I have been making carrot cake for quite some time. My first favorite carrot cake recipe is over 20 years old. That recipe came from a colleague, who used cooked and mashed baby carrots in the cake batter. Using carrots in that form did make for a moist and tender cake. However, something was missing- the toothsome texture of shredded carrots.
My new favorite
Back to the drawing board I went. Obviously, shredded carrots would be the key ingredient, but I also didn’t want to lose the tenderness. It was time to do some recipe tweaking. There are two key ingredients to this carrot cake: buttermilk and vegetable oil.
Buttermilk was an easy choice. It’s what I use in my scones that produces a nicely moist texture. It’s something that most people comment on when sampling a scone. Many people are used to a scone that leans toward the dry side. That doesn’t happen with mine.
In full disclosure, vegetable oil was not my first choice. I much prefer to use butter in my baking. I like the flavor it provides. However, for this carrot cake, it produced a denser, heavier cake. When the batter already has the weight of carrots and walnuts, as well as a thick coating of a rich cream cheese frosting, I don’t want more weight. So, after a bit of making and baking, I decided that vegetable oil was the winner.
Ingredient notes
Other important notes about the ingredients in this cake. Cinnamon is required. If you don’t like cinnamon, you should skip making this cake. (Although it may be the recipe that converts you!) Nutmeg is also required. I mean, you came to my website for the recipe, so just go with my thoughts.
There are two optional ingredients, one of which isn’t even in my recipe. Walnuts are optional. I have enough friends with tree nut allergies, so I understand if that make this recipe a deal breaker. Personally, I love the extra crunch from walnuts and thankfully don’t have many friends allergic to them. The optional, non-recipe ingredient is raisins. I wouldn’t mind add raisins to the cake, but 95% of my sharing friends and family find them to be unappealing. For them, I omit raisins. Oh, the things I do for those I love.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, don’t forget to make a batch of tangy cream cheese frosting to go with it!
My New Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3/4 cups coarsely grated carrots
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350.
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Lightly coat sides and bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick spray.
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Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; lightly coat paper with more nonstick spray.
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Combine carrots and buttermilk in a medium bowl.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the oil and both sugars on speed 2 until the mixture is no longer lumpy, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl down after 30 seconds.
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Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds on speed 2 after each addition.
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Scrape sides and bottom of bowl after each egg.
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Continue mixing until mixture thickens and lightens in color.
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Stir in vanilla.
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Whisk flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
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Add half of the dry ingredients followed by half of the carrot mixture to the stand mixer, stirring until smooth.
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Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl.
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Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and carrot mixture.
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Stir in walnuts with a rubber spatula.
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Divide batter between prepared pans.
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Bake cakes, rotating pans at the 20 minute mark.
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Check for doneness after 35 minutes.
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When done, transfer pans to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
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Remove cakes from pans, and cool thoroughly before frosting.
