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Great Grandma’s Carrot Cake

Great Grandma’s Carrot Cake is the best classic, wonderful carrot cake with great childhood memories.

slice of carrot cake on plate

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law. So it was her great grandmother’s recipe, and it’s one that she make often with great memories of grandma! See that wonderful layer of frosting on top? I’m so pleased with this cake recipe. The frosting is wonderful. And I love that there are no nuts or raisins in the recipe.

ingredients displayed for making carrot cake

Ingredients needed:

  • all purpose flour
  • white sugar
  • baking soda and salt
  • ground cinnamon
  • canola or vegetable oil
  • eggs
  • grated carrots
  • cream cheese
  • salted butter
  • vanilla extract
  • powdered sugar

four photos showing how to make carrot cake

How to make Great Grandma’s Carrot Cake:

The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9-inch pan with nonstick spray.

PREPARE THE CAKE:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the eggs and oil to the dry ingredients. Use an electric mixer to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir in the carrots.
 
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to cover evenly. Bake for 45 to 50 minute, or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool before frosting.

carrot cake in pan with cream cheese frosting

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese and butter until well combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and 1½ cups of the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar, if necessary, until you reach a desired frosting consistency. Frost the cake!

great grandma's carrot cake in pan with a couple slices cut out

This is a great cake to feed a lot of people. You can get 12 servings out of this cake. 

spatula holding slice of great grandma's carrot cake

And it’s not an especially fancy carrot cake recipe. It’s a cake made in a 13×9-inch pan. It’s super easy to bake, and a cream cheese frosting is spread on top. That’s it. No professional cake baking skills are needed. You can do this! Enjoy!

fork cutting into slice of carrot cake

The Best Cake Recipes:

slice of carrot cake on plate

Great Grandma's Carrot Cake

RecipeBoy.com
A long time favorite cake!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings
Calories 601 kcal

Ingredients
  

CAKE:

FROSTING:

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick spray.

PREPARE THE CAKE:

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  • Add the eggs and oil to the dry ingredients. Use an electric mixer to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir in the carrots.
  • Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to cover evenly. Bake for 45 to 50 minute, or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool before frosting.

PREPARE THE FROSTING:

  • In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese and butter until well combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and 1½ cups of the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar, if necessary, until you reach a desired frosting consistency.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 601kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 6gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 543mgPotassium: 164mgFiber: 2gSugar: 50gVitamin A: 5186IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg
Keyword carrot cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Recipe Rating




Leslie H

Wednesday 29th of March 2023

Could I substitute the oil with melted butter?

RecipeGirl

Thursday 20th of April 2023

We have not tried that, so not sure.