This incredibly moist carrot cake recipe is made with pineapple, pecans and my ‘Cream Cheese Frosting’. Every bite is bursting with incredible flavor from the pineapple and carrots – both of which add moisture and texture. I also like to add a bit of warming spices – cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. Garnish the cake with a bit of my home-made caramel sauce, chopped pecans and orange chocolate garnishes. Carrot cakes have long been synonymous with Easter and this cake is no exception – it’s perfect for the spring time holiday!
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Watch my video for step-by-step instructions and learn how to make that beautiful piped top! Want to receive email updates for new recipes? Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!
Making the Best Carrot Cake!
Carrot cakes are all about moisture, texture and flavors! The secret is actually a combination of ingredients – canola oil, pineapple and of course, carrots. Using canola oil instead of butter makes for a thinner batter, which makes the cake a bit of dense. The pineapple adds both flavor, texture and moisture into every bite and the grated carrots add a bit of sweetness and texture. The moist texture of this cake means it can stand for longer in the fridge without going dry. If you’re making this cake for Easter, it should be just to make it a few days ahead of time.
The Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese frosting is the perfect frosting choice for any carrot cake recipe! The tangy flavor of the cream cheese goes very well with the textured and moist cake. This particular frosting requires just 5 simple ingredients and it’s so delicious! I have a separate video recipe for this frosting with in-depth details for making it. It’s a great frosting recipe for many different cake and cupcake recipes. Watch it here:
All the Garnishes
I finished the top of this cake off with beautiful dollops of frosting, using French star tip #8; check out my product links below for a set of cake decorating tips that I use. I also added chopped pecans and drizzled some of my home-made caramel sauce, which adds great flavor (check out the video recipe)! For the orange chocolate triangles, I added a bit of powder orange food coloring to white chocolate melts and used my technique for making garnishes, like these.
More Recipes!
Enjoyed this classic cake recipe? Check out some of my other classical cakes you’re sure to enjoy!
- German Chocolate Cake – rich chocolate cake with coconut pecan filling!
- Neapolitan Cake – three layers of cake goodness: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate!
- Pistachio Carrot Cake – this nutty take on the carrot cake is also delicious!
- Coconut Kahlua Cake – with coconut cake layers soaked with coffee liqueur!
- Cinnamon Roll Cake – epic cinnamon cake inspired by my favorite breakfast! With cinnamon cake layers, dulce de leche and cream cheese frosting!
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Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here (Amazon affiliate links):
This set of jumbo cake decorating tips has all my favorite tips for decorating cakes! Use them with these disposable pastry bags for easy cleanup.
For a smooth finish, use these off-set cake spatulas and this cake scrapper.
I love my classic Ateco turntable for cake decorating – a must for every baker!
I use these aluminum round cake pans for all my cakes.
Tatyana, I believe I have seen some of your recipes with metric conversions. But apparently you don’t do that all the time? I would love to make this cake, but I am in Germany so would appreciate metric measurements with weight.
The cake looks like a real proper carrot cake, so perfect for Easter!
Hi Jenny! I’ll get the metric measurements up in a few minutes, just for you! 🙂 It’s the perfect cake for Easter!
Tatyana, you are a doll! Now I feel like I HAVE to make this cake asap! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hi Tatyana!
Another AMAZING cake!!
I really like how you show us the simplicity of baking.
This cake will look like I’ve been slaving away for hours, it will impress my friends….LOL!
Hope you’re feeling good, take care of yourself.
Happy Easter to you and yours!
Hi Dalila! It really is impressive and so easy to make! Thank you for your continued support! Happy Easter! 🙂
Hi Tatyana, Could you please suggest any alternative for cream cheese. Which frosting recipe do you suggest for this pineapple carrot cake other than cream cheese frosting? I also want to know how to make the various frosting recipes you have on your page which have cream cheese as an ingredient. Can whipped cream be used instead and the same recipe be followed?? please let know soon as I need to make this cake today. Thanks
Hi Mariya! I would recommend going with a German Buttercream, it’s made with pastry cream. It’s light and fluffy which will be perfect for this cake: https://tatyanaseverydayfood.com/recipe-items/pastry-cream-recipe/
For the recipes that have cream cheese, like my whipped cream frosting, you can also use mascarpone cheese. I also have a stabilized whipped cream without any cream cheese, using gelatin 🙂
Hi Tatyana,
The cake turned out good but i really loved the combination of the German buttercream you suggested. It tasted so yummy. Thankyou so much. I also wanted to know if i can try the berry whipped cream frosting recipe using only heavy cream as i dont want cream cheese as an ingredient. Pls do let know. I have a recipe request from you too, pls make a nonalcoholic rich fruit cake recipe on your channel. Thanks alot! Take care!
Hi Mariya! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake with German Buttercream! It’s a great replacement option for this cake. Yes, you can enjoy the berry frosting without the cream cheese.
Any of my fruit cakes that are made with alcohol can be made without it, too! I recommend replacing the alcohol with fruit juice instead 🙂
Dear Tatyana,
Another success! I made this for my friend’s birthday this past weekend and it was a hit! I have a gluten allergy so I substituted Caputo gluten free flour (1/1 ratio) and no-one noticed. The cake was (and remained) beautifully moist and flavourful. My only glitch was with the cream cheese frosting; it seemed to curdle a bit when it came to the piping stage. I’m not sure if it had warmed up too much? If I had over-beaten it? I put it in the fridge for a bit and put in some more icing sugar, which did help but it still didn’t pipe as beautifully has yours. Also, do you have a tip for icing the top edge of cakes? I often have difficulty getting the icing to adhere well there.
This is the second cake I’ve made from your site (previous one was the lemon meringue cake – heaven!) and I have now ordered your book from Amazon. Can’t wait!!!!
Kelly Hayes
Hi Kelly! I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the cake recipe! 🙂 If the frosting starts to do that, often that’s just an indicator that it’s too warm. I would place it into the refrigerator or even the freezer to cool down quickly for at least 30 minutes, then rewhip. That usually saves it and adding more confectioner’s sugar can also help stabilize it! 🙂 Do you do two coats of frosting? If the frosting isn’t sticking too well, apply a thin layer all over first (crumb coat), then refrigerate or freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes. Once the first thin layer is set, apply the top coat of frosting. I recommend using offset cake spatulas to really smooth everything out.
I hope you enjoy all the new recipes in the cookbook! 🙂