Yummy scrummy carrot cake

Yummy scrummy carrot cake

The lightest and most enticingly moist carrot cake you will ever come across - just find a good hiding place for it!

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 15 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr - 1 hr 15 mins

Including 40-45 minutes in the oven.
Freezable

Dairy-free

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C. Oil and line the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin with baking parchment. The easiest way to do this is to cut two long strips the width of the tin and put each strip crossways, covering the base and sides of the tin, with a double layer in the base.
  2. Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, pour in the oil and add the eggs. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and orange rind.
  3. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then sift into the bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients - when everything is evenly amalgamated stop mixing. The mixture will be fairly soft and almost runny.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes, until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack. (You can freeze the cake at this point.)
  5. Beat together the frosting ingredients in a small bowl until smooth - you want the icing about as runny as single cream. Set the cake on a serving plate and boldly drizzle the icing back and forth in diagonal lines over the top, letting it drip down the sides.
Try

Like this?

You might also like to try Angela Nilsen's lighter option, Ultimate makeover: Carrot cake, or try something new with Carrot & cream cheese cupcakes .

Per serving

265 kcalories, protein 3g, carbohydrate 39g, fat 12 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 1g, sugar 24.8g, salt 0.41 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 201-220

  • Binder photo Naomi

    08 April 2009

    Naomi rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is undoubtedly the best carrot cake I have ever made. I added walnuts and covered the cake with cream cheese and icing sugar which topped it off very nicely indeed. I'd love to find out how long it keeps for, but in our house 5 minutes is probably the longest!

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  • Binder photo Sarah S

    10 April 2009

    Sarah S commented on this recipe

    This is a really good recipe, nice and moist and dead easy to make. I omitted the raisins, as I'm not a big fan, and it worked just fine.

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  • Binder photo TheUniStudent

    11 April 2009

    TheUniStudent rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yum yum yum! a great cake!

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  • Binder photo coconuts

    12 April 2009

    coconuts rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very good light carrot cake! I made one a few years back which took a lot of time and ingredients and was very heavy, this one is easy, quick light and delicious! I ran out of nutmeg so i only used cinnamon, added chopped walnuts and used rapeseed oil instead of sunflower oil sinc people here said it was a little oily. I also added around 50g more carrots, (it's a carrot cake afterall!) and didn't add the orange zest because I didn't have one. I greased and lined a 26cm round tin and dusted the sides with cinnamon after greasing. Baked for 40 mins in a fan oven. For the frosting I didn't use this recipe. I used around 150g cream cheese (straight out of the fridge) 2 Tbs softened butter, 1 Tbs vanilla essence and icing sugar. I added the icing sugar as I went along and stopped after I found it sweet enough, so you can vary this to your own liking. The cake itself isn't very sweet so I made the frosting sweeter. So yummy! I'm going for seconds later.

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  • Binder photo Andrea

    13 April 2009

    Andrea rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Definitely a 5* recipe!! So easy & quick - the mixture felt great pouring it into the tin, and then 45 mins later bang - a beautifully cooked & delicious cake. It was so lovely I made another one just a few hours later because the first one had gone! Much recommended.

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  • Binder photo Marie

    13 April 2009

    Marie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fabulous!!!!!! v. yummy but only about a third of the icing sugar for topping is needed

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  • Binder photo nikki

    16 April 2009

    nikki rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    very nice dont need a lot if icing

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  • Binder photo vikkibluesilver

    16 April 2009

    vikkibluesilver commented on this recipe

    I made this cake for my mother-in-laws 60th birthday. I changed the recipe slightly using currants instead of raisins (they are more juicy) and halving the amount. I then made up the other half using chopped walnuts . I made up 2 batches and baked in a Victoria Sandwich tin. I then made butter icing flavoured with ground cinammon. It was lovely and everyone commented on how light and moist it was. And it all got eaten. I was really pleased with this recipe as I had tried about 5 others before this one. It is easy and so tasty, I am making it again today. Just a single layer but I froze the left over butter cream so I am going to defrost that and slap that on top. Yum!

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  • Binder photo marysia_c

    16 April 2009

    marysia_c rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I used Grapeseed oil instead as that was all I had (and apparently it's supposed to be quite a healthy oil)! Cake was fantastic!! And so easy to make! Yum Yum... :)

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  • Binder photo Happy Cooker

    17 April 2009

    Happy Cooker commented on this recipe

    This is an easy and reliable recipe. The result was a light and moist cake that was devoured by the family!

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  • Binder photo Clare

    17 April 2009

    Clare commented on this recipe

    I have made this carrot cake on many occassions especially for my 19 year old daughters biurthday, and I would really recommend people to try it. It is really easy to make and tastes GORGEOUS. It keeps well, if you can stop eating it, for a about a week in a tight fitting lidded tin. The only thing I do is put more orange juice into the icing to give it a bit more flavour and I find it hard to zest the orange so I put a little of the juice in instead. Have fun making this. Jan.Coventry

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  • Binder photo oliviahonaker

    22 April 2009

    oliviahonaker rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Excellent cake, so moist- orange is very good in it

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  • Binder photo Luciemaddock

    23 April 2009

    Luciemaddock rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I tried this out having read all of the great reviews it had by others.... and they are all true. It is a really moist, flavoursome and above all impressive cake and so easy to make. I feel like this recipe shall be one I make for years to come.

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  • Binder photo Mag

    23 April 2009

    Mag commented on this recipe

    Gorgeous, so moist and tasty. I soaked the raisins in the orange juice while I prepard the tin and cake. Really fat and juicy then. A family favourite

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  • Binder photo taryn

    26 April 2009

    taryn rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yum! I also used rapeseed oil instead of sunflower. I also put less, maybe 160 mls, and will try to reduce it again next time. Pretty healthy for a carrot cake, I notice the "healthy" carrot cake recipe is only 40 cals less than this one. Amazingly easy to make, this one's a keeper.

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  • Binder photo lollypopstar

    26 April 2009

    lollypopstar commented on this recipe

    We've made this recipe loads of times - a real hit with our family. Works well as a grown up birthday cake too. For the record I only used 2 eggs last time (as we didn't have enough) and it was fine - maybe a bit more crumbly than before. As regards icing, I only use about 3-4oz of icing sugar and add orange juice (from a carton if necessary) to make a thin cream consitency and drizzle it on. Works for me! And its not too thick so that the kids eat the icing to the exclusion of everything else...

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  • Binder photo Sam`s choice

    26 April 2009

    Sam`s choice commented on this recipe

    A never fail cake - absolutely scrummy, so much so that when I make it, I normally end up cutting it in half and giving half to a friend or neighbour...all my willpower goes out the door when I make this cake. I add pecan or walnuts to the recipe...delicious!

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  • Binder photo Lyndsay

    02 May 2009

    Lyndsay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious light carrot cake!

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  • Binder photo RecipeRachel

    07 May 2009

    RecipeRachel rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fab, easy cake I don't let my toddler eat cake normally but he loved this & I didn't mind as it was so healthy. I only put 100ml of olive oil in & it was lovely & moist, I also put in walnuts instead of raisins, baked it in the only cake tin I had & it was fine! I'm going to try it again in muffin cases as recommended by another reviewer.....hope it tastes as good!

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  • Binder photo Tricia

    09 May 2009

    Tricia commented on this recipe

    Brilliant recipe but a relative doesn't like raisins so I tried apricots instead, which worked really well Tricia

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 15 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr - 1 hr 15 mins

Including 40-45 minutes in the oven.
Freezable

Dairy-free

Ingredients

  • 175g light muscovado sugar
  • 175ml sunflower oil
  • 3 large eggs , lightly beaten
  • 140g grated carrots (about 3 medium)
  • 100g raisins
  • grated zest of 1 large orange
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)

FOR THE FROSTING

  • 175g icing sugar
  • 1½-2 tbsp orange juice
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Per serving

265 kcalories, protein 3g, carbohydrate 39g, fat 12 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 1g, sugar 24.8g, salt 0.41 g

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