending on your health needs and dietary considerations, Carrot Cake can be health-ier for you than other types of cakes. As mentioned above, olive oil is generally a healthier fat choice over butter and certain other refined oils because it has heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.
However, olive oil cakes are not categorically lower in calories nor in sugar than other cakes. If your main health concern is either calorie-denisty or sugar/glucose management, then an olive oil cake isn't necessarily healthier.
As far as other dietary concerns, this recipe, without dairy-based garnish or accompaniments, is dairy-free, and it's partially by design because I don't usually keep milk, buttermilk or even yogurt on hand.
Everything else you need for this cake, you probably already have in your refrigerator and pantry.
What Ingredients You Need for Carrot Cake
Because this Carrot Cake is something I spontaneously decide to make on some random Wednesday afternoon, I want to be able to bake it right away without having to go to the grocery store to buy additional ingredients. I almost always have flour in the freezer as well as sugar because it doesn't go bad. Of course, I always have carrots, olive oil, and eggs.
Dry/pantry ingredients:
- Oil, 1 cup
- All-purpose flour, 2 cups
- Brown sugar, 1 cup
- Baking powder1 teaspoon
- Baking soda, ½ teaspoon
- Cinnamon, 2 teaspoons
- Ginger, 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
- Salt, 1 teaspoon
Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:
- Eggs, 3
- Carrots, 12 ounces or 3 cups finely grated
For the Cream Cheese Frosting, you also need:
- Cream cheese, 8 ounces
- Butter, 4 ounces
- Confectioner's sugar, 2 cups
- Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
Optional Mix-In Ingredients
This Carrot Cake recipe is super flexible so it is open to all kinds of mix-ins at the end.
Ok, now look, I know it's controversial, but I'm going to go ahead say it: nuts of any kind do not belong in Carrot Cake, or any baked goods for that matter. However, if you are inclined to add nuts, don't. Just kidding.
You can add up to 1 cup of chopped nuts or other mix-ins by folding them into the finished batter at the end.
- nuts, if you must
- dried fruit, also, only if you must
- shredded coconut
Fold the mix-ins into the finished batter right before pouring the batter to the pan. Note that the nutritional information per serving of the recipe changes, primarily the calories and fat, when you add chocolate chips.
If you add pineapple to Carrot Cake though, we can no longer friends.
How Many Carrots Do You Need for a Single Layer Cake?
You need as many carrots as you can stuff into a single layer of cake. And by "many," I mean you need 3-5 carrots, depending on the size of the carrots. Because carrots vary so much SO MUCH in size, more accurately you will need 12 ounces of peeled and finely shredded carrots.
Granted, 12 ounces is a LOT of carrots for a single layer by normal carrot cake recipe standards, which call for the same amount of carrots for a cake that's three times the size (triple layer). But look, I am a hardcore STAN for carrot cake because I love the flavor of carrots and like to pack so much carroty carrotness into this cake that it's basically a shredded carrot salad juuust barely held together by a cinnamony spicy cake batter glue.
Should You Use Coarse Grated, Fine Shredded, or Food Processor for Carrots?
This Carrot Cake recipe calls for finely shredded carrots, using the smallest holes on a box grater. Thinner shreds render slightly more liquid when grating, and will soften more during the baking time, which produces a softer, finer texture.
However, use carrots that are easiest for you. If you like to see larger, bright orange pieces of carrot in the cake, the coarsely grated carrots are the way to go! If you don't want to go to the trouble of grating by hand, you can also throw the carrots in a food processor, though then you have to go to the trouble of washing another appliance, so...
Your last option is to use packaged grated carrots from the grocery store. This isn't terrible, but because pre-grated carrots are usually larger and somewhat dried out, the final cake will have a more rustic texture, and might be slightly drier. Neither of which can't be fixed with cream cheese frosting, of course.
What's the Best Oil for Carrot Cake?
Olive Oil. This recipe calls for 1 cup of olive oil because that is what I almost always what's on hand in the largest quantity. I love olive oil in cakes because the flavor, especially if it has a deeper, spicy undertone, works so well with strongly flavored, spice-based cakes like carrot. If you go the olive oil route, use the best-tasting (to you) extra virgin olive oil you can afford. I like this California-grown olive oil, but it's also VERY expensive, so I am saving that for times when I am eating straight olive oil like as a dip for bread, and using this mild, organic olive oil for the cake.
Avocado Oil. However, as you may well know, olive oil has a distinctive flavor, and some brands can be quite intense. Avocado oil, on the other hand, has a very neutral, almost non-existent flavor and fragrance. I use avocado oil for everything when I'm not using olive oil, usually this brand (not organic).
Coconut Oil. You can melt down coconut oil and use it in an equivalent amount, with the understanding that coconut oil has a very distinct coconut flavor and fragrance. If you're adding coconut (and pineapple ok lol) to your cake, the coconut oil will really highlight those flavors.
Other Neutral Oil. Honestly any other neutral flavored oil like grapeseed or canola oil are fine. The only consderation here is the nutrition profile. Even "light" olive oil works for this cake, which refers to the olive oil's flavor and color, not the calories.
Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources
Flour. You can use any form of wheat flour for Carrot Cake. I used this brand of organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour. I have made this cake with half whole wheat flour and as expected, it works perfectly well.
Cinnamon. Cinnamon is a common spice for baking, but is unfortunately overlooked as a superfood! Anything labeled "ground cinnamon" is fine for this recipe. But if you really want something fancy, look for "Ceylon" cinnamon, which has a more delicate, complex flavor, and is great for certain cinnamon-focused applications, but might get lost in a rustic quick bread.
Ginger. Use ground/powdered ginger for the ease and intensity. If you want to grate fresh ginger, use about 1 tablespoon.
Salt. I use this kosher salt for almost every cooking application, as opposed to a finishing/garnishing application. If you only have regular table salt, use half the amount in the recipe.
All other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find what I need at the farmers' market.
Tools and Equipment for Carrot Cake
There isn't any special tool or piece of equipment required for this cake. The recipe here specifies a 9-inch springform pan and it's the one I used because that's the type of pan I have that's the correct volume.
You can absolutely use a regular round cake pan that's well-greased and lined with parchment paper to make removal easy. You can also use other shaped pans, see below in the FAQ.
Can You Use Different Pans or Sizes to Bake Carrot Cake?
Yes, you can bake this Carrot Cake in several different pan sizes and shapes! Part of what makes this recipe so easy is that baking in different pans doesn't require much, if any modification:
- Muffin Pan—This single layer Carrot Cake recipe fits perfectly in a regular 12-count muffin tin and makes perfect muffins! Grease and flour the muffin tin or line with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake the muffins for 18-22 minutes.
- Loaf Pan—Bake the cake in a 9x5-inch loaf pan for 60 minutes. An 8½x4½-inch loaf pan may not be large enough to hold all the cake batter, so bake an extra cake batter in muffin cups. The smaller loaf pan will yield a taller cake, and needs to bake for a longer time. Check the cake at 50 minutes.
- 8x8-inch Square Pan— An 8x8-inch square pan has similar capacity to a 9x5-inch loaf pan. The batter will spread out more, so you will need to decrease the baking time. Bake an 8x8-inch square for a shorter period of time, i.e. start checking the Carrot Cake for done-ness at 30 minutes.
- 9x9-inch Square Pan—In a 9x9-inch square pan the batter will spread out even more, making a slightly thinner/flatter final product. Bake a 9x9-inch square for a shorter period of time, i.e. start checking the Carrot Cake for done-ness at 25 minutes.
Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs
The recipe for this cake is called "fool-proof" because it is very forgiving in terms of ingredients and measurement precision. Here are the pro-tips:
- Different Type of Flour? You can use any form of wheat flour for Carrot Cake. This brand of organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour is the one I use. I have made this cake with half whole wheat flour and as expected, it works perfectly well. I have also made this with hhalf blended oats, also to great success. For gluten-free flours... glad you asked! See next...
- Can You Make Carrot Cake Gluten-free? Yes! Two baking-ready gluten-free flours my gluten-free experts friends have recommended are Measure-for-Measure by King Arthur and Pamela's Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, both of which you can substitute into recipes 1:1.
- Can You Make it Vegan? If you replace the eggs with an appropriate plant-based egg substitute, and plant-based cream cheese/butter for frosting, the cake will be vegan. That being said...
- Can you Replace the Eggs? I have not yet personally made this Carrot Cake with an egg substitute, either store-bought or something like ground flaxseeds. If you do, please let me know how it turns out!
- Can You Substitute Out the Oil? You can absolutely substitute another oil or melted butter in this recipe, it will generally have the same texture, but just taste different.
From chopped walnuts, shredded carrots, and raisins plumped in hot water to miniature carrot muffins filled with cream cheese...that's how Team Sarah does a montage.
Best Single Layer Cakes
Carrot Cake, Easy Single Layer Recipe
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 12 ounces carrots, peeled and finely grated (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounce cream cheese (1 brick)
- 4 ounces butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
Optional Garnish
- optional garnish: fresh edible flowers, ½ cup chopped pistachios or walnuts
Instructions
- Heat Oven: Heat the oven to 350° F.
- Prepare Cake Pan: Prep 9-inch cake pan with baking spray or rub with a little olive oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Combine Liquid Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and carrots.
- Add Dry Ingredients: In a second mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Clean-up Saving Tip: You can also skip the second bowl entirely and just sift the dry ingredients straight into the liquid ingredients.
- Bake Carrot Cake: Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, checking at 45 minutes with a cake tester. Cake is done when top is medium golden brown and tester comes out clean.
- Make Cream Cheese Frosting: While Carrot Cake is baking, beat room temperature cream cheese, butter, and confectioner's sugar.
- Cool Cake and Serve: Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cake cook completely for an additional hour.
- Spread Cream Cheese Frosting over top of completely cooled cake. Garnish with chopped nuts if using.
Notes
Nutrition
Food for Afterthoughts
Cupcake.
Muffin.
Really now, is there a difference between a cupcake and a muffin? Is not one the same as the other with merely an aspiration of frosting? Is not a cupcake just a prissier muffin, perhaps a slightly finer body made with cake flour, but with no real substance on the inside, only covered with frosting make-up and adorned with flashy chocolate and candy accessories on the outside? Or is is that a muffin is the back asswards, lumpy, bumpy country cousin of the sophisticated city cupcake?
These questions, they are too much. I feel the need...I feel the need for...a montage.
shauna says
hilarious and delicious! you don't get too many montages like that :)
Tokyoastrogirl says
These look like a combination of carrot cake and cheese cake.....which means I have to make them for consumption immediately. Thanks for the photos.
peachiee says
I refuse to read the rest of this article because it will only ruin the hilarity of the title!
peachiee says
I refuse to read the rest of this article because it will only ruin the hilarity of the title!
Colleen Cuisine says
Team America. Nice.
I have a whole new respect for you
Cate says
I am so making these muffins this weekend... thanks for the recipe.
onetomato says
no offense to the carrot, but i want to take a spoon and scoop out the cream cheesy innards of all those muffins and shovel them into my mouth. yuuuuummy!
Catherine says
Your montage is waaaay too cute! Looks delish, Sarah!
Nice way to just have a couple of satisfying bites when they're made into minis.
sarah says
shauna: credit for hilarity goes, of course, to team america, which, to this day, i can't believe i watched. not because it was bad (it was quite funny), but i rarely, almost never, watch movies.
tokyoastrogirl: now the question is, can we make a carrot cheesecake? i have often thought about doing it, and i have seen one on the menu at the factory place, but just wonder if it would actually taste like carrots...
peach: nothing to read. nothing to read at all...move along on now.
colleen cuisine: respect? LOL! do you mean...disrespect?!?! LOL!
cate: hope they turn out okay! and i think you should just go all out and frost them with cream cheese frosting. i have no idea what i was thinking to leave that off. :)
onetomato: great. not you gotta go and offend the carrot. hurt its feelings and all!
cat: just a couple? that's what i thought too. i swear that's why they were minis - youknow, tohelp with portion control on this silly diet.
HA! i ate like...six? seven?
*sigh*
Catherine says
seven's a good number, sarah. ;)
Anonymous says
is it 1 1/2 carrots or 1 1/2 cups carrots?
Anonymous says
anon: aaaah! it's 1 1/2 CUPS of shredded carrots. thanks for catching that. :) - sarah
joy says
Dang, now I know what keeps going wrong with my desserts: no montage in the middle! That's why they keep ending up as still a pile of uncooked ingredients, even after the whole CD has finished playing and I'm already through two glasses of wine.
Knew I was missing something. Need more montage.
Okay, got it now.
On the other hand, forget it, I'll just eat the pile of carrots and wash it down with cream cheese. :-)
Anonymous says
joy: funny, sometimes that happens to me, too. all the ingredients are there, in fact they even make it out of the refrigerator onto the countertop. but somehow, they can never pull themselves together into a final product.
*shakes head*
lazy ass ingredients.
~ sarah
hermz says
Aww man, I'm so disappointed. As I started reading the lyrics, I was hoping... no, dying for the final image to be blurred and faded. You know, to seem like more time had passed.
darn.
sarah says
actually, i was going to fade it out, but it didn't work out so well because i had an even number of pictures. so it has to pair with the one on the left. then the fade out wouldn't be that dramatic. you know?
kellypea says
Oh jeez, I have to make these. I've been trawling for the perfect muffin and this. may. just. be. it.
kellypea says
Oh jeez, I have to make these. I've been trawling for the perfect muffin and this. may. just. be. it.
Anonymous says
was trolling for a good carrot muffin.. this had such potential.
But i'm thinkin' that the baking soda has to be more like 1/2 tsp. I have to throw the first batch out.
However, I may have to suck the cream cheese filling out before i toss them.
Gracie says
Why do you throw it out if it has too much baking soda? Is it bad for the baking process or the taste or the batter? Im new to baking so thanks for your help!
Anonymous says
YUM.
I just made these, and the only negative was that I couldn't be alone with them.
Sarah says
I am going to make this for my bible study brunch tomorrow! Yummy!
Sarah J. Gim says
you'll have to let us all know how they turn out!
Lisa says
I think I'm going to have to make these tonight, they look irresistible. As far as you know, the proportions are all accurate? I saw one commenter said there was too much baking soda...
Sarah J. Gim says
hm, well i made the muffins exactly as the recipe states, and they were okay. unfortunately, i don't know enough science of baking to know what too much or too little baking soda will do to something as hearty/strong as carrot cake. i'd think that it would just taste a little too salty?
Lisa says
Haha I don't know either! Maybe I'll split the difference...I'll report back either way. Thanks!
Lisa says
Turned out great, I used 1 tsp baking soda. Though mine were not as photogenic/montage-worthy as yours. But tasty!
cakster says
*drooooooooool*
Sarah J. Gim says
Cakster: glad you like! now wipe that drool off your keyboard.. ;)
miriam says
hmm... my cream cheese filling fell right to the bottom when i tried this. any ideas on what i could have done wrong? despite the appearance though, they were delicious!
Anonymous says
even rocky had a montage
Anonymous says
Fun little muffin-cupcake thing. Made them yesterday afternoon and got about 21 muffins (only fill normal tins ~1/2 way). I should've made more of the cream cheese part though but I have an over-developed sweet tooth so that probably isn't good for anyone else.
Diet Solution Online says
That’s magic! It’s just as if I could smell your photos!!!
Paul Dreyer says
Made these for my wife's birthday in November, now my dad wants them for his 60th today. Yipes! They're really excellent.
Amycat says
OMFG I made these last night and they were AMAZING. My boyfriend ate 4 of them at like 12 am before bed. And it was so easy to make too!
Magical things.
Amanda says
My cream cheese fell to the bottom as well, and it didn't look nearly as thick as yours. I did use reduced fat cream cheese, so that might be it.
Jenn says
I would use 2tsp baking soda, instead of both baking soda and powder.
Also, thought the cream cheese was a hair too sweet (and I am a sugar crazy person). . .
Sarah J. Gim says
jenn: thanks for the tip - next time i do this, will try with all baking soda...
Cherine says
These muffins look insanely delicious! How many muffins does this recipe yield? Thank you! :-)
Sarah J. Gim says
Cherine: the recipe made about 2 trays of micro mini muffins, so about 48!
HEATHER says
WOW! Team America AND cream cheese! I'm in!
Lynn says
How many servings is this for?
Shoshanna Lee says
Awesome, mouth watering. Like Cherine and Lynn, I also want to know the servings we can get.
Rita Reyes says
Thanks for the great blog! I love it.
Rita
Gourmet Cookies
anonymous says
These look great! But wouldn't adding some yogurt/buttermilk make them more moist? Just a thought.
Seedplanter Designs says
Stop it. You're making me hungry!
Your recipe is wonderful, and the photos are so delicious I could just stare.
Looks like I have another favorite food blog to add to my list.
Amelia says
This is by far my FAVOURITE recipe for carrot cakes/ muffins/cupcakes etc. They are AWESOME!
melissa says
These are fabulous! I've been making them for friends where I live in a small fishing village in mexico and they are a huge hit with the locals!
Lauren says
What a lovely recipe. And, kudos for the Team America sing along.
melissa says
Does anybody else find that their cream cheese filling doesn't sink in enough and it just cooks atop the muffins? Maybe this is because I am making larger sized muffins with this recipe. However, I found a solution; I am inserting the cream cheese into large irrigation syringes and injecting the muffins with delicious cream cheese goodness!
PS: blog writer: if you are ever in mexico I know a village who would love to thank you for sharing your recipe.
Smcupp0902 says
Mine did not sink.
Joanna says
There are some delights in life that are not easily put into words. Yes, they truly do require a montage. You use words so beautifully! I am inspired to make these muffins immediately!
Delicious, intriguing recipes combined with a beautiful turn-of-phrase; I've found my recipe blog heaven!
Anonymous says
melissa I'd love to know what your doing to get it to stay on top ! mine fell through to the bottom and left a hole in the top.
tried a second batch and put a layer of batter I held back over the top of the cream cheese and it seems to have worked
Nick says
Last week I made these and they came out perfect (and delicious). Tonight, with same ingredients and procedure, they puffed up A LOT and the cream cheese frosting fell through to the bottom of each muffing. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Jessie says
I have a Pampered Chef julienne peeler, and it makes those long, very thin shreds. Maybe I will try those in these "muffins"!
Rachelrvn says
I can NOT wait to make these!
Kat says
THANK YOU! I didn't have any carrots, and I don't like raisins, so I used banana instead(: I am so proud of myself right now. Love it!
Eggton says
Awesome, thanks! I am obsessed with carrot cake. In case it's of interest, here is the link to an amazing sweet potato nut cake with amaretto frosting. It made me never want to go back to carrot cake again!
It's at http://eggton.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/halloween/.
Thanks again!
Cynthia says
I tried the recipe and instead of using oil I used apple sauce to make the cake more moist. I also only used 1/2 a cup of sugar in the recipe and added about a cup of freshly cut pineapple and a cup of chocolate chips instead of the nuts and raisins to make it a more kid friendly dessert :) Just thought it might help.
Diane says
I'm sorry to say that my cream cheese also sank to the bottom of my muffins. They tasted good, but weren't nearly as pretty as the ones in the photos above.
Anissa Gooch says
THese look fabulous! I'm totally bummed that I can't pin this recipe so I won't be able to easily find it again (though I understand why you'd want to protect your photos from Pinterest pinners).
Sarah J. Gim says
Hey Anissa - that's so weird that you can't pin the muffins! I don't have any sort of protection on it...but it looks like it's been pinned before, so maybe you can just re-pin this?
http://pinterest.com/pin/21040323230493236/
also, once you make the muffins, if you remember, you'll have to let me know how they turn out! some peeps have commented here that the cream cheese part sinks in too much....
Cindy says
have you ever tried freezing these muffins? these are a crowd favorite for a bake sale - would love to make several batches ahead of time.
Stacy Rose says
Hi Sarah! this cupcakes looks amazing! i would love to save your recipe on pinterest but you don't have one... Thanks for great recipe