Carrot bundt cake is a perfectly moist carrot cake filled with freshly grated carrots and a blend of classic warming spices. Top this bundt carrot cake with a rich and tangy cream cheese glaze and crunchy pecans. With its beautiful bakery worthy appearance and easy preparation, this carrot cake bundt cake is the perfect cake for all your holiday gatherings.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
Some of my most popular recipes on the blog are inspired by the classic carrot cake. My Carrot Cake Cookies, Chai Carrot Loaf Cake, Easy Carrot Cake and Carrot Cake Muffins are all quick, easy and delicious carrot cake recipes I absolutely love. I am so excited to add this carrot bundt cake recipe to the blog.
- One bowl: This easy carrot cake in a bundt pan can be made in one bowl. Two bowls if you count the cream cheese glaze. All you need to do is whisk, pour, bake and glaze for the easiest carrot cake ever. It might even made you wonder if you should open up your very own Nothing Bundt Cakes.
- Layers of flavors and textures: From the sweet and warmly spiced, carrot filled cake, to the rich, creamy and tangy cream cheese glaze with crunchy toasted pecans, there’s incredible and delectable flavors in every bite.
Ingredients
Make sure you have these ingredients ready to go to make the best carrot bundt cake.
Carrot Bundt Cake
- Dry Ingredients: Gather purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves or nutmeg.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, unsweetened applesauce and shredded carrots. Feel free to add in one cup of chopped walnuts or pecans if you like.
Cream Cheese Glaze
Gather cream cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make this nothing bundt cake inspired carrot cake as easy as possible.
- All purpose flour: To make this carrot cake gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Make sure the gluten free flour contains xanthium gum, as this acts as a replacement for gluten.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Both of these are leaveners for the cake. Use both if possible.
- Ground Spices: This moist carrot cake bundt cake is full of the perfect blend of aromatics to make this cake really shine. Feel free to use 2 - 3 teaspoons of Pumpkin spice, chai spice or apple pie spice in this recipe in place of the written spices.
- Light Brown and Granulated Sugars: A blend of both sugars is what is recommended for this classic cake recipe. This carrot cake bundt hasn’t been tested using alternative sugars. However, I love using maple sugar as a refined sugar free option. Maple sugar bakes very similarly to light brown sugar.
- Oil: I love using a light olive oil to make my carrot cakes. Feel free to use canola or vegetable in place of olive oil.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: This gives a lovely background flavor to this carrot pound cake.
- Unsweetened Applesauce: This ingredient creates a lovely moist crumb. Use an equivalent amount of cinnamon applesauce, sour cream or greek yogurt as a substitute if needed.
- Grated Carrots: I highly recommend grating carrots instead of buying ones that are already grated. I like to use the smaller holes on a cheese grater to grate the carrots for this moist carrot bundt cake recipe.
Variations
- Mini Bundt Cake Carrot Cakes: Make the carrot cake batter as written in the recipe. Grease two 6 count mini bundt pan or a 12 count mini bundt pan. Transfer the moist carrot cake batter into each cavity of the mini bundt pan. Make sure to fill each cavity abut ½ - ⅔ full. Do not overfill. Bake the mini carrot bundt cakes for 15 - 25 minutes, depending on the type of pan. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, invert onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before topping with the glaze.
- Cream Cheese Filling: Prepare the carrot cake according to the recipe directions. In a separate bowl, whisk together 12 oz. of room temperature (block) cream cheese, with ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 room temperature egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Evenly spread ½ of the carrot cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Layer the cheesecake filling onto the bottom carrot cake layer. Gently swirl the filling into the cake. Top with the remaining ½ carrot cake batter. Bake for 60 - 75 minutes.
How To Make
Learn how to make carrot bundt cake in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease a 10-inch (12 cup capacity bundt pan). Finely grate the peeled carrots using the smaller holes on the grater. Whisk the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves until well combined.
- Whisk the oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in the finely grated carrots. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. If you want to mix in 1 cup of chopped nuts, do so now.
3. Evenly pour the carrot cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake the carrot bundt cake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the edges of the cake pull slightly away from the edges of the pan. The center of the cake should bounce back quickly when lightly pressed. Cool the bundt cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack or serving plate to cool to room temperature.
4. While the bundt carrot cake cools, make the cream cheese glaze. Beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, heavy cream and powdered sugar and salt until smooth and well combined. Top the cooled carrot bundt cake with the creamy cheese glaze and chopped pecans if you like. Place the cake in the fridge to set for about 30 - 45 minutes if the frosting is soft for your liking.
How To Store, Freeze, Thaw and Store
- Store: This carrot cake is super moist and will do just fine when stored in the fridge. Once frosted with the cream cheese glaze, keep the cake in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 - 5 days. Unfrosted cake can be kept at room temperature for 1 day before transferring to the fridge for up to 4 more days.
- Freeze: Make sure the cake is fully cooled. If the cake has the cream cheese glaze already applied, flash freeze the cake slices on a small pan or large plate for about 20 - 30 minutes. Wrap the slices of leftover cake in plastic wrap and store in an airtight, freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Thaw frozen slices of carrot cake in the fridge overnight. Enjoy from the fridge or at room temperature.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use a non-stick spray: Prevent the cake from sticking to the bundt pan by generously greasing the pan. If needed, take a pastry brush or even a clean paper towel and work the spray into all the grooves of the pan.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly.
- Grate fresh carrots. It’s such a simple step that improves the overall texture of the carrot cake.
- Cool the cake in the pan for no longer than 10 -15 minutes. If you try to remove the cake before 10 minutes, the cake may still be too hot to remove without falling apart. Removing the cake after 15 minutes may cause the cake to stick to the pan more easily.
- Fully cool the cake before applying the glaze. This usually takes about 30 - 45 minutes after the cake has been removed from the pan or about an hour after the cake has been removed from the oven.
FAQs
This step is best done the same day you plan on baking the carrot cake. However, carrots can be grated and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days before baking the cake.
Yes, for carrot cake, a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean when the cake is done baking. Other signs the cake is done baking are the edges of the cake pulling away from the sides of the pan. The center of the cake should bounce back after lightly pressing it.
Carrot cake is incredibly moist and uses large amounts of fresh carrots. This can cause the cake to develop mold faster than other types of cakes. It is recommended to keep frosted or unfrosted carrot cake in the fridge.
Make sure to generously grease all the nooks and crannies of your bundt pan. Cool the cake for about 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cooling and gently tap the bottom of the pan to help loosen the cake. If the cake doesn’t easily come out, place a steaming tea towel on top of the cake to help loosen any stuck pieces of cake. If this doesn't work, fully cool the cake, transfer the cake to the freezer and freeze. The cake should easily slip out once it has cooled and begun to freeze.
Other Bundt Cake Recipes To Try
If you try this Carrot Bundt Cake recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Carrot Bundt Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 10 inch (12 cup) capacity bundt pan
- 1 grater
- 1 whisk and flexible spatula or spoon
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
Ingredients
Carrot Bundt Cake
- 2¼ cup (270 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice or nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180 ml) olive oil (or canola or vegetable oil)
- 1½ cups (300 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) unsweetened applesauce
- 3 cups (300 g) finely grated carrots
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease a 10-inch (12 cup capacity bundt pan).
- Whisk the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves until well combined.2¼ cup (270 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon , 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon allspice or nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon salt
- Whisk the oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in the finely grated carrots. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. If you want to mix in 1 cup of chopped nuts, do so now.¾ cup (180 ml) olive oil , 1½ cups (300 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 4 large eggs, room temperature, ½ cup (120 ml) unsweetened applesauce, 3 cups (300 g) finely grated carrots, 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
- Evenly pour the carrot cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake the carrot bundt cake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the edges of the cake pull slightly away from the edges of the pan. The center of the cake should bounce back quickly when lightly pressed.
- Cool the bundt cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack or serving plate to cool to room temperature.
- While the bundt carrot cake cools, make the cream cheese glaze. Beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, heavy cream salt and powdered sugar until smooth and well combined.6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature, ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract , ¼ teaspoon salt, 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- Top the cooled carrot bundt cake with the creamy cheese glaze and chopped pecans if you like. Place the cake in the fridge to set for about 30 - 45 minutes if the frosting is soft for your liking.½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts for topping, optional
Tracey Stokes says
I made this cake for Easter and it earned me rave reviews from my family and friends. Moist, flavourful and delicious! Thank you.
Megan says
Thank you for the kind review Tracey. I am so happy you and your family loved the carrot bundt cake!