Honestly, who doesn’t like homemade orange carrot cake with a rich cream cheese frosting? It is easy to make, not too sweet, and keeps fresh for a few days.
Not that this decadent carrot cake would survive a day in our household! 🙂
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Our easy to make and shall I say best homemade carrot cake , is full of wholesome ingredients: think of tasty carrots, juicy orange, healthy whole meal flour, pieces of chopped walnuts, and warm spices like ginger, cardamon, and of course cinnamon.
And, our luscious cream cheese frosting is made in no time with the subtle flavour of fresh orange juice, garnished with the zest of one orange. Lucky, we have our own orange tree in the backyard.
You can also use our carrot cake with cream cheese recipe to make carrot cake cupcakes, which are ideal also for your kids lunchboxes.
Homemade Orange Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 large bowl for the batter
- 1 small bowl for the frosting
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 baking tin of your choice – a loose bottom baking pan is ideal
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sunflower oil
- 3 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup finely chopped orange – make sure the white skin is removed (optional)
- finely grated zest of one orange
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole meal flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts plus pumpkin and sunflower seed
- 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 3tbsp orange juice
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 25 grams soft butter
- 125 grams cream cheese – I use Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- juice from half an orange
Instructions
How To Make The Cake Batter
- Beat the eggs together with the oil
- Add the carrots, orange zest, orange pieces, and nuts and mix gently
- Add the flour, sugar, spices, and orange juice with the baking soda
- Mix with a spoon until well combined
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius/356 Fahrenheit (I use fan-forced)
- Grease the baking tin and fill in the cake batter
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
How To Make The Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until well combined
- Add the powdered sugar and orange juice beat until smooth Note: add the juice gradually until you reach the desired consistency, not too thick and not too thin
Putting It All Together
- Wait for the carrot cake to cool down
- Once the cake is cool enough, spread the frosting on top
- Garnish with grated orange zest and walnut pieces (optional)
Video
Please let me know in the comment box below, how you liked this easy to make homemade orange carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
Happy Baking!
~Jane
