Great Grandmother Daisy's Carrot Cake

This is our favorite carrot cake recipe—light, moist, and the perfect balance of spices, sweet carrots, and creamy frosting.

This is my go-to carrot cake recipe—lighter and more moist than any other I’ve made before! I’m glad I kept John’s grandmother’s handwritten recipe binder—it almost got thrown away while Laura and I were helping Grandpa Don move in 2016. Family recipes are more than just food; they’re a connection to the past and a way to create new memories.

This recipe has been adapted from Grandma Daisy’s recipe, which had no instructions as you can see below—so I added them myself!

Note: You can freeze a carrot cake with frosting, but it’s best to do so within 1–2 days of baking and frosting. Place the frosted cake in the freezer, uncovered, for about 1 hour to let the frosting firm up. Once it’s set, wrap the cake in plastic wrap a couple of times, then wrap it in foil, and finally place it in a freezer-safe container or bag. You can store the cake in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Ingredients

For cake: 

• 3C flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2C sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 3 eggs

• 1 1/2C oil

• 2C carrot, grated

• 1C walnuts, chopped

• 1 8-oz can of crushed pineapple, not drained!

For cream cheese frosting:

• 6 oz cream cheese, softened slightly

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2C powdered sugar

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Instructions

For cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside.

   

2. In a stand mixer bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 2~3 minutes, or until the mixture is well blended and creamy.

   

3. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, stirring gently until the batter is smooth. Be careful not to over-mix.

   

4. Gently fold in the carrots, walnuts, and pineapple using a spatula.

   

5. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake for 50~60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

   

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For cream cheese frosting:

1. Using an electric mixer on low speed, blend the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.

   

2. Gradually sift in the powdered sugar, 1C at a time. Mix on low speed, then increase to medium~high speed and beat until smooth and fluffy.

   

3. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake.

   

   

Note:

• Be sure to mix the powdered sugar on low speed at first—if you start too high, it’ll fly everywhere!

• If the frosting ends up too thick, add milk 1 tsp at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.

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