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Sara Haas
“It’s an impossible job to make a bunch of carrot cakes and decide which recipe is the best. OK, it’s actually really fun and I enjoy baking, so I had a good time throwing flour around in my kitchen. Not only do I like making carrot cake (it’s my husband’s favorite), but I like eating it too. My favorite versions are heavy on the carrots, with plenty of spice, and of course, cream cheese frosting. I baked five of the most popular carrot cakes on the website, and I was pleased with all of them—but one stood out from the others. It checked all of the boxes of my favorite things about carrot cake, but surprised me and my testers with so much more! Here are the results of my taste test.
Which Carrot Cake Recipes Did I Test?
Are you having a hard time choosing from the many delicious carrot cake recipes on our site? With so many great submissions by Allrecipes community members, it’s definitely a hard decision. For that reason, we chose five of the highest rated to narrow things down. Each of them has an average star rating of 4.6 or higher and a variety of glowing reviews.
One recipe uses buttermilk in the batter, while another includes a cupful of raisins. Other variations include adding crunchy pecans, a can of crushed pineapple, and lots of ground cinnamon. There’s also a recipe that involves tossing the grated carrots in brown sugar, and letting it sit for one hour before tossing with the other ingredients and baking.
- Best Carrot Cake Ever by Nan
- Carrot Cake by The Allrecipes Community
- Sam’s Famous Carrot Cake by Brian D’Amico
- Old Fashioned Carrot Cake by Marc
- Awesome Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Tracy Kirk
How I Judged the Recipes
I enlisted the help of a small panel of testers. Each professed their love for carrot cake and agreed to sampling each cake with an open mind and provide honest feedback. I asked them to judge based on flavor and texture.
The Results
Best Basic Carrot Cake
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Carrot Cake submitted by The Allrecipes Community
- Average rating: 4.8
- Rave review: “The very best carrot cake recipe I’ve ever made. My family requests it all the time. It’s now a staple.” —Kristina Johnson
It’s a simple, straight-forward recipe and so are the results. The batter came together quickly and only took about 10 minutes to prep (including grating the carrots). I baked the cake for about 35 minutes and once it cooled, I covered it in the cream cheese frosting (it’s part of the recipe) and pecans. The cake was a little dense and a little greasy, but the flavor was good. It was mildly sweet with a nice hint of cinnamon. Testers liked the crunchy pecans for texture and flavor and commented that the frosting was “delicious.”
Best Classic Carrot Cake
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Sam’s Famous Carrot Cake submitted by Brian D’Amico
- Average rating: 4.8
- Rave review: “This recipe is absolutely delicious. Super moist and a lot of flavors and texture. The only thing I did different is I added an extra teaspoon of cinnamon because I like stronger flavors. I also baked it in two 8 inch pans to make a birthday cake out of it. It was an instant hit. This will be my carrot cake going forward.” –Christina
If you’re after a classic iteration of carrot cake, this is it. Unlike other recipes on the list, this one uses buttermilk, which adds a hint of delicious acidity but also contributes to a tender, moist crumb. The pineapple and coconut were subtle, but added nice bright and vibrant flavors and kept things light. All of my testers enjoyed this cake and one even exclaimed, “this one is easy to enjoy.” I agree.
Best For Those Who Enjoy Tropical Flavors
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Old Fashioned Carrot Cake submitted by Marc
- Average rating: 4.8
- Rave review: “My daughter made this cake as a 2 layer for Easter. This was the most fabulous carrot cake I’ve ever tasted. So moist and delicious with the perfect amount of spice. The addition of the pineapple and coconut makes an average cake an extraordinary one!” —CheekyPrune5531
I typically prefer a carrot cake without pineapple and coconut but really enjoyed them both in this version. The recipe made enough for one 9×13-inch cake and required one 15-ounce can of crushed pineapple, which easily became the predominant flavor. While testers enjoyed the sunny tropical vibes, as well as how tender and moist it was, they felt it strayed from the traditional carrot cake they are used to. Our advice? Serve this one during the summer and swipe on the SPF, so you can enjoy a slice outside.
Best For Those Who Enjoy Tender, Fluffy Carrot Cake
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Awesome Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting submitted by Tracy Kirk
- Average rating: 4.6
- Rave review: “SO GOOD!! I make this every year for my husband’s birthday. We leave out the pecans because we’re not big nut lovers, but everything else we follow exactly. Best carrot cake I’ve ever had!” —Ruth
Carrot cake can often be heavy, but this one isn’t. The cake came out light, not oily or dense, which was a pleasant surprise. The three cups of carrots added moisture, but the addition of baking soda and baking powder added enough lift to keep the cake airy and fluffy. The carrots were the most identifiable flavor, which my testers enjoyed. Overall, it’s an easy recipe to make that produces a tasty traditional version of carrot cake.
Best Overall Carrot Cake
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Best Carrot Cake Ever submitted by Nan
- Average rating: 4.8
- Rave review: “This. Is the. BEST. Carrot cake recipe I have EVER used. I’ve only ever used 3 total, but I will never have to use another one after this! This is for SURE a keeper!!” —iizifyx
You’ll need a whopping six cups of grated carrots to make the Best Carrot Cake Ever, but it’s worth the effort. Those veggies get tossed with one cup of brown sugar and are left to soften and sweeten on the counter. I used that time to pull the other ingredients together and get my oven preheated. Then it was easy to combine everything and get it baking in two 10-inch cake pans. After letting the cakes cool, I covered them with cream cheese frosting and served them to my testers.
It was unanimous—we all loved this cake the best. It was moist, with just the right amount of pineapple, raisins, and walnuts to add a little texture but also flavor. We also loved the layers, which made it feel like something from a fancy bakery and also like we got more out of one slice than if it had been baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Bottom line: It’s really that good.
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