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One Layer Carrot Cake

Apr 9, 2020 · 14 Comments

Jump to Recipe
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and walnuts with a slice cut out of it

A delicious subtly spiced one layer carrot cake that manages to be both super moist and fluffy with a perfect not too sweet easy cream cheese frosting. Few things tastier that you can enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea!

This is a winning recipe, barely adapted from Bread Ahead Bakery. If you aren’t familiar with them, go stalk their instagram now and just look at their famous donuts. One of the best things I’ve ever tasted is their donuts from Borough Market in London. They are famous world over for a good reason. And they don’t just stop at delicious donuts- they’ve been holding live baking sessions nearly every day of March and April to get us all inspired and baking at home during the Covid-19 quarantine. It’s been so much fun! This is the first recipe I’ve tried, and I’m glad I did!

What makes this carrot cake so good?

Honestly, above all, that it’s SO EASY. You mix a few things together- wet ingredients in one bowl and dry in another. You don’t even technically need an electric mixer, if you don’t have one just whisk or mix by hand. The fact that it’s a one layer carrot cake means no filling and stacking and frosting perfecting. It’s all just simple !

Also, it tastes even better the next day. All the flavors sit and deepen and the cake gets even moister. It’s just delicious. The perfect moist texture, just enough spice, great ratio of carrot to cake, soft and fluffy, with a pleasing cream cheese frosting that’s not too sweet at all.

Ingredients to prep carrot cake

Ingredients in a one layer carrot cake:

The batter of the cake has the following ingredients:

Brown sugar: I used dark brown because the extra molasses in that works so well here, but even light will do perfectly.

Eggs: Make sure these are room temperature so they combine properly into the cake.

Vanilla: I upped the amount from the original recipe from 1/4 tsp to 1/2.

Vegetable Oil: This is what gives the cake all its moisture! I do find oil based cakes are usually moister than butter based ones

Grated carrot and walnuts: I like grating on the coarse side of a handheld grater, but you could also use a food processor if you have a grating attachment. Chop the walnuts pretty finely so they distribute in the cake without sinking to the bottom. You could also toss them with a tiny bit of the flour to prevent sinking, but I didn’t bother to do this. You can also substitute the walnuts for pecans or any other nuts or eliminate them all together.

Dry ingredients: Regular flour and a pinch of salt for flavor, as well as ground cinnamon and ginger for the classic carrot cake spice. I increased the cinnamon in the original recipe from 1/2 tsp to a full one.

For the cream cheese frosting: as simple as soft butter, soft cream cheese, and icing sugar mixed together. They also added a squeeze of lemon juice which I did too and really like the flavor that added.

The original recipe actually called for 300g of icing sugar, but I added 200 and found even that a little sweet, so I modified the recipe below. Go with your preference, add 1.5 cup of icing sugar and if you think it can used more add 0.5 cups onwards extra.

Easy carrot cake with cream cheese frosting spread on half

Tips for carrot cake success:

-Cool the cake completely before frosting so the frosting doesn’t run straight off

-Make sure the butter is soft for the icing, mix it a little to soften further before adding the SOFTENED cream cheese. This is key to not get a lumpy frosting. If the icing sugar has lumps in it, sift it before adding for the same reason.

-Don’t overbake, start checking near the stated bake time since every oven is a little different. You don’t want a dried out cake!

Do you need an electric mixer?

No! They actually made this live without one. The cake will combine very easily by hand since there is no butter in it to cream. Even the frosting is easy to smooth together with a. wooden spoon, just make sure the butter and cream cheese really are soft.

Easy carrot cake with a slice cut out of it

How to store leftover cake:

It will last for 5 days in the fridge tightly covered, but I doubt it’ll stick around for that long!

Modifications:

-I haven’t tried this with GF flour, but I imagine it would work very well!

-Feel free to leave out the nuts or substitute with pecans, hazelnuts, even sunflower seeds

-You can use dark or light brown sugar

-Feel free to double the recipe and make it as a 9 inch double layered cake

-I think some caramel sauce swirled into the frosting would be delicious!

One Layer Carrot Cake

Farah Abumaizar
An easy and moist one layer carrot cake adapted from London's. famous Bread Ahead bakery. So easy and absolutely delicious!
4.72 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 341 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the cake:

  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 150 g
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • pinch salt
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup soft brown sugar 150 g
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil 150 g
  • 2 large carrots, grated 150 g
  • big handful cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the cream cheese frosting:

  • 1/2 stick softened butter 50 g
  • 4 oz softened cream cheese 125 g
  • squeeze fresh lemon juice
  • 1.5-2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar) 150-200 g
  • handful chopped walnuts for topping, optional

Instructions
 

For the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350F (175F). Prepare an 11×7 or 9×9 inch pan by lightly greasing and lining with parchment paper or flouring to prevent sticking.
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt), and set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar for 2 minutes on medium speed or so until well combined. Add the vanilla and the vegetable oil and mix until combined.
  • Reduce the speed to low, and add the dry ingredients all at once until incorporated. Don't over mix, a few flour streaks are ok.
  • Add the grated carrots and walnuts if using and fold in with a spatula. Don't mix too much. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for around 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting:

  • In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the softened butter for 20-30 seconds until fluffy. Add the soft cream cheese and beat until combined and light and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar, reduce heat to low and mix until combined. Add a squeeze of lemon juice (optional) and mix until combined. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Notes

Recipe adapted from the wonderful Bread Ahead Bakery’s online baking sessions they so generously shared during the whole quarantine period of 2020 (may it be a distant memory soon!)
Keyword carrot,cake

If you liked this recipe, you might like:

Pineapple Pudding Cake

Unbelievably Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake

Strawberry Poke Cake

Did you make this? Tag @everylittlecrumb or hashtag #everylittlecrumb and I’ll share your images!

Dessert, Recipes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carrie Robinson says

    April 13, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    5 stars
    Such a classic dessert for springtime! Looks perfect. 🙂

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      April 13, 2020 at 5:47 pm

      Thank you Carrie!

      Reply
  2. Liz says

    April 13, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    5 stars
    I bought a HUGE bag of carrots and I’ve been looking for fun ways to use them! This cake recipe is perfect! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      April 13, 2020 at 5:47 pm

      You definitely found it!! My pleasure !

      Reply
  3. Marie-Charlotte Chatelain says

    April 13, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    5 stars
    I am more of a one layer cake kinda girl too! Make one layer, make it delish! And you sure made that layer perfect!

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      April 13, 2020 at 6:04 pm

      Thanks so much Marie!

      Reply
  4. Erika says

    April 13, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    5 stars
    This carrot cake is perfect! I love the simplicity of this dessert.

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      April 13, 2020 at 6:48 pm

      Thanks so much Erika!

      Reply
  5. Sisley White says

    April 13, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    5 stars
    I love the idea of a carrot cake as a traybake. Really easy to make and tasty too

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      April 13, 2020 at 6:48 pm

      So easy! Bread ahead are geniuses!

      Reply
  6. Lana Higgins says

    June 6, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    3 stars
    I made this cake in a 9 by 13 pan because I didn’t have a 9 by 9. I followed all the steps and it didn’t really seem to rise that much. Cake seems kind of thin, maybe because of the bigger baking dish. I added the vanilla to the cream cheese icing.

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      June 6, 2020 at 3:45 pm

      Hi Lana! Yes it isn’t the thickest cake, so I think using a larger pan size contributed to it being thin – vanilla is a great addition to the cream cheese frosting! Thanks for getting back to me❤️

      Reply
  7. Deena Alkhamis says

    October 26, 2020 at 4:00 am

    5 stars
    I made this for a picnic with my friends. It was my first time making carrot cake! They loved it and it disappeared in less than 5 minutes.

    Just a tip: I didn’t have powered sugar so I just threw some sugar in the blender. I saw one of the chefs on Guys Grocery Games do it, and was like yup it works!

    Reply
    • Farah Abumaizar says

      October 26, 2020 at 12:05 pm

      Awesome !! Thanks Deena for the powdered sugar hack. SO glad you liked the cake!!

      Reply

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Farah Abu Maizar | Food Lover
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INGREDIENTS:
 
4 eggs, room temperature and separated (yolk from white)
1 1/2 cups sugar 300 g
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1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup room temperature butter 113 g
2.5 cups all purpose flour 312 g
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup fresh orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS:
 
Preheat oven to 350 F (180C) and prepare your cake pan by lightly greasing and lining with parchment paper or flouring. I used a 9 inch springform pan, you can also use a bundt cake.
Using your fingertips, work the orange zest into the sugar until the sugar has moistened and turned fragrant and changed into a pale yellow/orange color.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with paddle or whisk attachment, mix the egg yolks, orange zest scented sugar, vanilla, and orange blossom water on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes or until pale yellow and fluffy.
Add the oil and the butter and mix until well combined.
Add the flour and baking powder and mix until just combined, then add the juice and mix until combined.

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Fold the egg whites into the cake batter with a rubber spatula, I like to do this in three additions. Take care not to deflate the egg whites.
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