Layered Carrot Cake
This layered carrot cake recipe is a classic. Moist sponge perfectly spiced and finished with a cream cheese frosting that can’t be beaten. Whether you make one, two or three layers of cake, it will be delicious!
As a child, I avoided carrot cake… who puts vegetables in a cake after all. I actually don’t think I even tried it until my 30’s, and then, of course, wondered where it had been all my life.
My kids did not have the same aversion. In fact, my three-year-old twin boys found it hilarious when I told them I had made a cake with carrots… silly Mom. When they saw it they realized it was no laughing matter, and didn’t think twice before tucking in.
How Many Layers in a Carrot Cake? Quantities per Layer:
I made my layered carrot cake using 8-inch cake pans. Personally I love a small but tall cake, the more layers the better. But if you don’t have many to feed, three layers may be too much… it’s a serious cake!
I often find myself adjusting recipes for smaller quantities, often I’m just baking for myself and the kids. The recipe card below shows quantities for the full triple layer carrot cake. But in case it’s useful, here are the quantities per layer:
Ingredients for a single layer 8″ carrot cake:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Ingredients for frosting a single layer of carrot cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Quantities for a full triple layered carrot cake below in recipe card:
Layered Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 6 eggs (room temperature)
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- .
For the Frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 12 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line three 8-inch pans.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add the canola oil and melted butter and mix with an electric mixer for 1 minute until combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time. Mix to combine.
- Stir in carrots and nuts until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Evenly divide the carrot cake mix between the three baking pans and bake or 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 15mins and fully cool on a rack before frosting.
- .
For the Frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and combined.
- Add the vanilla extract salt and mix.
- Gradually add powdered sugar until all ingredients are combined.
- Spread frosting across all three layers of carrot cake sponge and stack. Use the remaining frosting to coat the outside of the cake.
- Top with finely chopped nuts (optional).
However many layers you;re making, I hope you enjoy this classic cake. Let me know how it goes!
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