A delicious and fail-proof recipe for a Moist Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting which is both tangy and delicious.
My Carrot Cake
I had a friend coming around for afternoon tea today, and whilst my first instinct was to go out and pick up something from the local bakery, I decided instead to turn on the oven.
In running a quick mental analysis on which would require more physical and mental exertion, setting aside an hour or so to bake a cake was by far the easier option than a “quick” trip to the shops with a baby and toddler in tow.
The first cake that came to my mind was a carrot cake, first because it is one of my favourite cakes and, secondly, I could fool myself into believing that it would qualify as a vegetable intake in my toddler’s diet.
Carrot Cake Recipe
My favourite carrot cake recipe comes from Bake by Rachel Allen, and the recipe can be found in this previous post for Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
I made a few changes on this occasion. Instead of using a loaf pan, I made the cake in a 24 cm (9.5 inch) round springform pan which needed about 60 minutes in the oven to cook.
And instead of a cream-cheese frosting, I made a simple lemon frosting by mixing together about 2 cups of icing sugar (powdered sugar) with just enough lemon juice to make a thick but spreadable icing.
Afternoon tea is served.
Other Carrot Cake Recipes You Might Enjoy
For a classic American-style carrot cake, you can’t beat this Carrot Cake with Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting.
For a more traditional Swiss-style carrot cake, I recommend this classic recipe for Swiss Carrot Cake from Betty Bossi.
For something the kids will love, you can’t beat these Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Moist Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8 to 10
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
A delicious and fail-proof recipe for a Moist Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting which is both tangy and delicious.
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RateIngredients
For the Carrot Cake
- 2 eggs
- 140 ml (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) vegetable oil
- 200 g (1 1/4 cup) light muscovado sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 180 g (1 1/4 cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
- 300 g (11 oz) grated carrots
- 100 g (3.5 oz) raisins
- 75 g (3.5 oz) pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)
For the Lemon Frosting
- 270 g (2 cups) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 2–4 tablespoons lemon juice, or more to taste
To Decorate
- whole marzipan carrots or chopped walnuts
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
- Grease and line a 24 cm (9.5 inch) springform cake pan.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a KitchenAid, beat together the eggs, oil and sugar until it is pale and thick.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice. Mix until well combined.
- Stir through the carrots, raisins and nuts (if using). The batter will be quite liquid but don’t worry about this.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Lemon Frosting
- Mix together the icing sugar (powdered sugar) with just enough lemon juice to make a thick but spreadable icing.
To Decorate
- Generously spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
- As soon as the top of the cake is spread with icing, quickly decorate with some shop-bought marzipan carrots or chopped walnuts.
- Leave the cake for an hour or so to set before serving.
Kitchen Notes
OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Serves 8 to 10
- Calories: 587
- Sugar: 67.2g
- Sodium: 215.9mg
- Fat: 23.9g
- Carbohydrates: 91.6g
- Fiber: 3.1g
- Protein: 5.5g
- Cholesterol: 37.5mg
Update
This recipe was first published on 28 May 2015. It has been updated with new photos and more recipe notes.
It looks great! The little carrot are very cute 🙂 I love a good carrot cake recipe … and I also believe the bad is cancelled out with the good since there is vegetables in it! mmm delicious with a cuppa…
I love these marzipan carrots too! I’ve only come across them since moving to Switzerland – carrot cake is very popular here 🙂
ooh, your cake looks awesome – reminds me of how much I like carrot cake & that it’s been far too long since I baked one!
I’ll have to wait a bit longer I think, since my sister has promised chocolate-cherry cheesecake this weekend & that’s probably enough baked goods for a few days at least, lol
A chocolate cherry cheesecake sounds amazing! And especially when made by someone else 😉
That cake. Those carrots. You’re a goddess!
This cake looks absolutely divine –I mean how did you get a simple little carrot cake to look so classy??? And those carrots look like they took forever and they’re so fricking cute!!!! And the picture makes me drool. I wish I could say it figuratively.
Love the marzipan carrots on this cake – they are so typically Swiss. Also love the contrast of the lemon frosting with this cake, as it makes a nice change from the usual cream cheese frosting.
Beautiful presentation!!! It really impresses! LOVE this recipe!
This cake is very moist and spongy. I didn’t like the taste of the icing when first mixed so I added some almond extract. The flavor of the cake and the icing was much improved the next day. If I make it again I would up the spices and try to come up with those nice marizpan carrots although it looks okay with them, too.
Hi Kate,
Thanks for your feedback!
Yummy2 and healthy cake
Hi Thanh, The carrot cake looks amazing! Would I able to use your photo for my design project? It was the exact carrot cake photo that I was looking for. Thanks
Hello and thank you for sharing this tasty recipe! This was my first attempt in making carrot cake and it was a hit! I loved the way the cake came out, nice and moist. The only change I made was with the icing. I am not a cream cheese fan, so I used my homemade buttercream icing recipe, which was delightful! 5 stars all the way! Thank you.
Hi Soni,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! It sounds delicious with buttercream icing 🙂
My favorite carrot cake recipe! I’ve made this so many times now and everyone always loves it. Even the kids love the lemon frosting.
Beautiful carrot cake recipe!
My family always makes carrot cake for Easter and everybody loved this recipe. The cake was so soft and tender with beautiful flavours. Thank you for the recipe.
Beautiful cake, very tender and moist, very delicious!
Simply delicious! One of the best carrot cakes I have ever tasted.