Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

The very best carrot cakes are a delicious balancing act: moist and fragrant, full of flavor but not overly heavy or cloying. This version of the classic dessert offers precisely the right combination of sweet vegetal flavor, warm spice, and tender, light crumb. The key, as in many carrot cake recipes, is to use oil instead of butter. Oil is lighter than butter, so a cake made with oil will have a lighter crumb (an important consideration for a cake loaded with heavy shredded carrot), and it better highlights the cake’s already rich flavors.

For the minimalists among us, the base here is flavored with just grated carrots and a few classic spices. If you can't help but mix in a handful of your favorite nuts, plump dark or golden raisins—or both—you can follow our guidance below for add-ins. Want to go rogue? You could incorporate chocolate chips, sprinkle in some shredded coconut, or swap out the raisins for dried cherries or pineapple (if your fruit is especially dry, cover it with water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil; drain the fruit immediately and pat dry before incorporating). We’ve reined in the sugar in the topping, making it less sweet than classic cream cheese frosting. The result is pleasingly tangy and won’t overwhelm the delicate cake layers.

For a simpler, quicker dessert, make this into a sheet cake using a 13x9" baking pan. The baking time will be the same, but frosting just the top of the cake will be much quicker than assembling and frosting both the layers and every side of the cake. You can also use this cake batter to make carrot cake cupcakes (cook them at 375°F for 18–20 minutes). Add as much frosting as you like on top, and sprinkle on some chopped nuts to decorate.