This Nut Free Carrot Cake is made of moist cake layers with carrots and pineapple and is covered with a Cream Cheese Frosting that isn't overly sweet. It's decorated with little carrots made from piped frosting and garnished with ground cinnamon.
Carrot Cake traditionally is prepared with nuts inside the cake and often on the outside of the cake or even directly in the frosting. Due to my nut allergy, I generally can only trust carrot cakes that I make myself.
If nuts are not a problem for you and your guests, you can certainly add them to the batter and the outside of this cake. For that reason, I have kept the nuts optional.
The cake recipe is from my aunt. It's printed as a photocopy from a cookbook, but I don't know which cookbook! It's follows the standard formula for a really good carrot cake, using oil to keep it very moist.
I decided to use a cream cheese frosting recipe from my America's Test Kitchen Complete TV Show Cookbook 2001-2024 Edition. It has sour cream to cut some of the sweetness of the frosting and the cake.
To decorate this cake, I wanted a design that was simple and easy. In the past, I've used Nut Free Marzipan Carrots on Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. This time, I piped little carrots with the same frosting used to cover the cake. This saved a lot of time and resulted in a cute design for Easter dessert.
This cake is so moist and flavorful. The frosting is creamy and fluffy with the perfect balance of sweetness.
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Bake the Cakes
Before starting the batter, preheat the oven and prepare the cake pans. You will need three 8- or 9-inch pans. I prefer using 8-inch pans for extra height on the cake.
Grease and flour the inside of the pans. I use Pam for Baking and always have good luck with my cakes releasing from the pan. If you are worried about sticking, you can add a parchment circle to the bottom of each of the pans and grease and flour the parchment as well.
I also highly recommend using Even Bake Cake Strips. They help cakes rise evenly, which can eliminate the need to level the cakes during assembly.
To make the cake batter, first sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the oil, sugar and eggs. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.
Then, stir in the carrots and pineapple.
Evenly divide the batter among the pans.
Bake the cakes for 40 minutes or until baked through and a toothpick comes out without gooey batter on it.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes.
Then, unmold the cakes onto cooling racks to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
To make the frosting, beat softened cream cheese with butter, sour cream, vanilla and salt until smooth.
Reduce the mixer speed and slowly add the powdered sugar and continue beating until smooth. Lastly, increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
If the frosting is too soft to work with, you can chill it in the refrigerator until it's thick enough to assemble the cake.
Assemble the Cake
The easiest way to frost a cake is to use a spinning cake decorating stand. I like to use a 10-inch cardboard cake board under the cake. Spread some frosting in the center of the cake board.
Place a cake layer on top of the cake board.
Use a large offset spatula to spread an even layer of frosting over the first layer.
Add the second cake layer on top and repeat with the frosting and the third cake layer.
Cover the entire cake with frosting and use a metal cake scraper to smooth while spinning the cake. Add more frosting to filling gaps and smooth with metal scraper again.
Continue doing this until cake is straight with clean lines.
Decorate the Carrot Cake
Transfer some cream cheese icing to a disposable piping bag fitted with a decorative star tip like #6B. Pipe a border of mounds around the top and bottom of the cake.
These carrot decorations are completely optional, but I think they look cute and are pretty easy to make.
Add a small amount of cream cheese frosting to each of two bowls. Tint one with orange food coloring gel and the other with green. I have this Chefmaster set of gels.
Transfer the icing to disposable piping bags fitted with small round piping tips, such as a Wilton #2. I use plastic tip couplers to make sure the tips stay in place. The couplers also allow switching tips easily if you discover your tip is too small or too large for your design.
Use the orange frosting to pipe small carrots scattered over the top and sides of the cake. Use the green frosting to pipe 3 small carrot fronds on top of each carrot.
I also sprinkled cinnamon on the decorative star piping around the top and bottom borders of the cake to give it a little contrast.
Storage
Store the cake in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Gluten Free Option
Use a measure for measure gluten free flour blend, such as Bob's Red Mill, in place of the all purpose flour in the carrot cake.
📖 Recipe
Nut Free Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 3 8- or 9-inch round pans
- 3 Even Bake Cake Strips
- 1 spinning cake stand
- 1 10-inch round cake board
- 1 large offset spatula
- 1 metal scraper
- 3 disposable piping bags
- 1 6B piping tip
- 2 plastic tip couplers optional
- 2 small round tips such as #2
Ingredients
For the Cakes:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 8 ounces canned crushed pineapple with juice
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 24 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 15 tablespoons butter (cut into chunks and softened)
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon table salt (see note)
- 12 ounces powdered sugar (see note)
Decorations (optional):
- orange and green food coloring gel
- ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Grease and flour the inside of three 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Non-stick baking spray with flour works well for this. If you are using butter and flour, a parchment circle added to the bottom of each pan will help prevent sticking. Grease and flour the top of the parchment paper as well.
- Add damp Even Bake Cake Strips around each pan if desired. They help cakes rise evenly, which can eliminate the need to level the cakes during assembly.
Bake the Cakes:
- Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the oil, sugar and eggs, beating the batter after each egg is added.1½ cups vegetable oil, 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs
- Add the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Stir in the carrots and pineapple until fully combined.2 cups grated carrots, 8 ounces canned crushed pineapple with juice
- Evenly divide the batter among the pans.
- Bake the cakes for 40 minutes or until baked through and a toothpick comes out without gooey batter on it.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes.
- Unmold the cakes onto cooling racks to cool to room temperature.
Make the Frosting:
- Beat together the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 4 minutes.24 ounces cream cheese, 15 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons sour cream, 2¼ teaspoons vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and beat until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes.12 ounces powdered sugar
- If the frosting becomes too soft to work with, let it chill in the refrigerator until it thickens enough to frost the cake.
Assemble the Cake
- Place a 10-inch round cake board on top of a spinning cake stand. Spread some frosting in the center of the cake board.
- Place a cake layer on top of the cake board.
- Use a large offset spatula to spread an even layer of frosting over the first layer.
- Add the second cake layer on top and repeat with the frosting and the third cake layer.
- Cover the entire cake with frosting and use a metal cake scraper to smooth while spinning the cake. Add more frosting to filling gaps and smooth with metal scraper again. Continue doing this until cake is straight with clean lines.
Decorate the Cake
- Transfer some cream cheese icing to a disposable piping bag fitted with a large star tip, such as a 6B. Pipe a border of mounds around the top and bottom of the cake.
- Add a small amount of cream cheese frosting to each of two bowls. Tint one with orange food coloring gel and the other with green.
- Transfer the icing to disposable piping bags fitted with small round piping tips, such as #2. Using plastic tip couplers will ensure the tips stay in place and allow switching tips easily if you discover the tip is too small or too large for your design.
- Use the orange frosting to pipe small carrots scattered over the top and sides of the cake. Use the green frosting to pipe 3 small carrot fronds on top of each carrot.
- Sprinkle cinnamon on the decorative star piping around the top and bottom borders of the cake to give it a little contrast.
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