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If you’re looking for a super easy carrot cake recipe, this is the one! A slightly spiced, moist, delicious, and simple carrot cake that is a breeze to make: blend all the ingredients and bake!
No grating carrots, no whipping frosting, no mess.
We all deserve a slice of homemade cake, but who has time to bake on a Monday? Let’s be real: baking on a weekday can be a bit of a hassle, but I’m here to help you!
But maybe you didn’t know you could whip up a super easy carrot cake in minutes until now. And I’m here to tell you that you can!
This simple carrot cake requires just a handful of baking essentials, a few carrots, and 5 minutes of prep time.
No grated carrots, no cream cheese frosting, no cake layers.
All you have to do is blend all the ingredients in a food processor, transfer the batter to a cake pan, and bake.
The result is absolutely delicious. The texture is moist and denser than a typical cake, and the flavor is slightly spicy with a subtle orange flavor.
And it’s not overly sweet, even though it is sweet. It’s just right.
It’s also easy to customize. Think of chocolate chips, raisins, pecans, walnuts.. the possibilities are endless.
This is a simple carrot cake recipe for a no-frills yet delicious cake perfect for any occasion, any time of the day, any time of the year, including Monday.
Don’t wait any longer; gather your carrots, blender, and baking essentials and get started on this simple yet utterly irresistible carrot cake.
List of the ingredients
- Carrots
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Flour + baking powder
- Spices
- Sugar & salt
- Vegetable oil
- Orange zest (missing in the photo)
- Vanilla extract
How to make this easy carrot cake recipe
(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside
- Puree the carrots with eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, zest, and oil until smooth (I use a food processor. If using a blender, see notes in the recipe card).
Note: once you add the flour, resist the temptation to turn the batter into a smoothie! Overmixing the cake batter creates a dense and rubbery cake.
- Use a rubber spatula to transfer the carrot cake batter to the prepared cake pan (I used a pretty bundt cake pan here!).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes (it depends on the pan used).
- Enjoy at room temperature, dusted with some powdered sugar.
Recipe notes & tips
Easy carrot cake recipe ingredients
Carrots: Inexpensive, low on calories, and rich in antioxidants; carrots are an excellent staple. Peel them or not, slice or cut them into chunks, or do whatever saves you time in this fuss-free recipe. You’re welcome!
Eggs: 3 medium-sized or large eggs to bind all the ingredients.
Vegetable oil: We blend ¾ cup of vegetable oil with the rest of the ingredients for this simple carrot cake. I used light olive oil because it brings moisture, and the flavor is not overpowering. Expeller-pressed canola oil (rapeseed oil for my UK readers) or melted coconut oil can be used instead of olive oil.
Sugar: I use unrefined caster sugar, it dissolves easily into the batter, but either granulated sugar or brown sugar work fine.
All-purpose flour + baking powder: make sure they are well combined.
Vanilla extract, salt, orange zest, spices: for flavor. I used cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ginger, but you can use only 2 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon instead of the mix of spices.
Carrot cake variations
Carrots and warm spices are a popular, delicious combination, but get creative and think of this cake as a blank canvas for other delicious ingredients.
Add dark chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or dates, and raisins to the batter. Stir in your add-ins as soon as the flour is combined with the liquid ingredients, and pulse only for a couple of seconds to mix them thoroughly.
Finally, you can serve this easy carrot cake drizzled with orange glaze as I do for this ; you can pour over melted dark chocolate like in . I also love a dollop of on the side rather than cream cheese frosting. All delicious options to fancify this simple homemade carrot cake.
How long does this carrot cake keep?
It keeps well for 3-4 days in an airtight container, at room temperature, or in the fridge. You can also store it in the freezer: wrap the cake, or slices of cake, in plastic wrap (clingfilm), store it in an airtight container, freeze for up to 1 month, and thaw it at room temperature.
More easy cake recipes?
If you are looking for more easy treat recipes, check out these recipes:
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If you make this easy carrot cake recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
Easy Carrot Cake Recipe
If you are looking for a super easy carrot cake recipe, this is the one! A delicious, dense, tender, and simple cake, perfect any time, and totally fuss-free: blend the ingredients and bake!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 (10oz/280 grams) medium-sized carrots, sliced
- 3 medium-sized eggs
- ¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable oil (I used light olive oil)
- ⅔ cup (130 grams) sugar, use a bit more if you wish (see notes)
- 1 orange, zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360℉/180℃, place a wire rack in the middle position, grease a 9-inch bundt cake pan, or grease with butter, cooking spray, or line with parchment paper a 9-inch round pan. Parchment paper helps the cakes release from the pan.
- Place the flour, spices, baking powder, and salt in a large or medium bowl and whisk until combined.
- Place the carrots, eggs, oil, sugar, orange zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a food processor bowl and puree until smooth and well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the liquid in three steps, pulse for a few seconds then stop to scrape down sides of the bowl as necessary. Pulse until the flour is just combined with the rest of the ingredients; do not overmix. If you want to add other ingredients (nuts, chocolate chips…) do it now and pulse briefly again until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the greased pan, level the top, and bake in the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes (round pan) or 35 minutes (total time if using a bundt pan).
- After 30 minutes check the cake by inserting a thin skewer or toothpick into the centre of the cake. If the cake is fully cooked then the skewer will come out clean, if there is still batter clinging to the skewer then return the cake to the oven for a further 3 minutes and test again.
- When the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool slightly.
- Remove your cake from the pan, dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
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