I never really gave carrot cakes much thought until I came to Singapore. Cedele bakery in Singapore kind of opened my eyes to them with their really good carrot cakes with tons of walnuts in them. For the longest time, I really believed that they had the best carrot cake in Singapore!
Until one day I saw this box in our office pantry labeled “Sample for Google Employees”. Inside was an 8″ carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that was still cold from the fridge. I took half a slice, brought it back to my desk and forgot about it for the next couple of hours. Big mistake!
Eventually, when I did end up taking a bite, it was a virtual explosion of taste and texture in my mouth. That is hands down the best carrot cake I have ever tasted! If you are in Singapore and you wouldn’t mind a carrot cake changing your life forever, order one from Calendar’s.
Anyway, all this carrot cake overload made me want to bake my own and I was aiming for a moist, dense, yet soft one like they baked at Calendar’s. The following recipe worked great!By the way, you may also be interested in this great banana cake with cream cheese frosting that I love. Or maybe a chocolate fudge cake?
Moist Carrot Cake Recipe a la Calendar’s Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour / maida
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon (not optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (optional but really adds flavour)
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used veg oil with carotene which explains the deep orange colour of my carrot cake)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk or buttermilk (I used milk)
1.5 cups peeled, shredded carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
How to make Moist Carrot Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F / 180C
2. Butter and flour a cake pan of choice. I used my 8″ square baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and allspice. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl or using your stand-mixer, whisk the eggs, oil, both sugars and milk (or buttermilk) until blended. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until combined. Fold in carrots and walnuts.
4. Transfer to your greased and floured baking tin. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack and let cook completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
I always use my own eye-balled measurement for frosting. Most of the frosting recipes I come across have too much sugar and since I don’t ever pipe on icing to cakes (I prefer the slathering technique), I just follow what I want to put together frosting, tasting as I go.
Ingredients:
Half a block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (about 125gm) – at room temperature
4 tbsp unsalted butter – at room temperature
1/2 to 3/4 cup icing sugar (taste as you go and stop when its sweet enough)
1 tsp vanilla extract
How I Made It:
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Then add the sugar and vanilla and beat until blended. You can do this by hand or using an electric beater. Spread evenly over the cooled carrot cake and serve immediately. I prefer a thin layer but go with what your heart says!
Refrigerate remaining cake for up to 4 days but make sure you bring to room temperature before serving.
You may also like this tutti frutti cake or a lovely apple streusel cake.
One of the best recipe of carrot cake .I uave been making this for years ..n it comes out so perfect every time.
Thank you!
Tried carrot cake today and it turned out awesome Nags :)…a keeper of a recipe. Would have attached the pics i had taken too, but no attachment provision.
aww bummer! do tag me on instagram if you are on there 🙂
Fabulous cake!!!! We amused our party with this wonderful cake, Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. Thanks alot!!!!!!!
Hello Nags….this recipe looks quite interesting and want to give it go. I have one question though…do you think I can replace the eggs with the std subsititution of flour, oil, buttermilk, baking powder etc…I mean apart from the eggs, the recipe itself calls for the addition of baking powder, soda, oil, buttermilk etc etc. won’t the baking soda and powder be too much?
the baking powder and soda you use to replace eggs should be in addition to the standard addition. yes, the cake may taste a bit “chemical” if there’s too much leavening but that’s something you have to try out when subbing out eggs.
Hi Nags, have made this twice and both my daughter & son just loved the cake. making it again this time for Christmas since no one wants the usual X-mas cake this year.
Thanks for the recipe & God Bless U.
Merry Christmas & a very Happy 2016 in advance.
rgds.
Kapil
Thank you Kapil, Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!
Hi Nags,
I tried this cake over the weekend and it was such a wonderfully moist cake that it never felt like the main ingredient was carrot. I too, like parijat, who has commented above, used Demerera Sugar instead of Brown sugar, as I have still not been able to lay my hands on brown sugar in Chennai, where I stay. As I used a hand mixer to mix the ingredients, I went about adding the Demerera sugar just as it is, without any grinding, and it still got dissolved. As for oil, I used olive oil, and the taste was marvelous. Just a doubt, the nuts part – does it have to be walnuts only? or can we replace it with cashews or almonds, etc.? if we don't have walnuts in hand. Would it change the taste?
Hi Nags, I chanced upon your blog quite a while ago and jotted a long list of recipes to cook/bake…but somewhere down the road I forgot !( the OS crashed, my bookmarks went with it and all my treasures went with it). Anyway glad that I got back to your blog when I was looking for a recipe on potato wedges (baked and low cal). I couldn't delay any further and quickly baked, they turned up awesome (i reduced the olive oil to 1/2 the qty and still they turned up great). In the past one week I made palak khichdi, soya chunks biriyani and 1/2hr back I baked your moist carrot cake. Now how lazy can I be not to post my feedback after all the success. Every recipe I cooked/baked from your blog turned out great. Thank you for having such a wonderful treasure of recipes here. Planning to bake the lemon diva cake and date cake with toffee sauce over the next few days. Rock on lady ! Love your blog 🙂
Just made this beautiful cake today…. was tasted my 1 year old daughter first and she loved it… Being a fussy eater, thats an achievement 🙂
The cake turned out really moist and was Yum….
Made the eggless chocolate cake last weekend and that too was amazing….
Thanks a lot 🙂
Surya
Thank you Surya 🙂 I am really glad you enjoyed both the cakes, especially the eggless chocolate cake on Edible Garden!
Nags,
the cake slice is so yumm…i can't resist it.
But being veg, I need a substitute of eggs, if you can tell
~Rashmi
hmm not sure how to make this carrot cake eggless. yogurt may work. try it?
thanks..will try next time
The carrot cake is right now baking away in the oven and giving out some delicious smells 🙂 But I want that carotene oil u used….just cud not find it anywhere here. Ur cake has such a lovely orange color!!!
This is the first time i have tried my hand at baking, and the carrot cake cake out great. Thanks Nags
I tried this recipe today, it came out great. Thank you so much Nags.
Tried and turned out yummy 🙂 Thanks!
Hi guys, i have tryed this recipe. Its too good. i would strongly recommend to u all.
Check this recipe too ….. Carrot Cake Recipe.
I made ur carrot cake twice, my family just loved it, thanx! I wld like to share with u a tips i used myself in absence of brown sugar and cream cheese.
1)first time baked this cake, i used damerara sugar instead of brown sugar. But grind it once in the mixie since it doesnt dissolve easily. The cake was very nice, fluffy and moist.
2)The second time i baked, i took only white sugar, i mean the brown sugar also i substituted with white. But 1/4th of that i caramelised( just like we do for creame caramel) and added the 1/4th c milk there, and followed the recipe as given. This cake also turned out well, with a mild flavour of caramel 🙂
3)To substitute cream cheese, i use 'chenna' as used in Rasgullas. Many youtube videos are available on this. I make my baked cheese cakes also with this. and for no-bake ones i use hung curd. Philladelphia cream cheese is available here .but too costly to make quite often, plus the extra fat content 🙂
thanks for the fantastic tips Parija! Very glad you liked the carrot cake recipe 🙂
The recipe was awesome!
gotta try thankx
thanks so much for this recipe…. i tried baking the cake it and it turned out awesome… 🙂 you have one more fan here now….
I made it quite some time back!
http://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2011/11/carrot-cake.html
hi there, allspice is a spice, like cinnamon or cardamom. you get the powder in most asian stores. if you don't have it, you can omit, but the cinnamon must be added.
the vegetable oil i was using when i baked this had carotene in it. its fine if yours doesn't. just use regular vegetable oil.
hiii
dis really temptin n makin me 2 try it out…but need to know…wht is tht ground allspice?? n wht u mean by veg oil wit carotene???thnxx
hi..tried this out two days back..n it came out fabulous !! perfect measurements and just as u described- moist,dense.. Thanks 🙂
That's fantastic. So glad the carrot cake recipe worked for you 🙂
hehe i had to! its the next most important ingredient after the carrots. hope carrot cake comes out nice and moist for you too!
making this now – i like how you say cinnamon is NOT optional 😀
Ooh Nags, such a colourful and irresistible slice! Wish I could have a bite right now, ah!
It sure looks moist and absolutely amazing.
That looks yummy 🙂 Good job, thanks for sharing this sweet recipe 🙂
Wowwww Nags!!! they look really soft and moist.I want to take a bite of it, but how? Lazy to make a cake 🙁
You rock…
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Lovely cake..
What a colorful and healthy-ful twist to cake. Will definitely try for my sweet tooth dears at home.
-Mythreyi
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Nags have you tried the carrot cake in Martha Steward's site? Its reallllly good. But grating all those carrots is such a pain.
never tasted carrot cake.. this is a sure try … the pics are tempting !!
Love that deep colour by carrots, cake looks absolutely dense and super delicious..
Wowo i would love to have a slice and that frosting licky lick.
Soft n moist cake…
looks super delish and tempting! saving the recipe for later 🙂 could you tell mw what to substitute for the philly cream cheese here in India? thanks
Nice carrot cake recipe, love that you did in a slab, we are partial to a slab cake over a multiple layer cake, looks really nice, thanks for sharing your recipe look forward to trying.
wow what a yummy cake… love it dear…
Dish Name Starts with F
Learning-to-cook
Regards,
Akila
Loved the deep orange color of d cake..:)
cake wid d frosting looks super tempting!!
Hii Nags….they look so yummy…will surely try this.
I have a request….can you share a cake recipe that has oats in them please…..
I have loads of oats at home (was planing to go a healthy diet with oats….) anyway I got tired of having porridge and my hubby doesn't like porridge much so if I could get him to eat it will have to be in the form of cakes.
I did check the net but to tell you the truth I don't feel confident to try out any of those recipes…with yours I always get good results 🙂
So please….if you can please do bake a cake with oats next time or any time.
Thank you.
Really gorgeous pics and loved the flavors going into the cake…have never had it with frosting to be honest. I make one with almond meal, without frosting and that is great too . The color of your cake is just awesome.
ohmygod!!! it is looking delicious, my favourite cake!!
Fantastic cake nags,will try it…
Nags, the pictures are not showing up, just a small rectangle is seen. May be shall come again and have a dekho at the lovely cake 🙁
Fantastic looking cake. Pretty tempting. I have heard of carrot cakes but have no clue how it would taste. Your tempting clicks make me want to do it soon. Bookmarked 🙂
I want it for breakfast 🙁
-Hb.
Carrot cake is truly the best…and a moist carrot cake makes it even more perfect !!
I am honestly not sure if a cream cheese substitute would work in this carrot cake frosting recipe. You do get Philadelphia cream cheese in India though, mostly in cities I think.
Sure it looks moist and dense,never tasted one,will sure try as you have recommended 😉 Yours looks tempting enough to try nags!
Thank you so much for that Ranjeetha. I generally don't like using oats in cakes and cookies and never have oats at home either (because we have it in office and I have it once or twice a week for breakfast, TH won't touch oats). Will try to see if I can find you a good oats cake recipe or let me scout around for something interesting for me to try 🙂
Excellat cake and looks so soft and moist…
kurinjikathambam
Event: Healthy Recipe Hunt
I saw this flickr and was waiting for the recipe…Looks very moist n perfect.Luv the frosting idea…..