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Carrot Cake
3.9 (928 reviews)
Martha Stewart's carrot cake recipe is moist, tender, and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. It's topped with a luscious-yet-simple cream cheese frosting.
Total Time180
Servings10
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Caloriesper servingIngredients
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 0.75 teaspoon coarse salt
- 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger
- 0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 0.5 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 0.5 cup water
- 1 pound carrots (8 to 10 medium carrots), peeled and shredded on a box grater or in a food processor (about 2 ¾ cups)
- 2 cups pecans (1 cup finely chopped for batter, 1 cup coarsely chopped for decorating sides of cake)
- Easy Cream Cheese Frosting for Carrot Cake
Instructions
- 1Preheat oven and prep pans; whisk dry ingredients: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
- 2Beat butter and sugars; add eggs one at time: Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes.
- 3Mix in vanilla, water, and carrots; add flour mixture then pecans: Add vanilla, water, and carrots. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.
- 4Divide batter between pans and bake: Scrape batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- 5Cool, remove from pans then cool completely: Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen, and turn out cakes onto rack. Turn right side up, and let cool completely.
- 6Trim cakes and assemble: Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of 1 cake. Place trimmed cake, cut side up, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with second cake.
- 7Frost cake; press pecans onto sides: Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Gently press coarsely chopped pecans onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.