A 14-Carat Carrot Cake

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Servings: 12

    • About This Recipe

    “No, there aren’t 14 carrots in it–only two, but this carrot cake with pineapple and pecans and a cream cheese frosting–worth every cent!It is from a Junior League Cookbook.”

    Ingredients

  • 2cupsflour
  • 2teaspoonsbaking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoonsbaking soda
  • 1teaspoonsalt
  • 2teaspoonsground cinnamon
  • 4eggs
  • 2cupssugar
  • 1 1/2 cupsoil
  • 2cupsgrated raw carrots
  • 1 (8ounce) cans crushed pineapple in juice, drained
  • 1/2 cupchopped nuts( walnuts or pecans)

    • Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cupmargarine
  • 1 (8ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1teaspoonvanilla
  • 1lbconfectioners’ sugar( sifted)

    • Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon.
  • In mixing bowl, beat eggs and add sugar.
  • Let stand until sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in oil, carrots, drained pineapple and nuts.
  • Stir in dry ingredients and beat until well blended–3 minutes or so with blender.
  • Turn into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans or one 13-x9-inch pan.
  • Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
  • Cool in pans about 10 minutes, then turn onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
  • Frosting: Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla in large bowl and beat until well blended.
  • Add powdered sugar gradually, beating vigorously.
  • If frosting is too thick, thin with a few drops of milk to spreading consistency.

    • Reviews

  • “when i first joined back in 2002 i was looking for a great carrot cake,and this is the one that caught my eye. i made it again today and it tastes just as wonderful as it did then.when i made it this time,instead of finely grating all of the carrots i rough grated some for a different type of texture. if you want an excellent carrot cake,look no further you found it. if i could give it more than 5 ‘*s .thank you so much for posting.”

  • “I won’t rate this because I changed the recipe slightly, but it turned out great.I had a jar of baby food carrots that I substituted for an equal amount of the oil. I’m not sure if it made any difference but the cake was EXTREMELY moist and not greasy or heavy at all!”

  • “I have a similar recipe from an Austin Junior Forum cookbook “Lonestar Legacy.”It is similar to this but uses 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar and an optional 3 oz’s of flaked coconut. I add walnuts instead of pecans (though I love pecans!) and I don’t go overboard draining the crushed pineapple. This cake always gets raves. It is a rich cake so I always line the cake pans (three 9″) with oil, flour and a round of parchment paper.”

  • “I’ve been making this exact recipe for 30 years. It was originally in the LA Times Cookbook that my mom had. I cut back on the oil by about 1/4 cup and I don’t drain the pineapple. It comes out so moist. I recommend grating your own carrots and not using store bought grated carrots. They are too thinck and change the texture of the cake. I also cut back on the sugar in the frosting.”

  • “Fantastic recipe.”

  • “This is almost exactly the same recipe my mom has been using for years!She got it from one of her coworkers, a fabulous cook, years ago. All the ingredients and measurements are the same, except hers also includes 1/2 cup of flaked coconut.My mom is famous amongst family and friends for this wonderful cake.Everyone always asks for the recipe.I’ve never felt the need to look for another recipe because this is the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted.”

  • “Great recipe!I only made a couple of changes to the recipe, I substituted 1/2 cup of pineapple juice (drained off the crushed pineapple) for 1/2 cup of the oil, used a bundt pan and it turned out fantastic.I took it to a charity tea we were hosting and one of the patrons told my mother (not knowing I had made the cake) that is was the absolute best carrot cake she’d ever tasted…I wouldn’t know, I never got a piece!This is a definite keeper.Thanks for sharing!”

  • “Excellent cake! VERY sweet, but a nice birthday treat. There was definitely not enough frosting for a 3-layer cake so I ended up using a can of vanilla and mixing in some cinnamon for the inside layers. So, you may want to double the recipe. Other than that, super!!!”

  • “This cake was a hit!! I made this for a dinner party (8 adults). The cake was completely gone the next day. I did change the recipe a little – instead of 8 oz of pineapple drained, I put in 20 oz can drained. It was so moist, it was amazing!”

  • “Easily one of the all time best carrot cakes…addictive”

  • “Delicious cake so moist and flavorfulQuick to do.Didn’t put the frosting on it but loved it anyway.”

  • “This cake was amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!! I did add about two tablespoons of the remaining pineapple juice to the frosting and it was sooo creamy and fruity as well, a HUGE hit with my family!”

  • “This cake has a really nice flavor, I found it to be a little heavy, but my family all loved it when I made if for Easter. I added a touch of clove, but that was the only alteration I made. It was very moist.”

  • “Supreme carrot cake! It was moist as could be, and the pineapple adds a lovely hint of flavor and extra moistness. I added a pinch of cloves, used baby carrots grated in my food processor, and used whipped cream cheese (not light) in the tub for the frosting. It was actually easier to mix the frosting and I didn’t need to add any milk, which I usually do when working with block-style cream cheese. This makes a delicious cake, not too sweet, perfectly complimented by the frosting, which is also not tooth-aching sugary.”

  • “DESERVES 10 STARS!I have made this twice now and it is absolutely delicious and moist!I found that you can cut the recipe in half to make 1 bundt cake/1 loaf pan/12 cupcakes.To make this recipe healthier, I switched the cream cheese frosting (I love it too!) to a maple syrup glaze.I heated up 2 TBL maple syrup with 1 TBL unsalted butter in a saucepan and drizzled it over the cake.Then I mixed 1 TBL of sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon and topped the cake!Still VERY delicious with a lot less saturated fat!”

  • “This is really the best carrot cake! It deserves 10 stars! Absolutely perfect!”

  • “Excellent carrot cake – I used 1 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup brown (and I think it is sweet enough!), and 3/4 cup oil plus 1/2 cup applesauce.I also soaked some raisins in boiling water for a few minutes, and added some nutmeg and vanilla as well.I subbed half the flour for white whole-wheat, and left out the nuts – and even with all these changes it’s delicious!I’d love to try the frosting next time.Thank you!”

  • “I wanted a healthy cake for my daughter’s 1st birthday, & this seemed to fit the bill.I used applesauce in place of the oil, added a tiny bit of clove & left out the nuts so she wouldn’t choke.Everyone loved the resulting cupcakes!!I also used only 1/2 of the sugar in the frosting, as I didn’t want her bouncing off the walls.Very good recipe…Thanks!!”

  • “Super recipe.Great texture, just the right amount of sweetness – gobs of frosting.It’s a winner!”

  • “Probably the best carrot cake I have ever eaten!I’m usually a wimp about making layer cakes because I can’t get them to look good, but this one was beautiful.Wonderful texture, wonderful flavor, and the icing is divine.Thanks for a great one!”

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