Easy Carrot Cake (in a 9×13 Pan)

This easy carrot cake is made in a 9×13 pan and topped with the best cream cheese frosting! Perfect for an Easter dessert!

Its only a couple weeks till Easter and yesterday was the first day of spring, so its a perfect time to make this easy carrot cake.

I love how moist carrot cake is, thanks to the oil, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, and shredded carrots. Its perfectly moist throughout, and light cake, with a soft crumb that sticks to your fork as your eating it.  You can also sub the pineapple for 1 cup of applesauce instead!

And the cake is topped with THE best cream cheese frosting, its got a little more powdered sugar than my typical cream cheese frosting, which helps it spread more to cover the whole cake in that thick tangy and sweet cream cheese frosting and doesn’t matter that it doesn’t hold its texture quite as well since you won’t be using it for any piping. Its the same cream cheese frosting I’ve used on my pumpkin cake.

You’ll be going back bite after bite to eat more of this cake, and scraping your plate clean to get every last piece of the delicious cake.

If you want more carrot cake desserts:

If you want a layered carrot cake, or even carrot cake made a bit lighter with the help of less sugar, less oil, and greek yogurt, I’ve got those too. Or if you want to make them into individual serving sizes carrot cake cupcakes! And if you’re trying to eating keto, this almond flour carrot cake is a perfect option too!

• Carrot Cake Cookie Bars
• Carrot Cake Energy Bites
• Carrot Cake Cookie Cups
• Carrot Cake Cookies

Now back to the carrot cake at hand. You’ll never regret making this cake, but I think you might regret not making it 😉

Ps. You can add chopped walnuts or pecans to the cake, or top the frosting with them if desired. I didn’t this time.

You can find the cute candy carrot toppers at Target!

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tosp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups freshly grated carrots (was about 5 medium carrots for me)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 Oz Cream cheese (Softened)
• 1/2 Cup Butter (Softened)
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 3 Cups Powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk together your sugars, oil, and crushed pineapple until well combined.

3. Add in the eggs and stir until just combined.

4. Dump in the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Stir into the mixture.

5. Fold in your grated carrots.

6. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.

7. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 37-45 minutes (Mine took 40) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. (Place in the fridge to speed up cooling.)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Beat your cream cheese in a large bowl over medium speed until smooth. 

2. Add in the butter and continue beating till well blended.

3. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and continue to mix until the frosting is totally smooth.

4. Spread over cooled cake.