Carrot Cake

 

Carrot Cake

Betty Crocker
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 574 kcal

Equipment

  • 13 x 9 cake pan
  • handheld or stand mixer

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups carrots shredded, about 5 medium carrots
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 tsp milk or maybe 3
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions
 

Prep

  • Heat oven to 350ºF.
  • Grease bottom and sides of the cake plan and lightly flour.

Cake

  • In a large bowl, add sugar, oil, and egg.
    Beat with an electric mixer on low until blended.
  • Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.
    Beat on low speed for one minute.
  • Stir in carrots and nuts.
  • Pour into cake pan.
  • Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool completely for at least one hour or, better yet, overnight.

Frosting

  • In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla.
    Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
  • Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time at low speed until smooth and spreadable.
  • Frost cake.
  • Sprinkle with nutmeg and sprinkles, if desired.
  • Keep refrigerated.

Notes

According to food historians, carrot cake is probably a variation of the carrot puddings that were popular in Medieval Europe. Since sugar and other sweeteners were precious at that time, enterprising cooks used the naturally sweet root vegetable as delicious substitute sweetener in many versions of a simple carrot cake recipe. As legend has it, George Washington celebrated the British evacuation in 1783 with a slice of carrot tea cake at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan. Some things haven’t changed: Not only is carrot cake still popular, but the restaurant is still in business. While some version of a carrot cake recipe can be found going to many centuries, the addition of cream cheese frosting seems to be a uniquely American innovation that began to appear in the 1960s. 

Nutrition

Calories: 574kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 8gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 391mgPotassium: 241mgFiber: 2gSugar: 50gVitamin A: 5538IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 2mg
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