This post may contain affiliate links. This homemade Carrot Cake is fluffy, carrot cake frosting moist without being oily, spiced perfectly, and the silky Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting is out of this world! Layered Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting – This is the BEST Carrot Cake Recipe, I will never make another recipe again! Carrot Cake Its Carrot Cake time!
Or can we just pretend its Spring already so you can make this fluffy Carrot Cake every single week until Easter? This moist Carrot Cake Recipe is not only easy to make but irresistibly delicious and full of flavor. Once you make this carrot cake from scratch, you’ll be bursting at the seams with pride because everyone will be begging you for the recipe. I based this layered Carrot Cake recipe after my wildly popular Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze but increased the recipe to make a triple layer cake so we not only enjoy three layers of moist, spice infused brown sugar carrot cake, but multiple layers of the heavenly, lightly sweetened Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting. The homemade Carrot Cake itself is infused with brown sugar, cinnamon, hints of allspice and nutmeg, vanilla extract, vanilla yogurt, crushed pineapple, finely ground pecans and of course, carrots! The harmonious medley of ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the cake and are not overly discernible yet each ingredient adds to the overall perfection, flavor and moistness.
Super moist without being oily, spiced perfectly, and the Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting is incredible! LOOKING FOR MORE EASTER CAKE RECIPES? HOW DO I MAKE HOMEMADE CARROT CAKE? Carrot Cake is wonderfully delicious and pretty straightforward but I’ve included some tips and tricks to make your life easier and to ensure you end up with the Best Carrot Cake of your life. Prevent Sticking: To prevent any sticking issues, be sure to generously grease and flour your pans. By using parchment paper in the bottom of our pans we eliminate much of that issue. I personally am a big fan of cooking spray WITH flour and use this instead of buttering and flouring my pans and I’ve never had a problem with cakes sticking.
Drain Pineapple: Add crushed pineapple to a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and push down on pineapple with a spoon to eliminate excess moisture. This ensures that you and I both have roughly the same moisture content in our cakes because otherwise pineapple moisture can vary from can to can. In a large bowl, mix all of the Dry Ingredients together which consist of flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pecans, baking soda, baking powder and our spices. When measuring flour, it’s best to use the spoon and level method. This simply means spooning the flour into the measuring cup rather than scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour container. Season your Carrot Cake: One of the elements that set’s this Carrot Cake apart is the glorious spices. It’s seasoned with ground cinnamon, allspice and a hint of nutmeg which add to the overall flavor without being overpowering.
When you overmix cake batter, the gluten in the flour can form elastic gluten strands which results in a more dense, tough texture as opposed to a light, fluffy cake. Next, we divide our batter between prepared pans and drop on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. You will know your cakes are done when they have started to pull away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Don’t be tempted to open the door while baking as this can cause your cakes to fall in the center. How to Grate Carrots for Carrot Cake This might seem like a silly question, but it is really important!
After all, it’s the carrots that put the carrot in CARROT CAKE. Chop the tops off the carrots and peel. Alternatively, if you have a shredding blade for your food processor then you can grate the carrots this way -which is super fast and convenient. What Makes this the best Carrot Cake Recipe? To turn this airy, moist, classic carrot cake into the Best Ever Carrot cake, it has to have the Best Ever Cream Cheese Frosting. By simply adding vanilla yogurt and pineapple preserves to our luscious Cream Cheese Frosting, we’ve done just that.
Many grocery stores carry pineapple preserves, but sometimes you have to look closely. I almost walked out of my grocery store but finally spotted it on the very top shelf. So if you aren’t sure if your grocery store carries pineapple preserves, definitely ask. I have had success at Vons. And if that fails, there is always Amazon. Another life’s pleasure that makes me very very happy. DON’T microwave butter or cream cheese for frosting!