Carrot Cake Lab · Decision tree
Find your carrot cake
Three questions sort all 260 recipes into 8 groups. Each question is about one of the ingredients recipes disagree on most, and splits the recipes in front of it at their own median, so each answer keeps about half of them. Every group ends with its median recipe in grams and the real recipes nearest it.
The questions
Question 1
More spice than most, or less?
Mostly cinnamon, with nutmeg, ginger or cloves in some.
All 260 recipes: median 1.9% of the flour weight, 5 g per 250 g of flour; middle half 0.7% to 2.7%; 21% use none.
Question 2
More sugar than most, or less?
White and brown sugar together; brown adds the molasses note carrot cake is known for.
All 260 recipes: median 107% of the flour weight, 265 g per 250 g of flour; middle half 83% to 145%.
Asked within each answer to question 1, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
Question 3
More carrot than most, or less?
Grated carrot is moisture and sweetness; more of it makes a heavier, moister cake.
All 260 recipes: median 107% of the flour weight, 265 g per 250 g of flour; middle half 88% to 132%.
Asked within each answer to question 2, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
The key
Read left to right: pick an answer to question 1, then one of the answers beside it for question 2, and so on to a group. Each cell gives the answer, its bound in grams per 100 g of flour, and how many recipes give it.
| 1. Spice | 2. Sugar | 3. Carrot | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| More1.9% or more131 | Moreover 127%66 | Moreover 118%32 | A32 |
| Less118% or less34 | B34 | ||
| Less127% or less65 | Moreover 106%32 | C32 | |
| Less106% or less33 | D33 | ||
| Lessunder 1.9%129 | More100% or more65 | Moreover 109%32 | E32 |
| Less109% or less33 | F33 | ||
| Lessunder 100%64 | Moreover 100%31 | G31 | |
| Less100% or less33 | H33 |
The 8 groups
Each median recipe is the median of every ingredient over the group's recipes, scaled to 250 g of flour, beside the typical cake of all 260. Bold rows are the ingredients the questions asked about.
Group A · 32 recipes · 12% of all
More spice, more sugar and more carrot
Spice 1.9% or more, sugar over 127% and carrot over 118% of the flour weight.
| At 250 g flour | Group A | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 330 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 400 gabout 2 cups | 265 g |
| Fat | 220 gabout 1 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 200 gabout 4 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | 7 g | 5 g |
| Leavening | 12 g | 12 g |
| Salt | 4 g | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 38 minutes, the medians of the 31 recipes here that state a temperature and the 32 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group A
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Carrot Cake · iambaker.netspice 2.6% · sugar 160% · carrot 132%
- Carrot Cake · chelseasmessyapron.comspice 2.1% · sugar 172% · carrot 132%
- Pistachio Carrot Cake · 12tomatoes.comspice 2.6% · sugar 185% · carrot 132%
- Pineapple Carrot Cake · livewellbakeoften.comspice 2.4% · sugar 160% · carrot 120%
- The BEST Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting · livewellbakeoften.comspice 2.4% · sugar 160% · carrot 120%
Group B · 34 recipes · 13% of all
More spice, more sugar and less carrot
Spice 1.9% or more, sugar over 127% and carrot 118% or less of the flour weight.
| At 250 g flour | Group B | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 220 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 365 gabout 1 3/4 cups | 265 g |
| Fat | 225 gabout 1 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 180 gabout 3 1/2 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | 7 g | 5 g |
| Leavening | 12 g | 12 g |
| Salt | 3 g | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 38 minutes, the medians of the 31 recipes here that state a temperature and the 33 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group B
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Swirl Bundt Cake · melskitchencafe.comspice 2.5% · sugar 149% · carrot 84%
- Carrot Cake · cafedelites.comspice 3% · sugar 149% · carrot 98%
- My Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe · sallysbakingaddiction.comspice 2.5% · sugar 128% · carrot 83%
- Carrot Cake Loaf · chefsavvy.comspice 2% · sugar 134% · carrot 88%
- Carrot Cake · chefsavvy.comspice 1.9% · sugar 134% · carrot 88%
Group C · 32 recipes · 12% of all
More spice, less sugar and more carrot
Spice 1.9% or more, sugar 127% or less and carrot over 106% of the flour weight.
| At 250 g flour | Group C | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 315 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 230 gabout 1 1/4 cups | 265 g |
| Fat | 195 gabout 3/4 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 180 gabout 3 1/2 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | 6 g | 5 g |
| Leavening | 13 g | 12 g |
| Salt | none | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 44 minutes, the medians of the 30 recipes here that state a temperature and the 30 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group C
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Carrot cake recept · laurasbakery.nlspice 2.4% · sugar 83% · carrot 133%
- Air Fryer Carrot Cake · inlaurasbakery.comspice 2.1% · sugar 83% · carrot 133%
- Carrot cake uit de airfryer · laurasbakery.nlspice 1.9% · sugar 83% · carrot 133%
- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake · tasteofhome.comspice 2.1% · sugar 114% · carrot 118%
- Mini carrot cakes · cuisineaz.comspice 3.1% · sugar 100% · carrot 120%
Group D · 33 recipes · 12% of all
More spice, less sugar and less carrot
Spice 1.9% or more, sugar 127% or less and carrot 106% or less of the flour weight.
| At 250 g flour | Group D | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 220 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 240 gabout 1 1/4 cups | 265 g |
| Fat | 175 gabout 3/4 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 150 gabout 3 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | 7 g | 5 g |
| Leavening | 11 g | 12 g |
| Salt | 3 g | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 37 minutes, the medians of the 30 recipes here that state a temperature and the 31 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group D
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Easy Carrot Cake · alicaspepperpot.comspice 2.9% · sugar 124% · carrot 88%
- The Perfect Carrot Cake Recipe · joythebaker.comspice 1.9% · sugar 107% · carrot 69%
- Perfect Carrot Cake · butternutbakeryblog.comspice 2.7% · sugar 119% · carrot 98%
- Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Drizzle · countryliving.comspice 3.5% · sugar 85% · carrot 77%
- Easy Carrot Cake Recipe · loveandlemons.comspice 2.9% · sugar 102% · carrot 106%
Group E · 32 recipes · 12% of all
Less spice, more sugar and more carrot
Spice under 1.9%, sugar 100% or more and carrot over 109% of the flour weight. 14 of the 32 use no spice.
| At 250 g flour | Group E | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 365 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 335 gabout 1 2/3 cups | 265 g |
| Fat | 190 gabout 3/4 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 190 gabout 4 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | 1 g | 5 g |
| Leavening | 13 g | 12 g |
| Salt | 0.5 g | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 43 minutes, the medians of the 26 recipes here that state a temperature and the 27 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group E
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- carrotcake met oranje-proef glazuur · deliciousmagazine.nlspice 0% · sugar 145% · carrot 150%
- Saftiger Möhrenkuchen mit Mascarpone Frosting · malteskitchen.despice 0% · sugar 113% · carrot 175%
- Worteltaart · 24kitchen.nlspice 0% · sugar 120% · carrot 200%
- Receta de carrot cake en Thermomix: cómo hacer una tarta de zanahoria más fácil que nunca · directoalpaladar.comspice 0% · sugar 154% · carrot 139%
- The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting · melskitchencafe.comspice 1.6% · sugar 131% · carrot 145%
Group F · 33 recipes · 12% of all
Less spice, more sugar and less carrot
Spice under 1.9%, sugar 100% or more and carrot 109% or less of the flour weight. 7 of the 33 use no spice.
| At 250 g flour | Group F | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 220 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 300 gabout 1 1/2 cups | 265 g |
| Fat | 220 gabout 1 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 140 gabout 3 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | 3.5 g | 5 g |
| Leavening | 11 g | 12 g |
| Salt | 1.5 g | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 41 minutes, the medians of the 27 recipes here that state a temperature and the 32 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group F
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Carrot cake · tudogostoso.com.brspice 1.4% · sugar 107% · carrot 88%
- Chocolate Carrot Cake · foodnetwork.comspice 0.8% · sugar 131% · carrot 88%
- Air-fryer carrot cake · bbcgoodfood.comspice 0.7% · sugar 114% · carrot 86%
- Irresistibly Moist Homemade Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting · amourdecuisine.frspice 0.7% · sugar 100% · carrot 100%
- Recette Carrot cake · mesinspirationsculinaires.comspice 0.7% · sugar 100% · carrot 100%
Group G · 31 recipes · 11% of all
Less spice, less sugar and more carrot
Spice under 1.9%, sugar under 100% and carrot over 100% of the flour weight. 17 of the 31 use no spice.
| At 250 g flour | Group G | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 315 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 200 gabout 1 cup | 265 g |
| Fat | 165 gabout 3/4 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 185 gabout 3 1/2 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | none | 5 g |
| Leavening | 13 g | 12 g |
| Salt | 0.5 g | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 50 minutes, the medians of the 25 recipes here that state a temperature and the 28 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group G
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Rezept für Streusel Möhrenkuchen Carrot Cake rüblikuchen aus der Kastenform double streusel carrot loaf cake recipe · zuckerzimtundliebe.despice 0% · sugar 73% · carrot 127%
- Schokoladen-Karottenkuchen · marcelpaa.comspice 0% · sugar 86% · carrot 107%
- Carrot Cake moelleux · mapatisserie.frspice 0.2% · sugar 75% · carrot 150%
- Torta alle carote con salsa al cioccolato bianco e pistacchi · cucchiaio.itspice 0% · sugar 92% · carrot 113%
- Torta di carote · chiarapassion.comspice 0% · sugar 92% · carrot 113%
Group H · 33 recipes · 12% of all
Less spice, less sugar and less carrot
Spice under 1.9%, sugar under 100% and carrot 100% or less of the flour weight. 17 of the 33 use no spice.
| At 250 g flour | Group H | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Carrot | 205 g | 265 g |
| Sugar | 180 gabout 1 cup | 265 g |
| Fat | 145 gabout 2/3 cup | 195 g |
| Egg | 165 gabout 3 1/2 large eggs | 170 g |
| Spice | none | 5 g |
| Leavening | 13 g | 12 g |
| Salt | none | 1.5 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 45 minutes, the medians of the 29 recipes here that state a temperature and the 32 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group H
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Karottenkuchen · ichkoche.atspice 0% · sugar 86% · carrot 86%
- Ingwershot-Möhren-Kuchen · kuechengoetter.despice 0.6% · sugar 65% · carrot 80%
- Gateau aux carottes et orange, recette italienne · mesinspirationsculinaires.comspice 0% · sugar 80% · carrot 80%
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake! · janespatisserie.comspice 1.6% · sugar 85% · carrot 92%
- Torta di carote e nocciole · cucchiaio.itspice 0% · sugar 64% · carrot 80%
How the questions are chosen
Each ingredient is ranked by how much recipes disagree on it: the width of the middle half of recipes (25th to 75th percentile) divided by the median, less 4% for each place it sits down this lab's list of ingredients, so the ones that define the dish win near ties. For carrot cake the order is spice (1.07), sugar (0.58), carrot (0.41), fat (0.44), leavening (0.48) and egg (0.30), and the first 3 are asked. Salt is never asked about: recipes differ on it mostly by brand and taste.
Every split is at the median of the recipes in front of it, rounded to the percentage shown. Recipes exactly at the median go to whichever side leaves the two halves more even. No answer may keep fewer than 5 recipes; a group that could not be split further says so.
The recipes listed under each group are the 5 nearest its median on every ingredient at once, each scaled by how much recipes vary on it. Every recipe page links to the original for the method.