The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients (19)

• 1 pound medium carrots, 6 to 7 large carrots, ends trimmed (no need to peel)454 g
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar≈ 300 g
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar≈ 110 g
• 4 large eggs≈ 200 g
• 1 cup vegetable, canola or other neutral-flavored oil (see note)≈ 218 g
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (see note)≈ 128 g
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour≈ 313 g
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder≈ 6 g
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon≈ 3.3 g
• 1 teaspoon baking soda≈ 6 g
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt≈ 3 g
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg≈ 1.3 g
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves≈ 0.3 g

Toppings and extras

Listed, but not counted in the percentages below.

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature227 g
• 5 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature≈ 71 g
• 1 tablespoon sour cream≈ 14 g
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract≈ 2.1 g
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar≈ 150 g
• Toasted chopped pecans, for garnish (optional)n/a

flour 313 gbatter 1741 g

≈ marks grams converted from cups and spoons with standard densities; the rest are weights the source printed.

Baker's percentages

Grams per 100 g of flour, and where that falls among all 260 recipes. Shaded: the middle half. Tick: the median.

• Carrot145% · 86th percentile · median 107%
• Sugar131% · 66th percentile · median 107%
• Fat70% · 39th percentile · median 78%
• Egg64% · 39th percentile · median 68%
• Spice1.6% · 43rd percentile · median 1.9%
• Leavening3.8% · 26th percentile · median 4.8%
• Salt1% · 59th percentile · median 0.6%

Oven

Temperature

350°F / 175°C

median 350°F

Time

40 minutes

median 40 minutes