This Super Moist Carrot Cake is packed full of flavor and moisture from freshly grated carrots and pineapple, and the addition of crunchy pecans, coconut, and cinnamon, completes the deliciousness of this cake!

Carrot Cake.

Can you believe Easter is just a few weeks away?  I love Easter and all those scrumptious Easter desserts.  I always have my entire family over and I make plenty of desserts.  This Super Moist Carrot Cake with Pineapple is one of my favorites.  I actually posted it a few years ago, but it’s so delicious that I felt it deserved a repost with some updated pictures.

Carrot Cake.

This cake is dense, yet super moist and loaded with flavor.  The addition of coconut and pineapple put a modern-day twist on classic Carrot Cake.

Prepping this cake does take a few minutes but it is well worth it…

Pro Tips for this recipe

  • Don’t use store-bought pre-shredded carrots.   Buy whole carrots and grate them yourself.  I actually like to use a box grater for this.  I also use a potato peeler and peel the outer layer (cortex) off.
  • Use three 9-inch round cake pans to bake this cake.  Don’t try baking this cake in a 9 x 13 or two 9-inch round cake pans.  This is a dense heavy cake and when the outside is done, the middle will still be doughy.  The cake will also sink down in the center.  I have not baked this cake in 8-inch round cake pans, but it should work.  The layers will be thicker but should bake through evenly.
  • Use room temperature eggs.
  • Make sure you drain the pineapple.  Too much liquid will make a soggy cake.  This cake already has lots of moisture in it.
  • Line the cake pans with wax paper rounds.  Grease and lightly flour them.
  • Try to make sure you have the same amount of batter in each pan since this is a heavy batter.  I use a kitchen scale when I bake this cake.  Once you transfer the batter to the pans, gently shake the pans back and forth to level out the batter.
  • Once the cakes are baked, run a knife around the edges of each cake layer.  Gently shake the pan to ensure the cake is not sticking anywhere.  Invert the cake layers onto wire racks and peel off the wax paper.  Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting them.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Cream cheese frosting and carrot cake are a perfect pairing!  The frosting is made of cream cheese, pure butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar and it’s delectable by itself but even better when used on carrot cake.

CREAM CHEESE TIPS

  • Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature.  Do not try to mix cold cream cheese.  I always place it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, because I’m always impatient.
  • When using cream cheese, always mix the cream cheese first, making sure that all lumps are removed from it before adding butter or other ingredients.
  • Use a whisk attachment.  The whisk attachment always works better for me when trying to mix and remove the lumps from the cream cheese.
carrot cake.

There’s plenty of frosting for this 3 layer cake.  You can choose to frost the entire cake or do a naked cake look such as I did here.

Carrot cake.

Make this Super Moist Carrot Cake for Easter and it will certainly disappear!

You might also like these Carrot Cake Cupcakes!

If you make this recipe please rate it, and leave a comment below on how you liked it. I love getting your feedback! 🙂

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Super Moist Carrot Cake with Pineapple

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  • Author: Cindy Gibbs
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minurwa
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x
  • Category: Cakes
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

This Super Moist Carrot Cake is packed full of moisture and flavor from freshly grated carrots and pineapple, and the addition of crunchy pecans, coconut, and cinnamon, complete the deliciousness of this cake!

Ingredients

Units Scale

FOR THE CAKE

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups finely shredded or grated carrots
  • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, coarse or finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, optional
  • 1 small 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained, optional

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • 1 package softened cream cheese, softened, 8 ounce
  • 2 sticks real butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • Tiny bit of milk, if needed

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line three 9″ round cake pans with wax paper rounds. Grease and lightly flour the paper rounds and insides of pans.

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, or use a hand mixer, add the eggs, oil, sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix on low speed for a few seconds, then medium speed for about one minute.
  3. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until they are incorporated into the wet ingredients. Do not over mix.
  4. Add the carrots, nuts, and the pineapple and coconut, if using. Mix on medium speed for a few seconds to combine all ingredients.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans.
  6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean. Run a knife around the edges of each pan. Invert cakes onto wire racks to cool. Gently pull off the wax paper rounds. Allow to completely cool.

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  1. Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, or a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese for about one minute until it becomes light and creamy.
  2. Add the butter and vanilla and mix on medium speed until light and creamy again.
  3. Add the powdered sugar, one cup a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated then medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
  4. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish top with nuts and coconut if desired.
  5. Place cake in a covered cake container and refrigerate if not serving the same day.  For best flavor, remove the cake from the refrigertor about 1 hour before serving, allowing it to come to room temperature.

Notes

  • The pineapple and coconut are part of this recipe. They can be omitted if desired, but most guests won’t know they are in the cake unless you tell them. The pineapple adds moister to the cake
  • This cake freezes beautifully.  Make sure you wrap it securely.  I don’t recomment freezing if for longer than 2 months.