Carrot Bundt Cake

This Carrot Bundt Cake with cream cheese frosting is the perfect Spring dessert for a crowd, and it’s easier to pull together than a full-on layered carrot cake. The hardest thing about this recipe is grating carrots, but everything can be stirred together by hand and frosted however you’d like.

Carrot cake is typically an oil-based cake, which helps create a super soft texture that’s completely addicting. I love this cake topped with a ton of cream cheese frosting, but you could also serve it with another frosting of your choice, or even with just a dusting of powdered sugar. Let’s get to it!

How to Make Carrot Bundt Cake

The ingredients for this cake are pretty simple- we’re using fresh shredded carrots for extra moisture and texture, lots of warm spices, and buttermilk to keep the cake super soft. Start by stirring together the dry ingredients, including lots of cinnamon, ginger, and a mix of classic warm spices.

This is an oil-based cake, which makes it super easy to mix together by hand. We’re using a combination of white and brown sugars to keep the cake chewy and flavorful, and whisking those together with the oil to start.

Once that is well combined, whisk in three eggs along with some vanilla extract. Your mixture should become smooth and well combined quickly at this stage.

From here we’re going to add in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternating additions. You want to start and end with your dry mixture, mixing well between each addition of the dry mix or the buttermilk until everything is added and combined.

Lastly, it’s time to fold in the shredded carrots. I recommend using freshly grated carrots here- pre-shredded carrots are much more dry and the texture won’t be the same. Pour the batter into your bundt pan and then it’s off to the oven to bake.

Once the cake fully bakes, you want to let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a plate or cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely before frosting or else the frosting will melt.

I’m using lots of cream cheese frosting here for a classic flavor combo, but any frosting you like will work here. Then slice it up and serve it to your friends and family for the perfect dessert! Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for the Perfect Carrot Bundt Cake

Here are my tips and tricks to help you get the perfect cake every time:

• Grease your pan well to ensure that it comes out easily. You can use a butter and flour method, but if you decide to use baking spray, I recommend waiting to spray your pan until right before you are about to pour your batter in. Don’t forget to grease it though!
• Use fresh carrots, not pre-shredded. Pre-shredded carrots are much more dry and will affect the texture of the cake. It’s annoying to shred carrots yourself but it’s well worth it in this case!
• Stir the cake batter together by hand to avoid over-mixing the batter. I like to just use a classic whisk here to pull everything together.
• How do I know when the cake is finished baking? The cake should look set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with just a few dry crumbs clinging to it.
• Let the cake cool completely before frosting, seriously. If the cake is even a little bit warm, the frosting will melt very quickly.
• Use room temperature cream cheese and butter for your cream cheese frosting, or else it will become very lumpy.
• What if I want to bake this cake into a layer cake? You can use this same recipe divided into two 8-inch round cakes to make a layer cake. Your cakes will bake much faster, so begin checking them after about 25 minutes in the oven.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level, and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

Carrot Bundt Cake

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups shredded carrot about 6-8 large carrots
• 2/3 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and generously grease a 12-cup bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until combined, and set aside. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the oil, sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and stir until just combined.
3. Add in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture, and mixing well between each addition until all the ingredients are added.
4. Fold in the shredded carrots until well combined.
5. Pour the batter evenly into your prepared bundt pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until you have a smooth, thick frosting. Frost your cake as desired and enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!