A deliciously classic recipe this Layered Carrot Cake is filled with pineapple, walnuts and raisins and finished off with a light and delicious cream cheese frosting.
I’m a cake lover by nature. Carrot Cake has always been one of those recipes that I have always loved. The flavors of everything together is outstanding.
This Layered Carrot Cake is one of my favorites, now I love any kind of cake out there, bundt cake, sheet cake, cupcakes but when it comes to a layer cake I can’t help myself.
People are intimidated by cakes sometimes and they really shouldn’t be, this cake is really easy to put together and even easier to make disappear.
It is one of those recipes that I think any baker should have in the recipe box, you should always keep the good classics around because they never get old.
At least not to me, this Layered Carrot Cake I could eat every day if I had the chance, but it is a cake that we usually make closer to spring and every Easter.
Everyone always requests this cake and for good reason, so that is why I am sharing it with you today! You can’t not give this recipe a try.
Some of my other favorite cakes we have on our site include Chocolate Layer Cake, Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake Cake, and Strawberry Cheesecake Bundt Cake!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Pantry staple ingredients help this cake come together fast.
- You can change it up if you like omitting the pineapple, nuts, and raisins if you are not a fan.
- This feeds a crowd so one cake will get you far!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
All-purpose flour
Cinnamon
Baking soda
Salt
Nutmeg
Cloves
Butter
Brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Vanilla
Carrots
Pineapple
Walnuts
Raisins
Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE LAYERED CARROT CAKE:
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Take a pastry brush and brush the spray all over the inside of the pans to make sure they are evenly coated. Add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan, not up the sides. Spray with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Place the butter and sugars in the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or you can do this in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, mix until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated and add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined, scrape down the sides, and stir for about 30 seconds until everything is mixed in well.
- Add the carrots, pineapple, half of the walnuts, and the raisins, stir until everything is incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Smooth out the top and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs hanging on is okay but no wet batter.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Invert the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack
Frosting:
- To make the frosting add the cream cheese and butter to the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip on medium until smooth. Add the vanilla, powdered sugar, and cinnamon, mix to combine. Scrape down the sides as needed. Turn the mixer on to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
- Once the cakes are cool, take the parchment paper off the bottoms. Place one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving platter. There should be very little doming but if there is you can trim off a bit to make it more even. Add 1 & ½ cups of the frosting on top of the cake and smooth it out to the edge.
- Invert the second cake and place it bottom side up on top of the frosting. Add a crumb coat to the entire cake. Place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
- Frost with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Add the walnuts along the bottom edge of the cake. Slice and serve!
See how easy that really is to make? Everything pretty much just gets mixed together and placed in pans. My motto is that it doesn’t have to be pretty, just taste good!
You should have seen some of the cakes I have made in the past, they sure weren’t pretty but they sure tasted good. So if you think that you can’t do it, just remember that.
Now, these layers are already pretty thick but if you want a taller cake you can also add your batter to two high-sided 8″ cake pans, which will give this cake a little more height if that is what you want.
WHAT KIND OF FROSTING SHOULD I USE?
A traditional Layered Carrot Cake Recipe uses cream cheese frosting, I have never met a good carrot cake that has used anything different.
But if you are not a fan of cream cheese frosting then I would recommend maybe a regular buttercream spiced with a hint of cinnamon, that should do the trick.
Although it won’t be as authentic as the classic cake, you can doctor it to your needs if you have to!
HOW TO STORE:
Since this contains a cream cheese frosting it needs to be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. It should last for up to 4-5 days.
You can also freeze this cake, we actually prefer freezing the layers of the cake if we are not going to assemble right away, this is the best way for freezing.
To do that, bake and cool your cake layers according to directions. Then wrap in plastic wrap and then foil and place in the freezer, they should last in the freezer up to 3-4 months.
When you are ready to assemble your cake, let your cake layers defrost and make your frosting and decorate!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- The addition of the nutmeg and clove gives a nice warmth to the cake but you can leave it out and add more cinnamon in its place.
- You can also add or subtract your pineapple, nuts, and raisins those are all optional but give it great flavor.
- If you don’t like regular raisins golden raisins are known to be used in carrot cake as well.
- This needs to fully cool before it is frosted.
- You can freeze the layers of this cake for later assembly.
- If you want taller layers, you can bake them in a high-sided 8″ baking pan.
If you are looking for that classic recipe that everyone loves then you have to give my Layered Carrot Cake a try, you will keep on making it over and over.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this LAYERED CARROT CAKE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Layered Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots
- 8 ounces canned crushed pineapple drained well
- 1 cup chopped walnuts divided
- ½ cup raisins
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Take a pastry brush and brush the spray all over the inside of the pans to make sure they are evenly coated. Add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan, not up the sides. Spray with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Place the butter and sugars in the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or you can do this in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, mix until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated and add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined, scrape down the sides, and stir for about 30 seconds until everything is mixed in well.
- Add the carrots, pineapple, half of the walnuts, and the raisins, stir until everything is incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Smooth out the top and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs hanging on is okay but no wet batter.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Invert the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting by adding the cream cheese and butter to the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip on medium until smooth. Add the vanilla, powdered sugar, and cinnamon, mix to combine. Scrape down the sides as needed. Turn the mixer on to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
- Once the cakes are cool, take the parchment paper off the bottoms. Place one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving platter. There should be very little doming but if there is you can trim off a bit to make it more even. Add 1 & ½ cups of the frosting on top of the cake and smooth it out to the edge.
- Invert the second cake and place it bottom side up on top of the frosting. Add a crumb coat to the entire cake. Place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
- Frost with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Add the walnuts along the bottom edge of the cake. Slice and serve!
Notes
- The addition of the nutmeg and clove gives a nice warmth to the cake but you can leave it out and add more cinnamon in its place.
- You can also add or subtract your pineapple, nuts and raisins those are all optional but give it great flavor.
- If you don't like regular raisins golden raisins are known to be used in carrot cake as well.
- This needs to fully cool before it is frosted.
- You can freeze the layers of this cake for later assembly.
- If you want taller layers, you can bake them in a high sided 8" baking pan.
Nutrition
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