Loaded Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A Loaded Carrot Cake is the dessert dreams are made of. It’s a spice cake that is chock full of shredded carrots and coconut, as well as sweet pineapple and crunchy nuts. A generous slather of cream cheese frosting is the bow on top.

But, first, I need to apologize. My photo editing program went berserk this week and some of my images wouldn’t save to my hard drive. As a result, my trademark ingredients shot is missing from this post [insert sad face here].

What You’ll Need to Bake this Loaded Carrot Cake

Again, my sincere apologies for not including the ingredients shot. You’re going to have to trust me when I tell you what you’ll need to bake this loaded carrot cake.

You probably already guessed that you’re going to need fresh carrots. Crushed nuts (pecans or walnuts are good), sweetened coconut flakes, and crushed pineapple form the rest of this “loaded” cake. They get folded into a wet mixture of eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. You’re going to, then, fold these ingredients into a spice cake batter that’s made from all-purpose flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, soda, and salt. 

Cream Cheese Frosting is later spread in and over the cake to finish the dessert. 

A Note About Carrot Shredding

One of my biggest pet peeves about most carrot cakes is that they have big hunks of carrot in them. Texturally, it doesn’t sit well with me. I prefer a fine shred on my carrots, so I recommend using a shredder like this one. If you don’t have one, that’s fine, use what you have. I prefer this size of grater because it leaves the carrots in ribbons instead of thick, funky shreds. 

Mix the Wet Ingredients Together

In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt, then set this aside. Combine the sugar and oil together in a separate large mixing bowl. In a third, separate bowl, stir together the shredded carrots, coconut flakes, nuts, and crushed pineapple. 

*Drain the canned pineapple prior to using it in this recipe. Using it straight from the can (without draining)  will result in a loose, soggy cake.* 

Use an electric mixer to whip the sugar and oil together until the sugar is slightly dissolved. This will take about 2 minutes. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, on low speed; followed by the vanilla. Increase the mixer’s speed to high once the eggs have all been added. Whip this mixture for 2-3 minutes, or until it thickens. It should look like mayonnaise, because, well, that’s basically what it is. A sweet mayo. 

Once your “sweet mayo” has been blended, use a rubber spatula to fold in the carrot-pineapple mixture. Mix until the mixture looks cohesive, all blend-y and junk, you know. 

Fold in the Dry Ingredients

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl filled with the carrot mixture. Use that spatula to mix the flour into the batter for a minute and a half, or until all of the flour has been absorbed. You can also use the electric mixer to do this. 

Divide the batter equally between your greased and floured cake pans. 

About Cake Pans

You’ll probably remember that I’m still living in this traphouse of an apartment while we’re building our forever home. My cake baking and decorating supplies are buried deep in the pit of despair AKA our storage unit. As a result, all I have at hand are 10″ cake pans. Now, I’m a huge fan of multi-layered (3 or 4) cakes, but not so much of a fan that I was willing to rummage through our stuff to find my smaller pans. So, I went with what I had. 

Because of how big my pans are, I’ll only eke out two layers. Guess who’s not tripping over that? Me. Guess who’s going to be grateful they’re getting this loaded carrot cake? My family. Yuuup.

However, if you’re pining for that multilayered goodness for the ‘gram, use a smaller pan, like, an 8″ or 9″, and you’ll bake up thicker layers. The thicker the layer, the more layers you can cut from it.  

Bake the Loaded Carrot Cake

Bake the loaded carrot cake in a 350°F oven for for 30-35 minutes.

After the cakes have finished baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool- in the pan- on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Turn the cakes out of their pans, and leave them on the rack to cool completely.  

Ask any cake decorator and they’ll tell you, the best cakes to frost are those that have had at least 12 hours to rest. Cakes that are freshly baked are tender. As a result, they like to fall apart more than those cakes that have had a chance to firm up. For the best results, wrap your cooled cakes in plastic wrap and allow them to sit on the countertop overnight.

Trim and Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting

Once your cakes have had a chance to settle, use a serrated knife to trim the dome from the tops of the cakes. These may or may not have formed on the layers during baking. Getting rid of these is important because it provides an even, stable base for your subsequent layers.

Save those trimmings, my friend! After crumbling them, you can press them into the sides of the frosted cake as a garnish. I mean, if you want to. 

When you have your even cake layers, spread a thick layer of Cream Cheese Frosting over the top using an offset spatula. Smooth it out so it’s level.

Invert the next layer- so the bottom of the cake is face up- onto the icing to create the second layer. This technique gives your finished cake a super flat top. If you have more layers, continue filling and stacking until they’re all used up.

Spread a very thin layer of frosting over the outside of the cake. This “dirty ice” layer of frosting locks in all of those loose crumbs. When you give your cake its final frosting, it’ll be pristine. Place the dirty iced cake into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. 

After 30 minutes, frost the outside of the cake with that cream cheese frosting. 

Decorate the Loaded Carrot Cake 

If you want to decorate the sides of your cake with more crushed nuts, do so just after frosting so they stick well. Same thing goes if you’re going the cake crumbs route. It’s a good idea to decorate any cake that contains nuts this way. Some of your friends may have an allergy (hopefully not too severe or you shouldn’t even make this) and decorating with nuts will let them know to avoid this dessert.

With the leftover frosting, pipe rosettes onto the top of the cake using a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip.

Garnish those rosettes with a sprinkling toasted nuts and/or coconut flakes.

Place the cake back into the fridge to firm it up.

Serve and Enjoy

When you’re ready to indulge in this Loaded Carrot Cake, just slice and serve!

After cutting, press wax or parchment paper against any exposed cake to keep it from drying out. It’s best stored in the fridge, but it’s perfectly safe to store it on your countertop for 2 days or less. 

Be sure to pin this recipe and don’t forget to share it as well!

5 from 17 votes

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Loaded Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Begin this recipe early in the day or the evening prior.

Course Sweets

Cuisine North American

Keyword cake, carrot cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 1690 kcal

Author Marta Rivera

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (340g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5g) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (2g) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (3g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (385ml) vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large (250g) carrots shredded
• 1 cup (100g) sweetened coconut flakes
• 4 ounces (115g) chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
• 8 ounces (225g) canned crushed pineapple juice drained

To Decorate

• 5 cups Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Instructions

Mix the Batter

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly spray two 8", 9", or 10" cake pans with a non-stick baking spray or grease and lightly flour the pans.

2. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt, set aside.

   Combine the sugar and oil together in a separate mixing bowl.

   In a third, separate bowl, stir together the shredded carrots, coconut flakes, nuts, and crushed pineapple. 

3. With an electric mixer, whip the sugar and oil together until the sugar is slightly dissolved, about 2 minutes.

   Add the eggs, one at a time, on low speed, followed by the vanilla extract. Increase the mixer to high once the eggs have all been added. Whip for 2-3 minutes, or until it thickens. It should look like mayonnaise at this point.

4. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the carrot-pineapple mixture into the egg mixture.

   Once well-mixed, add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix the flour into the batter for 1 1/2 minutes, or until all of the flour has been absorbed.

5. Divide the batter equally between your greased and floured cake pans. 

Bake and Cool the Cake

1. Bake the loaded carrot cake in a 350°F oven for for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.

   After the cakes have finished baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool- in the pan- on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Turn the cakes out of their pans, and leave them on the rack to cool completely.  

2. For the best results, wrap your cooled cakes in plastic wrap and allow them to sit on the countertop overnight.

3. Once your cakes have had a chance to settle, use a serrated knife to trim any domes from the tops of the cakes. This provides an even, stable base for stacking your cake layers.

   Save these trimmings to press them into the sides of the frosted cake as a garnish, if desired.

Decorate the Cake

1. Spread a thick layer of Cream Cheese Frosting over the top using an offset spatula. Smooth it out so it's level.

2. Invert the next layer- so the bottom of the cake layer is face up- onto the icing to create the second layer.

   If you have more layers, continue filling and stacking until they're all used up.

3. Spread a very thin layer of frosting over the outside of the cake. Place the lightly iced cake into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. 

   After 30 minutes, frost the outside of the cake with more cream cheese frosting. 

4. If you're going to decorate the sides of your cake with crushed nuts, do so just after frosting so they stick well. Same thing if you're going the cake crumbs route. will let them know to avoid this dessert.

5. With the leftover frosting, pipe rosettes onto the top of the cake using a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip.

   Garnish the rosettes with a sprinkling toasted nuts and/or coconut flakes.

6. Refrigerate the cake until you're ready to serve it.

   Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

After cutting, press wax or parchment paper against any exposed cake to keep it from drying out.

The cake is best stored in the fridge, but it's perfectly safe to store it on your countertop for 2 days or less. 

Nutrition Facts

Loaded Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1690 Calories from Fat 594

% Daily Value*

Fat 66g102%

Saturated Fat 23g144%

Cholesterol 70mg23%

Sodium 941mg41%

Potassium 418mg12%

Carbohydrates 268g89%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 195g217%

Protein 15g30%

Vitamin A 199IU4%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 118mg12%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Try my other Springtime Sweets:

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

Honey Cheesecake with Baklava Crust