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Decadent Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

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Rich, moist decadent carrot cake is arguably the tastiest way to eat your carrots. This delicious cake would be the perfect Saturday morning treat to enjoy with a bold cup of coffee. It would also be a great recipe to pull out as fall (and the holidays) gets closer.  This recipe uses pineapple for a little bit of extra moisture and flavor. The cream cheese glaze also ensures that the cake has a great balance of cream cheese and cake flavors, without being too heavy. A touch of walnuts on top looks lovely and also contributes just the right amount of texture.

This recipe does not take long to prep at all. Before you get started, go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. You can also pre-grease your loaf pan with a little bit of butter or vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  It’s important to combine your dry ingredients first so that they blend thoroughly and don’t create weird clumps in your end result.

If you follow a gluten free lifestyle, you can totally still enjoy this recipe. I like to use Krusteaz gluten free flour when making gluten free baked goods. It has a good texture and works great as a 1:1 substitute for regular flour.

Separately (using a mixer,  beaters or a very strong arm), you’re going to cream together the sugar, eggs and vegetable oil.

Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Once your basic batter is well-combined, it’s time to add the textural ingredients that make this cake extra tasty!

First, add the carrots, then the pineapple, then the walnuts. Fold them in.

Pour your batter into your greased loaf pan and put into your pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes (or until you can insert a toothpick and pull it out, clean. )

While your cake is in the oven, you can put the glaze together. This glaze is a great icing-alternative, and it’s so easy. (You actually make it in the microwave!)

Simply combine your cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar in a microwaveable bowl. Melt this combination in the microwave in short bursts until it is pourable (give it a final stir to combine).

When your cake is fully cooked, transfer it from the loaf pan to a cooling rack and drizzle with glaze.  You can even pour your glaze into a frosting bag if you want it to look a little extra decorative. Top with some chopped walnuts.

All that’s left now is to get some coffee going. ENJOY!

Carrot cake is such a cozy sort of dessert. One of the reasons I love it is that you don’t have to wait until after dinner to eat it— it can be enjoyed for breakfast (or as an afternoon treat with tea)! I hope that this delicious and simple carrot cake becomes a staple that you can enjoy with friends and family throughout the year! Let us know if you try it and how you like it!

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Decadent Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 12 reviews
  • Author: Wendy Hilton
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Cuisine: dessert

Description

This decadent take on classic carrot cake incorporates pineapple and walnuts! It’s easy to make and would be the perfect treat to share with friends and family alongside some coffee or tea!


Ingredients

Scale

For cake:

  • 1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple

For glaze:

  • 4 oz cream cheese  (room temperature)
  • 1/4 cups butter (softened)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1.  In a large bowl combine flour,baking powder,baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  2. In a separate bowl cream together sugar, eggs, and vegetable oil.
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  4. Then in order add the carrots, pineapple, and walnuts.
  5. Pour into greased loaf pan.
  6. Bake at 350 about 40-45 mins until toothpick comes out clean

For Glaze:

  1. Combine all ingredients and mix.
  2. Microwave until pourable.
  3. Drizzle over warm loaf.

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36 Comments

  1. I’ve added this wonderful dessert to my list of dishes to make this coming fall season. Thanks for the recipe!






  2. Before this i never knew they put actual carrots in carrot cake. I thought it was name that for the color lol

  3. I love carrot cake and this looks amazing! I found this through the nice bag giveaway too. Thanks! I pinned it!






  4. This looks so delicious. Carrot cakes are my favorite because they come out so moist and flavorful. I will be trying this recipe for sure.

    1. I don’t know. We’ve never tried it with a substitution. I’m sure it would change the taste some, but hopefully it will still be delicious! If you try it, you’ll have to let us know! The main thing (I would guess) would be adjusting the amount of liquid so your cake isn’t too wet because of the extra liquid.

  5. I grew up with Carrot cake as my birthday cake and this is a wonderful take on the recipe. I have printed and will have to make for others. YUM

  6. I appreciate that this recipe doesn’t have too much sugar. I’ve seen some carrot cakes that have 2+ cups, and that’s a big turn off for me. This is far more reasonable!






  7. Our garden is finally producing carrots, this cake will be even more fantastic with fresh shreds.

  8. I didn’t know Wendy was on here! haha This looks amazing…. I should have my daughter make me one!

    P.S. I’m here to win the Coach purse!






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