This Carrot Bundt Cake with cream cheese icing has all the same rich flavors of a classic layered carrot cake in an easier-to-make bundt pan. Topped with a rich cream cheese frosting, it's a bakery-worthy dessert that's ready in about an hour and perfect for entertaining for Easter or Thanksgiving.
SAVE THIS RECIPE
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Being a Southerner, if there’s anything I know about hosting a party or a holiday is that there's always a bundt cake ready to serve for a sweet treat at the end of the meal. They’re impressive, classic, and actually very easy to make. This carrot cake with cream cheese frosting has become my signature Easter and springtime dessert.
No need to worry about a dry cake here, every bite is super moist, thanks to lots of shredded carrots in a classic cake cake batter. And better yet, it's topped with cream cheese frosting that's so irresistible (be careful, you'll want to eat it all by the spoonful, it's that addicting).
When developing the recipe, I wanted to also make sure that no special equipment was necessary, so no fancy equipment is needed! It's a made from scratch but I'm sharing all my shortcut tips with you!
This recipe is filled to the brim with tips, but the best might quite possibly be to make the cake in advance and keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. Relax and enjoy the meal, and just don't forget about dessert!
I promise you, this cake is worth every bite, a true showstopper for so many occasions like Christmas, Mothers Day and Fathers Day. If you need some ideas of what to serve to make a complete menu, try my Instant Pot Pepper Jelly Ham, Hasselback Sweet Potatoes, and Air Fryer Turkey Breast.
Shortcuts
- Grease the pan with non-stick cooking spray with flour (aka baker’s spray). It’s so much easier than greasing and flouring the grooves in a bundt pan.
- No electric mixer needed, just use a couple of bowls, a whisk and a spatula and you're good to go!
- Forget shredding the carrots by hand, use the shredding attachment of your food processor to grate in half the time.
Kathleen's Tip: Matchstick carrots that you buy in a small bag in the produce section are not the same as a shredded carrots. The matchsticks are too thick and won’t “melt away” in the carrot cake bundt the same way shredded carrot will. You could finely chop them and that would work in a pinch, but I highly recommend to shred them yourself.
Ingredients
Scroll down to printable recipe for exact ingredient quantities.
Carrot Cake Bundt:
- All purpose flour: The base to the cake batter that provides the structure.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Buy store-bought for ease or if you already have the spices at home, it’s easy to make from scratch too. I give you all the details below.
- Baking powder: Leavener that helps the cake to rise.
- Baking soda: The second leavening agent that tenderizes the cake.
- Salt: A little bit of salt helps to bring out all of the flavors.
- Large eggs: Binds the cake batter together.
- Shredded carrots: This is about 3 medium or 7 ounces, you want to loosely pack them in the measuring cup, not tightly. Avoid buying pre-shredded carrots, they will not give the same texture in the cake.
- Light brown sugar: Sweetens the cake batter.
- Vegetable oil: The fat that adds nice moisture.
- Vanilla extract: Gives caramel and floral notes in every bite.
- (Optional) Chopped pecans or walnuts for garnish
Cream Cheese Icing:
- Cream cheese: Make sure it’s very soft before mixing to make the creamiest frosting.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens the icing perfectly and also helps it hold it’s shape.
- Melted butter: Salted or unsalted is fine. The fat helps round out the flavors with the cream cheese and make the perfect glaze consistency.
- Milk (any milk will do): Any kind will do, just a little bit helps to smooth out the frosting.
- Vanilla extract: Makes that signature cream cheese icing flavor that is so addicting.
How to make Carrot Bundt Cake
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe with detailed instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 350F°. Grease and flour a 10 to 12 cup bundt cake pan. Or, use non-stick cooking spray made with flour (Pam).
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another medium bowl, lightly beat or whisk the eggs.
- Peel and shred enough carrot to get 2 cups loosely packed shredded carrot. Add to the eggs. Stir in the oil, brown sugar and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and stir well but just until all ingredients are combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Place the pan on the rack in the lower third of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or just until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
Prepare the Cream Cheese Icing:
- Meanwhile, with a sturdy whisk, whisk the very soft cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add the powdered sugar, melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk or stir until smooth. If you like the icing a little thinner, add additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let cool just 4 to 5 minutes. (Any longer and it will be harder to remove from the pan.) Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack until completely cool.
- Drizzle, pipe or spread with Cream Cheese Icing.
- It's completely optional, but I like to often garnish with nuts.
Pro Tips
- Avoid buying pre-shredded carrots, use whole carrots that you shred yourself. Peel them and grate them by hand, it makes for a moist bite! In a pinch, you can use the peeled “baby” carrots, but they are small, so more difficult to shred.
- Allow the cake to cool forno more than 5 minutes after removing it from the oven. If you cool the cake any longer, it will be more difficult to remove from the pan. If you remove it from the pan with less than 5 minutes, the cake may not hold it’s shape.
- Microwave the cream cheese after removing the foil wrapper for 20 seconds and it will give you “very soft” cream cheese so you won’t need a mixer.
- If you have the time, it’s worth it to sift your powdered sugar as well as flour to remove any lumps. It really does catch a few tiny clumps that might not dissolve or blend into the batter or icing completely, making for a smooth texture.
- Cool the cake completely before icing. If you don't, the cream cheese frosting will melt on top of the cake and cause quite a mess.
Substitutions
- If you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice at home, it's so easy to do! Here is my recipe to make enough for 2 teaspoons:
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- For an impressive presentation, garnish with toasted coconut and/or chopped pecans or walnuts on the icing.
- Make the carrot cake with pineapple. Just drain an 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple and stir in with the carrot! No other changes needed to the recipe.
- Stir in some raisins. They can add a pop of sweetness and chewy texture. I've used both regular and golden raisins and they are delicious.
Storage
If you want to store this cake, it’s best to cover it with a domed cake container if you have one. If not, then loosely tent with foil. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days and when you’re ready to serve, let the cake sit out for 10 to 15 minutes to take off the chill.
You can also freeze individual slices of the cake wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, allow it to sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours until thawed, or even place in the fridge overnight until ready to serve.
I've also frozen the just the cake, thawed it, then frosted it for a make ahead tip. Perfect for those busy holidays.
FAQ's
Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, if the toothpick only has moist crumbs and no wet batter, then it's finished baking.
You didn't allow the cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes to help it set before flipping it out. Make sure you let it cool for 5 minutes before flipping.
This is probably because you over-mixed the batter, or you used store-bought matchstick carrots which don't dissolve into the cake batter to make for a moist and tender bite.
More Delicious Cake Recipes
Leave a comment below the printable recipe if you have questions or tell me how you liked the recipe. Don't forget to rate it 5 stars if you love it!
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. Be social and share, y'all! Want all my new recipes and updates? Get my weekly newsletter in your inbox!
Carrot Bundt Cake
SAVE THIS RECIPE
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice* (See NOTE to make your own)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups shredded carrot, loosely packed (about 3 medium, 7 to 8 ounces)
- 1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Icing:
- 4 ounces ½ of an 8 ounce block cream cheese, very soft*
- 2 cups powdered sugar 7.5 ounces
- 2 tablespoons melted butter salted or unsalted
- 4 to 5 teaspoons milk any milk will do
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chopped pecans or walnuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F°. Grease and flour a 10 to 12 cup bundt cake pan. Or, use no-stick cooking spray made with flour (Pam).
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another medium bowl, lightly beat or whisk the eggs.
- Peel and shred enough carrot to get 2 cups loosely packed shredded carrot. Add to the eggs. Stir in the oil, brown sugar and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and stir well but just until all ingredients are combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Place the pan on the rack in the lower third of the oven. Bake for 38 to 40 minutes or just until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Prepare the Cream Cheese Icing:
- Meanwhile, with a sturdy whisk, whisk the very soft cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add the powdered sugar, melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk or stir until smooth. If you like the icing a little thinner, add additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let cool just 5 minutes. (Any longer and it will be harder to remove from the pan.) Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack until completely cool. Drizzle, pipe or spread with Cream Cheese Icing.Sprinkle with nuts as a garnish, if you like!
Notes
- Avoid buying pre-shredded carrots, use whole carrots that you shred yourself. Peel them and grate them by hand, it makes for a moist bite! In a pinch, you can use the peeled “baby” carrots, but they are small, so more difficult to shred.
- Allow the cake to cool for just 5 minutes after removing it from the oven. If you cool the cake any longer, it will be more difficult to remove from the pan. If you remove it from the pan with less than 5 minutes, the cake may not hold it’s shape.
- Microwave the cream cheese after removing the foil wrapper for 20 seconds and it will give you “very soft” cream cheese so you won’t need a mixer.
- If you have the time, it’s worth it to sift your powdered sugar as well as flour to remove any lumps. It really does catch a few tiny clumps that might not dissolve or blend into the batter or icing completely, making for a smooth texture.
- Cool the cake completely before icing. If you don't, the cream cheese frosting will melt on top of the cake and cause quite a mess.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Comments
No Comments