Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting

Love the flavors of a classic Carrot Cake but aren’t particularly fussed about the traditional Cream Cheese Frosting? Well, if so, you’re in for a treat! Our Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting brings all of the hallmark sweet and rich flavors of Carrot Cake and then pairs it with a tart and delicious Lemon Frosting. The pairing of flavors is amazing, and in our opinion delivers the superior Carrot Cake flavor. This is one of the simplest cake recipes you can make at home and well worth trying

Pairing Lemon with Carrot Cake works wonders

The combination of the tartness of Lemon with sweet Cakes is very common. A classic Lemon Cake is one of the most popular Cake dishes you can make. The sharp, tartness of the Lemon offers a wonderful contrast of flavors that cuts through the sweetness of a Cake perfectly

So, it kind of makes sense that Carrot Cake gets the same treatment. We’ve never been the biggest fans of Cream Cheese Frosting here at Dinnertime Somewhere, finding the pairing a little weird for desserts. Cream Cheese is best served slathered onto a NY Bagel as far as we’re concerned!

This recipe is therefore great for any folk like us who enjoy the flavors of Carrot Cake but aren’t fussed with Cream Cheese Frosting. I personally find that you absolutely need a frosting on Carrot Cake, so instead of picking off the Cream Cheese Frosting, this Cake delivers an amazing Frosting that compliments the dish perfectly

How to make a Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting

This recipe is a typical Cake recipe with a typical approach. That is, combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix them together to make a batter before pouring into a cake tin and baking. It’s a very simple recipe!

To kick things off we combine AP Flour, Sugar (both White and Brown), Baking Powder, Salt, Ground Cinnamon and Nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Mix these dry ingredients together well so they’re thoroughly integrated

Then in goes the wet ingredients. For our Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting, you’ll need 1 Egg, 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract, ⅓ cup of Vegetable Oil and ¼ cup of Whole Milk. Add all these ingredients straight into the dry ingredients and whisk

The final step is adding the Carrot. It wouldn’t be a Carrot Cake without Carrot! For this recipe, simply grate 1 Carrot and mix through along with ¼ cup of roughly chopped Walnuts. The Walnuts add an amazing texture and crunch to the Cake

Now, you don’t need to use a Stand Mixer or an electric mixer or anything like that. Just a regular whisk will work. Like all cakes, try not to overwork the batter. Just mix everything together until nicely incorporated as this will produce a beautiful light and fluffy Cake. Once done, into a Loaf Pan it goes. I’d recommend lining the Loaf ban with some Butter to make it easier to remove once baked

Baking the Cake and preparing the Lemon Frosting

The Carrot Cake is baked in the oven at 360F for 25 – 30 minutes. I would recommend checking the Cake at 25 minutes by poking it with a skewer. If the skewer comes out completely clean, then the Cake is cooked. If it’s still covered in Batter, throw it back in the oven for 5 minutes and try again. Once the skewer comes out clean, it’s ready

Once cooked, allow the Cake to rest for 15 minutes before turning it out over a wire rack to cool further. For best results I recommend waiting another 15 minutes before adding the frosting (so, 30 minutes in total). You basically want the cake to be room temperature and not any hotter before adding Frosting to prevent it melting off

Speaking of Frosting, while the Cake is cooling you can make the Lemon Frosting. It’s super simple to make too. All you need to do is combine some Lemon Juice, Confectioners Sugar, and room temperature Butter in a bowl until smooth

You want a thick consistency for the Frosting, so you may need to add a little more Sugar to achieve the right consistency. Just add a little extra and mix until the desired consistency is achieved. Then, simply slather it all over the top of your now-cooled Cake and it’s ready to eat!

Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting Recipe

Ingredients

• ¾ cup of All Purpose Flour
• ⅓ cup of Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp. White Sugar
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• ¾ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• ½ tsp. Ground Nutmeg
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
• ¼ cup Whole Milk
• 1 Large Carrot, grated
• ¼ cup of Walnuts, roughly chopped
  
  

Lemon Frosting Ingredients

• Juice of ½ a Lemon
• 1 ½ cups of Confectioners Sugar / Icing Sugar
• 1 tbsp. room temperature Butter
  
  

Equipment needed: Loaf Pan

Instructions

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients (Flour, Brown Sugar, White Sugar, Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg) in a mixing bowl
2. Once combined, add the Egg, Vanilla Extract, Vegetable Oil, and Milk and whisk well
3. Add the grated Carrot and Walnuts and mix through to evenly distribute. Pour the batter into a small loaf pan and bake in the oven set at 370F for 25 – 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean
4. Allow the Cake to cool for 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack
5. While the Cake is cooling, prepare the Lemon Frosting by mixing the Lemon Juice, Confectioners Sugar, and Butter in a bowl using a whisk or spatula until smooth, adding any additional Sugar needed to achieve a thick, spreadable consistency
6. Spread generously over the top of the cooled Cake and serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• For an even zestier, Lemony flavor, try grating in ½ Lemon worth of Lemon Zest into the frosting
• Add a touch of Butter around the Loaf Pan before adding the Batter. This will help to prevent the Cake from sticking when it’s time to remove it from the pan
  
  

This wonderfully simple and tasty Carrot Cake with Lemon Frosting offers a delicious alternative to its more traditional Cream Cheese counterpart. We find the Lemon Frosting adds a wonderful tartness to the Cake, cutting through the sweetness perfectly

If you like this recipe then you’re in luck, as we’ve got many amazing Cake recipes for you. Check out these favorites of ours:

• Orange and Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake
• Passionfruit Cupcakes
• Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Cake
• Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
  
  

Happy Cooking!