Old-fashioned Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot cake is one of my favorite types of cakes, and if you’ve been following my blog, you know I love any excuse to eat cream cheese frosting. Plus, the recipe I’m about to share is a family recipe and there’s nothing better than family recipes during the holidays.

So without further ado, my second Christmas-themed recipe is my old-fashioned carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!

When I first got this recipe from my mom (which was handwritten on a 3×5 notecard just the way it should be), I was a little perplexed as it starts with boiling the ingredients, but trust me, it works. And you end up with a beautifully spiced, extremely dense cake that pairs wonderfully with the cream cheese frosting and Christmas.

I hope you enjoy my old-fashioned carrot cake! Let me know in the comments below how it turned out or share a photo on Instagram and tag @homecourtbakes! 

XO,
Coco

Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 30-35 minutes
Total time: 3 – 4 hours
Yields: 1 9-inch springform pan

Ingredients for the Carrot Cake:

• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 2 cups shredded carrots (about 3-4 large carrots)
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground clove
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (use a block, not the spreadable kind)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• Milk (if needed)

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the pecans in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes until the pecans are slightly darker in color and fragrant. Remove from the oven to cool.
• In a medium sauce pan, mix together the carrots, water, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
  • Note: It can take 30-60 minutes for your mixture to cool completely. I like to put my pan in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
• Line a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the carrot mixture, then the cake flour, baking soda and salt. Then add 3/4 cup of the pecans (the rest will be used to decorate the cake). Mix together just until combined. If your dough is feeling too dry, you can add 1-2 tablespoons. of water.
• Pour the dough into your lined and greased pan in an even layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (my cake takes about 32 minutes). Set aside to cool completely.
• While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by adding the butter, cream cheese and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beating on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until creamy. If the frosting is feeling too thick, you can add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Once the cake is cooled, it’s time to frost and decorate your cake! I like to decorate my cake with the remaining toasted pecans. I also used fresh rosemary sprigs to resemble trees.
  • Note: The frosting recipe with make just enough frosting to frost the top and sides of this one-layer cake. If you like more frosting or decide to double the cake recipe to have two layers, you should double the frosting recipe as well.
• Enjoy!