Servings: 12
Calories: 445kcal
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- KitchenAid stand mixer slicer/shredder attachment (optional)
- Flour sifter
- 9-10″ Bundt cake pan
- Baker’s cooling rack
- Instant Pot Omni Plus oven (optional)
Ingredients
Ingredients for grandma's old-fashioned carrot cake recipe
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups sugar granulated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 2 ½ teaspoons water hot
- 1 cup carrots grated
- 1 cup black walnuts finely chopped
- ½ cup black walnuts finely chopped to garnish
Ingredients for carrot cake cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened or whipped cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Instructions for grandma's old-fashioned carrot cake recipe
- Grease and flour a 9-10″ Bundt cake pan and set it aside.
- Mix the vanilla extract, sugar, vegetable oil, egg yolks, and hot water in a medium-sized bowl.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon into a separate mixing bowl.
- Gradually pour the sifted dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredient mixture and electric mix to combine.
- Add the grated carrots and stir in by hand.
- Then add the chopped walnuts and also stir in by hand. The mixture will then become slightly stiff.
- Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks. (When you lift up your beater, you want a nice peak that holds its shape and stands straight up.)
- Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until the whites disappear. The mixture will then significantly loosen.
- Pour the batter into the greased and floured cake pan.
- With a close eye on the carrot cake while it’s in the oven, bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes in the conventional oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If using the Instant Pot Omni Plus oven, bake at 325 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the carrot cake from the oven and set the cake pan on a baking rack to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and onto a baker’s cooling rack.
- Allow the carrot cake to cool to room temperature for at least 2 hours before optional frosting.
- This Southern Black folks’ homemade carrot cake recipe is usually served with homemade cream cheese frosting garnished with finely chopped walnuts. (Frosting instructions below.)
Instructions for the homemade carrot cake cream cheese frosting
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes or until stiff.
- Turn the mixer down to low and gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
- Once the ingredients are combined, turn the mixer up to medium and beat for another 2 minutes.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting onto the cooled carrot cake.
- Optionally, garnish with chopped walnuts, crushed walnuts, or carrot cake crumbs.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Pro tips:
- This recipe has my great-grandma's secret carrot cake ingredient, the addition of beaten stiff egg whites to moisten the cake batter.
- Refrigerating a cake with cream cheese frosting for a few hours will give it a firm texture, making slicing easy upon serving.
- Freeze carrot cake by the slice and wrap individual pieces in parchment paper or plastic wrap. And then in foil before freezing for manageable portions that you can thaw and enjoy quickly!
Nutrition
Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 2116IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg
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