Description
A moist and spiced homemade carrot cake with walnuts and raisins, topped with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup extra light olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 cups finely grated carrots (approx 6 medium carrots)
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 3/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt until no clumps remain.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, olive oil, and applesauce until completely combined and smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just moistened. Do not overmix.
- Fold in the grated carrots, pecans, and raisins until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
For the best texture, grate your own carrots using the small holes of a box grater rather than buying pre-shredded ones.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cooling Time: 1 hr 25 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 345
- Sugar: 26g
- Sodium: 246mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 41g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 41mg
Keywords: carrot cake, homemade cake, spring dessert, easter baking