Cream Cheese and Carrot Bundt Cake

Perfect for spring, make a pan of this carrot bunt cake covered with a sweet cream cheese icing.

When spring rolls around, my frame of mind for desserts shifts from rich, chocolate desserts to lighter flavors like citrus and fruit.

I also tend to think of carrot cake as a spring dessert. I am a huge fan of carrot cake!

It took me three tries to get this carrot cake recipe just right. The first try the texture just wasn’t right. On the second try the cake wouldn’t budge from the bundt pan despite a thick layer of cooking spray. I also added crushed pineapple to the second recipe, as I’ve seen a lot of carrot cake recipes with pineapple in it. Turns out, I’m personally not a fan of it. I like the spices and texture of the cake to shine through, not chunks of pineapple.

Like they say, third time’s a charm! The texture of this carrot cake is spot on, there are no distracting pineapple chunks, and it slid right out of the pan. Winning!

While this carrot cake is perfection, my favorite part about carrot cake is always the cream cheese frosting. I mean, what is carrot cake without cream cheese frosting? Nothing worth eating, in my opinion. I lightened the flavor of my cream cheese up with a little lemon zest to remind me even more of spring.

Since some people like pecans in their carrot cake (I, again, am a carrot cake purist), I sprinkled a handful on top of the cream cheese frosting. These are totally optional but I actually really enjoyed the little crunch on top!

Click here for the cream cheese icing recipe.

Cream Cheese and Carrot Bundt Cake

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• Author: Taylor Kadlec
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 12–14 servings 1x

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Description

Perfect for spring, make a pan of this carrot bunt cake covered with a sweet cream cheese icing.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the carrot bundt cake:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 oz (115 g) cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups (180 g) powdered sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan generously with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugars until well combined.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking to fully combine after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
5. Add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt and whisk to combine, then stir in the flour with a spatula.
6. Fold in the carrots.
7. Pour into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes, until golden on top and baked through. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
8. To make the frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar slowly, beating well to combine. Add the lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, until the desired drizzle consistency is reached.
9. Drizzle or spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans if using. Slice and enjoy.

Notes

Third time really is the charm with this cake: do not add pineapple, and make sure to spray the bundt pan very generously so it releases cleanly. The lemon zest in the frosting gives a fresh, spring-appropriate lift to the cream cheese.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Baking

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