Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (2024)

I absolutely LOVE this easy carrot cake recipe. We call it "easy" because it starts with a box of spice cake mix, but it is ultra moist and still has all of the key flavors of our carrot cake recipe from scratch.

The addition of carrots, coconut, spices, crushed pineapple, and pecans is totally worth it!

We have made this flavorful carrot cake mix recipe into Carrot Cake Cupcakes as well! Swirled with cream cheese frosting, there's just nothing better!

Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (1)

Don't let this easy carrot cake recipe pass you by. It may start from a simple box of spice cake mix, but there are SO many delicious add-ins that you would never guess it wasn't from scratch. The flavor is fantastic!

Table of Contents

How to Make An Easy Carrot Cake Recipe

We love this doctored cake mix version of Carrot Cake because it involves more than simply preparing a boxed Carrot Cake mix.

The freshly shredded carrots, spices, coconut, pecans, and crushed pineapple make all of the difference!

**You can find our full, printable cake recipe further down in this post. Here is a quick rundown of our steps!

  • In the bowl of your mixer combine the dry ingredients (spice cake mix (we used Duncan Hines), all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ground ginger) and whisk 30 seconds to throughly combine.
  • To this add the eggs, milk, and sour cream and mix on medium speed for one minute ( a bit longer if using a hand held mixer). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix one minute more.
Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (2)
  • Next, fold in the shredded carrots, coconuts, pecans, and drained crushed pineapple.
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  • Makes approximately 7 cups of batter.
  • Pour into prepared pans and bake at 325 degrees. Check at 35 minutes, the cake will be slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center should pull out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
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Frosting for the Carrot Cake

There's nothing like cream cheese frosting with carrot cake! (We this way about Italian Cream Cake and Hummingbird Cake too!)

For today's cake, we've used one of our go-to cream cheese frosting recipes which is a simple combination of cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Cream cheese frosting is softer than most and so you will need to refrigerate it now and then if you notice it becoming too soft as you are working. In fact, we often pop our bowl in the refrigerator for several minutes just after making a batch.

Cream Cheese too Soft?

If you notice your frosting becoming too soft as you are decorating the cake, simply chill your piping bag, bowl of frosting, or even your cake for a few minutes to firm things up.

**Due to the cream cheese frosting, this carrot cake needs to be refrigerated until within a few hours of serving. If you cannot refrigerate the cake, I would frost with our Classic Vanilla Buttercream- you could even add a touch of cinnamon to the frosting.

Assembling and Decorating the Carrot Cake

Place the first carrot cake layer on your cake base or pedestal. Spread with a layer of cream cheese frosting.

Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (6)

Repeat for the next two cake layers and then apply a thin coat (crumb coat) of frosting.

At this point, I like to chill my cake for about 15 minutes in the freezer to firm things up before adding the final coat of frosting.

We kept things very simple with decorating- I swirled on the frosting with my small offset spatula and added a border of crushed pecans. (Find more ideas here: How to Frost a Cake).

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Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (8)

We hope that you enjoy this delicious easy carrot cake recipe. Make sure to check out our other cake mix recipes and favorite cakes from scratch!

Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (9)

More Doctored Cake Mix Recipes to Try

We have made lots of delicious doctored cake mix recipes over the years! From our Orange Cake Mix Recipe to Easy German Chocolate Cake and lots in between!

If you love working with cake mixes, or simply love a great tasting cake whether it's scratch or starts with a box, here are just a few of many that you don't want to miss! Some of our favorites are Marble Cake Mix Cake, Banana Pudding Cupcakes, and Oreo Cupcakes!

  • Butterscotch Cake {Cake Mix Recipe}
  • Chocolate Chip Cake (A Cake Mix Recipe)
  • Cherry Layer Cake (A Doctored Cake Mix Recipe)
  • Easy Banana Cake Recipe

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this Carrot Cake from cake mix! Don't miss our full collection of Cake Recipes! We have lots of cake mix recipes as well as favorite cakes from scratch.

Also, if you are interested in cake decorating, don't miss our huge collection of cake decorating tutorials!

Have you made this Recipe? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!

Yield: 15 servings

Carrot Cake -Doctored Cake Mix Recipe

Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (14)

Nobody would ever believe that this amazing Carrot Cake recipe starts with a box of spice cake mix! The added carrots, coconut, pecans, and crushed pineapple add wonderful flavor!

Prep Time25 minutes

Cook Time35 minutes

Additional Time40 minutes

Total Time1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans
  • Do not follow ingredients on the back of the cake mix box, use the ingredients listed below.
  • 1 box Spice Cake Mix, sifted (We used Duncan Hines)
  • 1 cup (121g) all purpose flour
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • ½ (3 g) teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (242 g) sour cream
  • ½ cup (118 g) milk
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon (3 g) cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon (2 g) ginger
  • 1 ¼ cups (112g) Grated Carrots (small pieces)
  • ¾ cup (50g) shredded coconut- We used Baker's Angel Flake Sweetened Coconut
  • 4oz Crushed Pineapple, drained (You can put it in a strainer and let the excess juice drain out)
  • ¾ cup (92g) chopped pecans

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened (total weight 452g) I use full fat cream cheese. Using reduced fat or the spreadable cream cheese will cause the frosting to be too soft.
  • 2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt (2g)
  • 6 to 6 ½ cups (690g to 747g) powdered sugar

Instructions

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans. We also line the bottom of the pans with parchment circles.

For the Carrot Cake Layers

  1. In the bowl of your mixer combine the dry ingredients (cake mix, flour, sugar, salt, & spices) and whisk 30 seconds to throughly combine.
  2. To this add the eggs, milk, and sour cream and mix on medium speed for 1 minute ( a bit longer if using a hand held mixer). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix 1 minute more.
  3. Next, fold in the shredded carrots, coconuts, pecans, and drained crushed pineapple.
  4. Makes approximately 7 cups of batter.
  5. Pour into prepared pans and bake at 325 degrees. Check at 35 minutes, the cake will be slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center should pull out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is smooth.
  2. Cut the softened cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until incorporated. If you are using a hand mixer you may need to soften the cream cheese a bit more.
  3. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended. Cover the bowl with a towel to keep down the cloud of powdered sugar.
  4. Increase mixing speed and beat until fluffy. Don't over beat or it will become too soft. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate a short while to firm it up a bit.
  5. This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix.
  6. Will frost a 3 layer 8 or 9 inch cake.

Notes

(We used to have a version of this carrot cake that used a box of spice cake mix and a box of white cake mix (plus all of the add-ins). We phased this one out as it made so much batter. However, if you are searching for this older recipe, here is a link! : Carrot Cake Doctored Mix (Retired Version)

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Related Recipes

Carrot Cake RecipeOur Favorite Scratch Carrot Cake Recipe!Hummingbird Cake {A Cake Mix Recipe}

Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my carrot cake not fluffy? ›

The key to a soft and fluffy carrot cake is to have the carrots bake into the crumb. If you coarsely grate the carrots, then they will not bake as quickly and will stay as threads through the cake which can get stuck in your teeth. For maximum flavor and the best texture, you'll need to grate them finely.

Does carrot cake with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated? ›

Food Network Kitchens: Yes, you should always refrigerate any cake or cupcake that has cream cheese frosting.

How to make carrot cake totk? ›

You can make an Carrot Cake by selecting Endura Carrot , or , Swift Carrot , Tabantha Wheat , Cane Sugar , Goat Butter in your inventory to hold. Then using a cooking pot to drop them in and cook.

Is butter or oil better for carrot cake? ›

Carrot cake is oil-based, rather than butter-based. This keeps it moist and helps it last for days. Unfortunately, it also means you lose the leavening power that creaming butter and sugar would bring.

How many carrots for 3 cups grated? ›

Ingredient: Grated carrots - 3 cups (2 large carrots)

Can I use both butter and oil in cake? ›

A blend of these two ingredients gives the cake the best possible flavor and texture. Butter provides flavor while oil adds moisture and keeps it from being too dry. A cake made with all oil would be moist but lacking in flavor, and an all-butter cake may have a more buttery taste, but would be more dry.

What is the secret to a very fluffy cake? ›

Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness.

Why does my homemade carrot cake fall in the middle? ›

5. My cake has sunk in the middle. There are three main reasons for this: a/ the oven door has been opened before the cake has set, b/ the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or c/ there's too much raising agent.

What kind of icing traditionally goes on carrot cake? ›

With its mellow carrot sweetness, warm notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, and rich, tangy frosting, carrot cake is simply irresistible. This traditional carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is one of our favorites.

How to tell if carrot cake has gone bad? ›

Texture Changes: When carrot cake starts to go bad, it may become excessively dry, crumbly, or develop an unappealing texture. This is a sign that the cake has lost its moisture and freshness.

What goes well with carrot cake? ›

A tasty regional wine that would pair well with carrot cake would be a dessert wine made with Frontenac Blanc or Frontenac Gris. One in particular that comes to mind is Dancing Dragonfly's Hula, an ice wine made from Frontenac Gris grapes.

Why do carrots turn green in carrot cake? ›

Carrots contain pigments that are sensitive to changes in pH balance. When the shreds of carrot come into contact with the alkaline baking soda, a chemical reaction takes place that causes the pigments to change color. Ipso facto, green carrots!

Why is my carrot cake breaking? ›

A cake can crumble for a variety of reasons: overmixed batter, too much flour, not enough sugar or not enough shortening. When you bake your cake, make sure you use the flour your recipes calls for, preheat your oven and bake the cake at the correct temperature.

Why does carrot cake taste so good? ›

Carrots add sweetness and moisture to a batter. Carrot cakes have been around for centuries, but the modern carrot cake can be traced back to World War II when carrots were suggested as a way to add sweetness to cakes when sugar was being rationed, according to the World Carrot Museum of Skipton, England.

What is the green ingredient in carrot cake? ›

Our answer. The green flecks are carrot but the colour has been changed by the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the mixture. Some pigments are sensitive to pH balances and will change colour if they are in a very acid or very alkaline environment.

Is carrot cake healthier than regular cake? ›

The Calorie Content of Carrot Cake vs.

However, even though carrot cake has a higher fat content, it can bit a healthier choice compared to regular cakes especially because carrot cake is made with whole wheat flour, which is a healthier choice of flour, unlike white flour.

Does carrot cake contain eggs? ›

In a mixing bowl, mix sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend well. Fold in carrots and chopped nuts until well blended.

What are the ingredients in Publix carrot cake? ›

Sugar, Cornstarch, Soybean Oil, Carrots, Enriched Bleached Flour (wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Cream Cheese (pasteurized Milk And Cream, Salt, Guar Gum, Cheese Cultures, Carob Bean Gum, Xanthan Gum), Palm Oil, Walnuts, Egg Yolk, Egg Whites, Baking Soda, Nonfat Milk, ...

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