17 Tips For Making A Delicious Carrot Cake

There is no bad time of the year to enjoy carrot cake. While pumpkin and apple desserts are exclusive to the fall months, and fresh berry cobblers and peach pies tend to dominate during the summer, carrot cake falls into no seasonal class. Not only can this sponge, which is studded with pieces of grated carrot, be served in a traditional layer cake format (best adorned with cream cheese frosting, I might add), but it can also be baked in a loaf tin, Bundt pan, or even transformed into cupcakes. It truly is the ole reliable of the cake world.

I can confidently say that I am fascinated with all things carrot cake. Not only do I love eating it, but I also love feeling like I'm getting a dose of vegetables in for the day (just in a tastier and more sugar-ladened manner). It's also fun and relatively easy to make at home — provided that you have the right recipe and some guidance. Luckily, I'm here to give you my expert home baker insight on how to whip up a tasty carrot cake for any occasion.

There is nothing more tragic than opening up your oven and trying to pull your cake out, only to realize that you skipped one of the most important steps in all of cake baking: greasing your pan. If you forget to add a protective layer between your sponge and the pan, you will likely risk issues with sticking and burning. This is particularly disastrous for layer cakes, as when you go to pull the cake out, you may find that some of it has stuck to the pan and tore off.

The exact method that you use to prepare your pan will depend on the type of carrot cake you're baking. For example, if you're working with a Bundt pan, you'll want to grease and flour the entire thing to prevent the cake from sticking to any of the nooks and crannies. However, when I use a regular pan for a layer cake, though, I usually opt for greased parchment. I like to let the parchment overhang on the sides so that I can easily pull the cake up and transfer it to a cooling rack.

There is something that can be said about a spectacular and visually-appealing layer cake. When it arrives to your table at a fancy restaurant, accompanied by little swirls of caramel sauce, it's nothing short of awe-inspiring. But if you're trying to make this cake at home, just know that there are some caveats that you may want to consider when you decide to go for a one-layer carrot cake or one with several sponges.

Carrot cake, especially one loaded up with different mix-ins, can be quite heavy. The common pairing, cream cheese frosting, can help lighten the dessert up in terms of mouthfeel. If you are making a layer cake, you tend to get a better balance between the frosting and the cake. However, since your cake is also quite heavy, you may need to use structural aids, like dowels, to ensure it doesn't fall. A one-layer cake is easier to construct, since you just need to put it on a dish and add a coating of icing on top, but its bite is more monotonous.

All-purpose flour is a staple ingredient that any baker should have in their kitchen. But, it's far from the only ingredient that should grace your recipes — including carrot cake. To take your carrot cake to the next level, consider swapping in part whole-wheat flour. While the nutritional differences between whole-wheat and regular flour are trivial, the latter does have a much nuttier flavor that will make your cake unique and tastier. The two flours also don't vary drastically in terms of their gluten content, so they are easy to swap and substitute.

You can also use other flours, like spelt and buckwheat, but should always cut it with part all-purpose flour to avoid issues with structure. Moreover, avoid cake flour for a deliciously dense carrot cake; though its name might suggest it's a good fit, it doesn't have enough gluten to achieve the classic carrot cake texture.

Sacrificing your knuckles is just part of the fun of making carrot cake, right? While there is a fair deal of groaning and "Are we done yet?" associated with grating carrots for this recipe, it's still an important step that you won't want to skip or do haphazardly. Ideally, your carrots need to be finely grated so that there are no chunks left over. The shreds, which you should always squeeze with a kitchen towel to remove the moisture from, should be able to disperse in your sponge and cook evenly. Large chunks of carrots simply won't do that, and it could mean biting into a piece of raw carrot.

The go-to for many folks here is a box grater. While it does take some time to get through a bag of carrots, it will give you more consistent results than a food processor. However, I do use a food processor for my carrots, simply because I don't want to be grating carrots until the cows come home.

When you think about it, carrot cake is just a spice cake with vegetables added in. The carrots themselves don't have any flavor, so you have to do most of the work to flavor your sponge and make it memorable.

The go-to spices for many folks include the classic triad of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I find many carrot cake recipes call for a scant amount, but you'll want to use your judgment as to how much you want to add. Besides these spices, you may also want to try adding a little hint of dried ginger (which can also be complemented by freshly grated ginger) and/or a sprinkle of Chinese-five spice powder. The latter has a peppercorn kick to it and should be used in small amounts (you can still taste it, I promise). Cardamom would be another spice that would be in good company with orange and ginger, too.

It's common to toss apples with sugar before making an apple pie, so why wouldn't you try the same technique for carrots? Adding sugar to the grated carrots and letting them sit before you bake them will do several things. The first is that it will help release some of the water in the carrots before baking. The second is that it will add some flavor back to the carrots before you mix them in with the rest of the batter.

You don't even have to have them sit for too long. Just toss them with the sugar as soon as they're grated and leave them there while you're making the rest of the batter.

There's no doubt that carrot cake can be quite heavy — both literally and on the palate. One remedy for this common cake issue is to add citrus zest to your batter. The citrus zest will perk the entire cake up, and the orange flavors work well with the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

I would caution against adding too much citrus zest to your batter, though, as it tends to dominate some of the other flavors if it's used too heavy-handedly. Half of a large orange will suffice for most carrot cake recipes. But, if you're a big fan of all things orange, consider adding a little splash of juice to the frosting as well.

Carrot cake is already dense — there's no reason to make it denser! Since this cake is heavy, you have to be all the more aware of when you add ingredients together and how you add them.

Like other types of cake, carrot cake gets its rise from the leavening agents. If you add your leavening agents too prematurely, or mix them with liquids and acids too early on, then it can cause your cake to deflate when it hits the oven. The deflation can also occur if you overmix your batter. While mixing will give the gluten in your batter structure, in turn allowing it to trap those carbon dioxide bubbles, too much will cause the cake to turn bread-like.

The best remedy for this is to keep your wet and dry ingredients separate until you're ready to mix them all together. I would also recommend mixing it by hand with a spatula, versus a stand mixer, so that you can fold the dry ingredients in without stirring too much. This method will also give you a feel for when the batter starts to "fight back" and get stodgy.

Granulated sugar is an essential for cake baking, but if you're after a moist and decadent carrot cake, you're going to want to use brown sugar as a substitute or in tandem with the white sugar. Brown sugar has a higher moisture content, which will make your sponge a little softer and tastier. Moreover, it also has a little bit of molasses in it, the flavor of which will complement the cinnamon and other spices better than plain sugar.

You can also use non-granulated sugars, like honey or maple syrup. Though, you may need to take extra precautions here because more liquid is not always what your cake batter needs. Liquid sugars can also throw off the baking and browning process.

Fresh carrots are, of course, the best choice for baking a carrot cake. But, do we always have the time to grate a fresh version for our recipe? Probably not.

There are some other shortcuts you can make to infuse that carrot flavor into your sponge. You can save time by using carrot baby food, though it won't give you the little specks of carrot interspersed throughout your sponge that makes it fun and satisfying to eat. Instead, grab a can of carrots and mash them into your recipe using a pastry cutter or an electric mixer.

If you have the foresight and the time to store batches of frozen carrots, that may also be an option. You'll want to thaw the carrots on the counter for a little bit before using them — and be sure to drain off the water before stirring them into your batter.

Do you want to make literally any baked good (including carrot cake) better? Add buttermilk. I love the signature tang that buttermilk gives carrot cake. Plus, the acidic components in the dairy product will interact with the leavening agents in the batter and offer a far better rise than if you skipped it.

Despite my love affair with buttermilk, it's not an ingredient I have on hand — ever. I usually just make a buttermilk substitute by combining a cup of milk with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (though, you could use regular vinegar or lemon juice instead) and giving it a stir. Let the milk sit for a couple minutes before you stir it into your cake batter.

By definition, carrot cake includes carrots. But, there are other vegetables that you should consider adding to your cake to upgrade its texture and flavor. If you're a bit wary of the idea, you may want to start by adding zucchini to your recipe. This fruit is mostly comprised of water, so it will add a ton of moisture. Just be sure to shred it up finely and squeeze it several times with a kitchen towel to ensure that you get as much of that moisture out as you can before you add it to your batter.

Another honorable mention is beetroot. Beetroot has a beautiful magenta hue that will stain your sponge (as well as your clothes ... and your cutting boards), but it's still a worthwhile, slightly-sweet addition to your recipe. Like the carrots, be sure to grate it finely and then squeeze out the moisture before baking with it.

Everyone wants a carrot cake that's moist and tastes great. You're going to need to take a closer look at the fat that you use in your cake in order to ensure that both of these standards are met.

I personally prefer to use oil instead of butter in my carrot cake. Oil has a higher concentration of fat than butter, so it will better lubricate the gluten strands — thus ensuring that your cake stays soft. You may even find that a cake made with oil stays fresher longer than one that's made with butter. The oil also won't resolidify when it's in the fridge (like butter, which is saturated, will), which means that it's far tastier to enjoy straight out of the fridge than a butter-based cake.

However, butter has a much better flavor than oil, so you may want to add a mixture of the two fats. You could also make brown butter, which has more flavor — courtesy of the toasted milk solids. Browning butter will require some trial-and-error, but it will ultimately yield a nuttier cake that's far more flavorful than one made with plain butter or oil.

It's better to think about cake storage earlier on in the baking process, rather than once you have a massive, 8-inch cake that you need to put somewhere. The question of where you need to store it will depend most often on what it's frosted with. Plain cake, like a carrot cake loaf, can be left out on the counter for several days before it needs to be tossed. But, if you have a cake that has frosting, then you'll need to find a way to store it in your fridge. Cakes made with cream cheese icing (a popular selection for carrot cakes) absolutely need to be stored in the fridge, while cakes frosted with plain buttercream should be stored in the fridge (though some people argue that you can leave it on the counter, since the sugar technically acts as a preservative). I personally think it's just safer to put it into the fridge, though the texture of the cake and the frosting will inevitably change.

To prevent odors from infiltrating your cake and icing, be sure to wrap it up in a layer of plastic wrap. Although the icing may get smeared, it won't taste like the fish you had for dinner two nights ago.

Carrot cake is like a big diving board for a whole world of different ingredients and flavors. For one, you may want to consider taking your cake on a tropical destination by stirring in coconut flakes and chopped pineapple. Canned crushed pineapple, in particular, will offer a ton of moisture and acidity that will level up your otherwise one-note and dense cake. Just be sure to completely drain the juices from your canned pineapple, as you don't want to make your batter too soupy.

Nuts are another potential mix-in. Chopped walnuts can add some texture to your carrot cake, along with a delectable crunch, while some caramelized pecans can easily be used as a casual, yet elegant, cake decoration. When used in tandem with dried fruits, like chopped golden raisins, each bite will be complete.

You can also alter the flavor of your recipe by adding in a sauce, like caramel. Chocolate tends to overwhelm the flavor profile of the cake, while caramel tends to highlight the sweet and spicy notes in your recipe.

Carrot cake is prime for creativity, but you have to also express some restraint over how much of each mix-in you add to your cake. The important thing to remember here is that you only have so many leavening agents that can give your cake lift. If you make your cake too heavy with all those chopped nuts and dried fruit, it won't rise to the occasion — and will instead come out dense and stodgy.

I would recommend capping out at no more than a cup or so of mix-ins for the entire recipe. This will help you have a more even ratio of cake sponge to add-ins. You can also chop up your add-ins into small pieces to ensure that they more evenly disperse into the batter.

The baking part of making carrot cake is easy-peasy. But the decorating part is where issues start to arise. Regardless of whether you plan to pipe buttercream on the outside of your cake or to try a more naked cake design, you should always make sure the sponge of your cake is fully cooled before you start working. A warm sponge will cause the icing to slip and slide all over the place, which will not only make your dessert look messy, but it can also compromise its structural integrity — like if you're making a layer cake.

I like to let my cakes sit in the pan for a few minutes after I pull them from the oven, then transfer them over to the wire cooling rack. Depending on the size of the sponge (thicker and larger cakes are going to cool slower than something like cupcakes), I would recommend allocating at least two hours for your cakes to fully cool before you start whipping up your frosting.