Carrot Cake

I have made this several times along with another CL Carrot Cake recipe and this is my go-to for family only; the other one more for special occasions.  I modify this one using 3 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil.  This makes for more flavor but less "cake" texture.  Flavor-wise, this one is tops.  The coconut really is a unique addition that really adds to the recipe.  I also cut back on the sugar - 1 cup in the cake, 1.5 cups in the frosting.

This is sooo good.  Reviewers were spot on about the sugar level.  Used 1 cup in the cake.  It's dense and moist and good by itself, but even more delish with the frosting.  Made a half batch of the frosting to just drizzle lightly over the cake pieces.  For that half batch, used 1 cup of powdered sugar (instead of 1.5 c), and added 1 teaspoon of 1% milk to thin it out just a bit. 

This recipe tastes like something you'd buy from a bakery. I try to utilize ingredients I have on hand so in place of pecans I used pine nuts. I cooked as directed for 35 minutes, but this could probably be reduced a few minutes or contained in a smaller pan. The amount of sugar in the frosting struck me as strange (way too much), so I started with 1.5 cups and wouldn't use a grain more. I highly recommend this recipe.

Wow! My husband says this is the best Carrot Cake he has ever tasted. It was so moist and had a wonderful flavor. I highly recommend trying it.

All I have to say is this cake is amazing. Simply one of the best cakes I've ever made. Made this for my husband's birthday and everyone loved it. I've had many requests for the receipe and I've been asked to make it several times now. I did cut back on the sugar as other post recommended.

I made half this recipe for Easter and it was really good!! I made it in and 8x8 and it got kind of thin but it was easy to make and it was moist and the flavor was so good.

EXCELLENT! My husband is kind of a carrot cake snob. He also knows when I'm trying to pass off any light dessert on him. But, this is his all time favorite carrot cake! We just made it this week for National Carrot Cake day (yes, there is such a day!) and he devoured it. The only real subsitution I make is to eliminate the coconut and substitute golden raisins instead. I also put in about a tablespoon of milk in the frosting if it gets thick while I'm beating it. Great recipe!

Excellent. Very moist! My family loved it!

Excellent!

made this for husband's birthday. it was great! i took advice of others and cut sugars back in cake: 3/4c and frosting: 1.5c.......perfect. very moist. it is not a "rising" cake more dense, so looks a little short....at least the frosting covered all of it when i flipped it onto a different server!!! kept in in fridge. sprinkled orange decorative sugar on it to cover up my crumbs in the frosting..... : )

I liked the add-ins in this recipe, i.e. coconut, walnuts and pineapple, but because carrot cake (like most cakes) simply MUST have layers I baked it in two loaf pans for the same amount of time. I used whole-grain soft white flour, sifting out the bran and using it to coat the pans; and as I didn't have canned pineapple I used 1c. of dried, finely chopped and reconstituted with applesauce. It turned out just a bit dry, but this may have been my fault; however I still must give just 3 stars because 1) as I said, no layers and 2) I had to TRIPLE the frosting (as after all cake is merely a vehicle), although like the others I also used maybe 1/3 of the sugar called for. I did use homemade Neufchatel (heavenly) and powdered granulated honey, but I realize the "health" benefits were compromised with the extra frosting. However this approach is still better than using an oil-laden cake recipe along with adequate frosting, so I would make this again (maybe with raisins too!).

Made this cake for Easter Brunch. Was worried about boyfriend's 15 year old son who is very picky. They both loved it....will make again. I did take prior reviewer's advise and reduced the powdered sugar in the frosting. I used just a little over 1 cup and it was perfect.

I've made this recipe several times and it always fills my craving for carrot cake! I also usually add a dash of ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, and some vanilla as well. Can't go wrong!

As with everyone else who has posted, I reduced the sugar in the both the cake and frosting. I only used 1.5 cups in the frosting and 1 cup in the cake. I would reduce the sugar in the cake even more next time, The pineapple makes it sweet on its own - less sugar is better! Overall though - very, very tasty! The sugar comments are not because this is a bad recipe - just the opposite - it is really great! It just needed some minor tweaks. One other thing - I replaced the oil with unsweetened applesauce - worked like a charm!

Followed this recipe to the letter. It was the best!! This is going in the keeper file. Will definitely make again.

I followed other reviews and cut down on the powdered sugar in the frosting. I only used 1 cup versus 3 cups and it tasted fine to us! I actually toasted some pecans and put on top, since I figured I had cut out a lot of calories by reducing the powdered sugar. The cake was very dense, but good!

superbly simple. I never made a carrot cake without raisins but nothing was amiss. I swapped out walnuts for pecans and reduced the granulated sugar to 1 cup for the cake. I also reduced the powdered sugar to 1cup for the frosting and adding a tiny bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. Deliciously moist and not too sweet

Awesome! I made this carrot cake as a part of our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club vegetarian pot luck supper. Here is the blog link - http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/2010/10/cooking-light-vegetarian-pot-luck.html - Only in the south would a cake be considered a vegetable. This is a good as any carrot cake I have ever made! The fresh carrots make this a yummy and guilt free dessert! I added pecans to half... mine was the nutty half. Y'all enjoy ~ Sandi

This is by far the most amazing light version of carrot cake. I have made this for several special occasions and it is always hit. Super moist, super flavor...you would never know that it is a lighter version if someone didn't tell you. I do this as a two layer cake for birthdays and the recipe works out perfectly. I encourage you to make cake, you will not be disappointed!

I am not the best baker, but I love carrot cake. People are now asking me to make it for their holiday parties. Best carrot cake ever. So moist and full of carrots. Will make this recipe a family tradition.

This is my all-time favorite recipe. It is the biggest hit every time I make it - people ALWAYS say how amazing it is and they are always asking for the recipe. It is incredibly moist and tops any carrot cake you'd find in a bakery. Plus, it is super quick and easy to make. I have never tasted a better carrot cake. It's even great without the frosting, or even just cream cheese on top.

Best carrot cake ever. Simply delicious.

I made this for a family gathering and it was a hit! Super easy to make. Would definitely make again.

My husband loves carrot cake. He said this is by far the best he has ever had. He asked me to make it for his b-day every year from now on! I love it too!

Best carrot cake I have ever made. The pinnapple adds a moist and sweet touch. This is a keeper!

An easy (read: no layers) carrot cake with only 3 Tablespoons oil. Moist with the pineapple and carrots. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect consistency. Great for weekday celebrations.

First time to make Carrot Cake. Loved this recipe. Very easy to put together. I chopped up the carrots in a food processor very fine which saved time. Only had a small can a pineapple, so I subbed with applesauce for the rest. Cake was very moist and tasty. I too used a bit less sugar in the frosting and used another 1/4 of another bar of cream cheese. Also added juice from a fresh lemon and some lemon zest to the frosting which gave the cake a very fresh taste and added to it's appeal. It was a winner for a birthday lunch crowd!

This is so delicious! I read the other reviews and decided to alter it a little as well. I only used 1 cup of sugar in the cake mix. I substituted apple sauce for the oil, added orange zest and only used 1 1/2 C of sugar in the frosting. Then I topped the cake with toasted coconut and it gave it a little extra crunch. So perfect!

really good recipe, i replaced the oil with 3 tablespoons of applesauce and used 1 cup of splenda & 1/3 cup of sugar instead of all sugar.. came out perfectly

I and my family loved this dish! Someone said that it was very reminiscent of spice cake which might have to do with the extra cinnamon and nutmeg I added. I also cut the sugar in the frosting in half and only put in 3/4 cup sugar into the actual cake. Those changes dropped the calories from 322 to around 255 without taking away from the flavor or texture of the cake. I also made it with whole wheat flour and put a few drops of lemon juice and almond extract in the frosting. Shredding the carrots in a food processor made this recipe a lot easier! It tastes wonderful served with vanilla ice cream. This is going to be my go-to recipe for carrot cake from now on.

This cake is fantastic and very easy to make. It was a little too sweet for me so I only used 3/4 cup sugar the second time I made it and it was just right. Definitely only use 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar for the frosting. You won't be disappointed.

This has been my go to carrot cake recipe for years now. My family loves it! The addition of the pineapple is great. I use vanilla yogurt instead of oil and add 1/2- 1 tsp orange or lemon zest to both the batter and frosting. The citrus and vanilla add so much to the cake! Also, Ener-G egg replacer works wonderfully instead of eggs to make this recipe vegan friendly!

Wow! I am something of a carrot cake snob but I LOVED this recipe. I followed exactly except the icing was way too sweet w/3 cups powdered sugar so I added more cream cheese and vanilla extract to balance it out. Next time I will try adding 1 1/2 cups like other reviewers suggested, and go from there. I also added chopped pecans, grated carrot and coconut on top for a nice visual. I will probably try to make it into a layer cake for Easter. Yum!

I love this recipe! I do not add the coconut though. I also use the food processor to finely chop the carrots. It is a wonderfully simple recipe. I have taken it to work a couple of times and have gotten rave reviews. I have started to keep carrot baby food around incase I get the urge to bake this delicious recipe. If I am in a hurry store bought cream cheese frosting works quite well.

Fantastic with a few minor adjustments. I nixed the pineapple and used applesauce (4 tbs) instead of oil for the cake. Very moist! For the frosting I used only one cup of icing sugar and added a touch of grated lemon rind. So delish and will keep this as my go-to carrot cake recipe for guests and as an everyday snack.

I made this cake for my son's first birthday. I was looking for something yummy, but with at least some redeeming health value. With the carrots and pineapple, and the relative "lightness" of the rest of the recipe, I felt this one was a good choice, and I wasn't disappointed. I omitted the nuts and coconut, as he hasn't tried those yet, so I added some extra carrots. I made sure the carrots were very fine: I shredded them and then used the metal blade to cut them even smaller. I used two 8" rounds to make a layer cake. The cake turned out very moist and very flavourful, even without the nuts and coconut. Rather than the sugar-rich cream cheese frosting, I used a bit of vanilla pudding (made with reduced milk) in between the layers, then frosted the rest with whipped cream with some vanilla pudding added in. It was quite delicious. Everyone seemed to enjoy it: cleared plates all around and a request for the recipe!

Wow! I'm glad I picked this carrot cake recipe to try. The cake is excellent just as is- very moist and tasty! I made the cake into cupcakes instead and reduced the baking time by 10 minutes. It produced 18 cupcakes and they are so good as is that I didn't even bother making the icing.

What a delicious cake! As other reviewers suggested, I used only 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar in the icing. I also used only one teaspoon of vanilla, and I added 2 teaspoons of juice reserved from the pineapple to the icing. I will make this again!

I made this recipe as is. Very good. Very tasty cake. My three year old helped me make this cake. My two year old had no problem eating 2 pieces after her nap. I will make this cake again. I added less sugar for the frosting. I also added about 2 TBS grated carrot as a topper. I will make this again!!!

This cake tasted good but did not have that distinctive carrot cake taste. It was very moist and some of my guests enjoyed it, but I will not make it again.

This cake can't be "light"! It tastes too good. Very easy to make, but I did make one adjustment. I used pineapple ring slices, and pressed them between paper towels to remove the juice, then processed them to a chunky consistency. I found that the cake came out less gooey in the middle. I make this cake a lot for special occasions. This is a keeper!

Cake was light and very moist. You can't taste the coconut, but it adds nice texture. Pineapple adds moisture and is very subtle in flavor. The frosting tasted great, but was way too sweet. I would recommend adding the confectioner's sugar to taste. It tastes more of sugar and vanilla and the cream cheese is not noticeable. If you're looking for a traditional cream cheese frosting, try another recipe.