carrot cake recipe with step by step pics. decadent and delicious easy carrot cake made without eggs. since carrots are in season, i am sharing this eggless cake recipe.
like my most cake recipes, this carrot cake is also made with whole wheat flour. though you can also make it with all-purpose flour. the cake tastes good and is filling. there is a slight denseness in the cake due to whole wheat flour.
i tried testing carrot cake with different methods and ingredients five times. but this recipe gave me the best result. i have used my wheat cake recipe as a base recipe to make this carrot cake.
this carrot cake keeps well and can be refrigerated for about 2 weeks easily. i have not made any frosting for the cake, but a chocolate frosting, sugar glaze or cream cheese icing will go well.
since i have used sweetened condensed milk, i have not added any sugar in the recipe. so the cake is just sweet which is fine with us. for more sweetness, you can add a few tablespoons of sugar.
serve carrot cake as tea time sweet snack or as a dessert.
how to make carrot cake
preparation:
1. firstly rinse and then peel 190 to 200 grams carrots or 1 large delhi red carrot. grate with a fine grater. in cup measure, you will need 1 cup of grated carrots.
2. grease a loaf pan very well with oil. also preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.
sifting dry ingredients for cake batter
3. in a sieve, take 1.5 cups levelled whole wheat flour (180 grams). all-purpose flour can be used instead of whole wheat flour.
4. add 1.5 teaspoons levelled baking powder, 1 pinch salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder (optional) and ½ teaspoon ginger powder. you can skip nutmeg or ginger powder if you do not have them.
5. sift the dry ingredients. keep the bowl aside.
mixing liquid ingredients for cake batter
6. in another bowl pour sweetened condensed milk from 1 can (400 grams). for a more sweet cake, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar.
7. add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
8. pour ¼ cup sunflower oil. use neutral tasting oil. you can also use olive oil.
9. add ½ cup milk. milk can be chilled or at room temperature.
10. with a wired whisk begin to stir and mix the wet ingredients briskly for 1 to 2 minutes. you should get a smooth mixture.
11. now add the grated carrots to the mixed liquid ingredients.
12. mix again well.
making carrot cake batter
13. pour the liquid ingredients in the sifted dry ingredients.
14. with a spatula using cut and fold technique, fold the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients. to check how folding is done, you can the youtube video on this link – eggless banana bread
15. use light pressure from hand and fold well. also do note, to over do the folding. the batter should have volume and should not fall flat or become dense and thick. it should have a pouring consistency. you can add ¼ cup milk more if the batter looks doughy or too thick.
16. pour the cake batter in the prepared pan.
17. gently shake and tap the pan so that the cake batter spreads evenly in the pan.
baking carrot cake
18. place loaf pan on the center rack in the preheated oven. bake at 180 degrees celsius for 50 minutes to 1 hour. if using a regular oven or an OTG then heat only the bottom heating element (do not heat the top element – use bake option in the OTGs available in india). since temperatures vary from oven to oven, the time taken will be less or more than what is mentioned here.
19. after 30 to 45 minutes, cover the top of the pan with an aluminium foil. since condensed milk is used, this cake gets browned from top too fast.
20. continue to bake till the cake is done and a wooden skewer comes out clean.
21. place the cake pan on a wired rack to cool.
22. once the cake becomes warm or cools down, with a butter knife loosen the edges. invert the cake on a chopping board.
23. then slice the carrot cake and serve. leftover cake can be easily refrigerated.
24. serve carrot cake as tea time sweet or as a dessert.
Carrot Cake (Eggless)
INGREDIENTS
dry ingredients
- 1.5 cups levelled whole wheat flour or 180 grams
- 1.5 teaspoons levelled baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder - optional
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
wet ingredients
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk or 400 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk - chilled or at room temperature
- ¼ cup sunflower oil - use neutral tasting oil or olive oil
- 1 cup finely grated carrots or 190 to 200 grams carrots or 1 large Delhi red carrot
INSTRUCTIONS
preparation
- rinse, peel and finely grate the carrot.
- grease a loaf pan very well with oil. also preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.
sifting dry ingredients for cake batter
- in a sieve, take all the dry ingredients mentioned above.
- sift and keep aside.
mixing liquid ingredients
- in another bowl pour sweetened condensed milk. for a more sweet cake you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar.
- add vanilla extract, sunflower oil and milk.
- with a wired whisk begin to stir and mix the wet ingredients briskly for 1 to 2 minutes to a smooth mixture.
- now add the grated carrots to the mixed liquid ingredients. mix again well.
making carrot cake batter
- pour the liquid ingredients in the sifted dry ingredients.
- with a spatula using cut and fold technique, fold the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients.
- use light pressure from hand and fold well. also do note, not to over do the folding. the batter should have volume and should not fall flat or become dense and thick. it should have a pouring consistency.
- pour the cake batter in the prepared pan.
- gently shake and tap the pan so that the cake batter spreads evenly in the pan.
baking carrot cake
- place loaf pan on the center rack in the preheated oven. bake at 180 degrees celsius for 50 minutes to 1 hour. if using an OTG then heat only the bottom heating element. since temperatures vary from oven to oven, the time taken will be less or more than what is mentioned here.
- after 30 to 45 minutes, cover the top of the pan with an aluminium foil. since condensed milk is used, this cake gets browned from top too fast.
- continue to bake till the cake is done and a wooden skewer comes out clean.
- place the cake pan on a wired rack to cool.
- once the cake becomes warm or cools down, then with a butter knife loosen the edges. invert the cake on a chopping board.
- then slice the cake and serve. leftover cake can be easily refrigerated.
- serve carrot cake as tea time sweet or as a dessert.
Hi Dasanna,
Thank you for all your recipes. We live abroad where it’s very difficult to get eggless cakes. I rely on your websites and bake delicious cakes for my daughter who is two and she enjoys them. Every time she smiles having the cake I think of you and can’t thank you enough.
I have a question regarding carrot cake. Can I use the same batter and make muffins instead of one bread loaf?
Thank you!
hi supriya, thanks for sharing this sweet feedback and review. glad to know that your daughter likes the cakes. definitely, you can make muffins instead of a loaf. welcome and thanks again.
Thanks for answering my question. Apologies that I misspelt your good name Dassana. I shall make this yummy muffins for my daughter.i wanted to share another thing. I baked banana cake from your recipe blog and shared it with her day care staff. Everybody appreciated that eggless whole wheat cake tasted so good. I pointed them to your website. All in all … a big thanks…:)
welcome supriya. not a problem. some readers to misspell my name. thanks for sharing the website link. whole wheat cakes do taste good. i can vouch for that as i have baked many cakes with whole wheat flour. just that some recipes have not been updated on the blog. while a few recipes i have had shared on the blog.
hi Dassanna Amit,
can we replace condensed milk with joni bella. if yes what is the proportion. also can you post a cake using joni bella. I am not a big fan of either sugar or condensed milk. thank you.
sushma with joni bella (jaggery syrup) many changes will be needed in the recipe. i have a lot of recipe requests that i will be adding one by one. so readers have requested cake recipe made from jaggery but not specifically jaggery syrup. so i will add a jaggery cake recipe in some months. i have one cookie recipe made with joni bella and 2 cake recipes made with jaggery. in maharashtra jaggery syrup is called as kakvi. so you can have a look at the following recipes.
1. gingerbread cookies (made with joni bella) – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-gingerbread-cookies-recipe
2. steamed cucumber cake (made with jaggery) – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/cucumber-cake-recipe-tavsali-recipe/
3. gingerbread cake (made with jaggery) – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-gingerbread-cake-recipe/
Hi Dassana
I just tried yummy carrot cake.it turned out awesome.very easy nd delicious cake. Thanks a lot.
Only temperature and timings I changed.i started wd 140 degree for approx 35-40 min .it was almost cook but upper crust was almost white so I raised the temp to 160 degree for 10 min but still proper browning was not there then I set 180 degree for last 10 min.
Colour taste texture all perfect
thanks for sharing this harmeet. nice to know that the carrot cake turned out perfect. depending on the heating in the oven, the temperatures and timing can be changed or altered. even i experiment on occasions with the timing and temperature.
HiDasana ,
What is the substitute for condensed milk. Can it be just sugar and milk , what is the proportion .
Thanks
Viji
Welcome Viji. There is no substitute for condensed milk in this carrot cake recipe.
Hi Dassana,
I love your site and I am a regular here with browsing through your site almost every day. I tried the banana cake recipe and it turned out well just that the middle part of the cake was slightly dense and a tad undercooked. I have a microwave oven. Can I bake this cake in the microwave oven and will I be able to use aluminium foil in the microwave?
thanks preeti. you can make in the microwave but in the convection mode only. do not make the cake in microwave mode. in the convection mode you can use aluminium foil but do not use in the microwave mode. also do not use combination modes for baking. reduce the temperature and bake preheat and bake at 170 degrees in the convection mode of the microwave oven.
Hello! Amit,
I have Wilton Heart Tasty Fill Pan which helps, me to bake 2 cakes with a ‘Hollow’ so, that I can fill it up with a frosting.
The challenge I’m facing is, all the recipes for this novelty pan recommend many eggs, mainly for holding the frosting from inside and outside as well.
Please, suggest if your ‘Eggless Carrot Cake’ recipe can help me overcome this challenge.
to make a cake support frosting from inside and outside
Thanking in anticipation.
devasena, i checked for the wilton heart tasty fill pan on google. this recipe will work. so you can go ahead.
Hi Dasana,
I loved your carrot cake recipe. And I really want to try it but we are vegans. Can u suggest a vegan substitute for condensed milk and milk?
Also just to let you know I am a big fan and follower of your website.
Your recipes never fail to impress my fussy family!!
Thanks for all your efforts!!
SK, i did try two times using vegan ingredients, but both times the carrot cake did not turn out well. instead of condensed milk, you can use coconut cream. but here you will need to add sugar. i tried the vegan method with ½ cup of unrefined cane sugar and it was sweet enough. so you can use ½ cup sugar. for more sweetness you can add upto ⅔ or ¾ cup sugar. but i did use carrots which were sweet. if the carrots are not sweet, then you can consider increasing the sugar.
for milk, you can use almond milk, cashew milk, rice milk or coconut milk. with coconut cream and coconut milk, there will be coconut flavor and aroma in the cake, which will taste good.
thanks a lot and welcome.
Hi Dassana,
I was going to ask the same exact question – about making this cake vegan !
Do you think apple sauce may be a good substitute for condensed milk as I have seen carrot cake recipes incorporate them? Perhaps I can add a combination of apple sauce and sugar —any tips/ suggestions for the amount to use ?
By the way , I love all your recipes and website. Every single time I try a recipe from your site, it turns out well without fail 🙂 I ve recommended your site to all my friends n family as well who are interested in cooking !
take care and thank you !
Vidhya
vidhya, apple sauce is a good substitute for eggs. but in this cake, carrot give a lot of moisture when baking as well as after mixing the batter. so one need to use a substitute which has more viscosity, thickness and heavy. so thus coconut cream fits these requirements. apple sauce can make the cake very moist and soft. in fact i tested making with curd also, but the recipe did not work. you can use apple sauce in combination with coconut cream or thick coconut milk. i think this combination will work.
thanks for the lovely feedback and also for sharing the site with your family and friends. hugs and you too take care.