Anke
Truly, is there anyone who doesn’t appreciate a homemade orange carrot cake topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting? It’s simple to prepare, delightfully not overly sweet and remains fresh for several days. Not that this decadent orange carrot cake would survive a day in our household! 🙂
Our simple yet super delicious homemade orange carrot cake is packed with wholesome ingredients: flavorful carrots, succulent homegrown oranges, bits of chopped walnuts, and a blend of warm spices including ginger, cardamom, and, cinnamon.
And, our luscious cream cheese frosting is made in no time with the subtle flavor of fresh orange juice, and with the zest of one orange. Luckily, we have an orange tree in the backyard.
By the way, you can also use our orange carrot cake with cream cheese recipe to make carrot cake cupcakes, which are great for the kids’ lunchboxes.
Other cake recipes you might like to try: Feijoa Crumble Cake, German Apple Cake with fresh apples, and a delicious Yogurt Plum Cake.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Oranges: A key ingredient, aside from the carrots, is oranges. Fortunately, I have an orange tree in my backyard, providing a steady supply of juicy, organic oranges when they’re in season.
If you cannot find organic oranges, wash the skin of the orange with hot water to remove any residue. Another option is to use high-quality orange juice from the supermarket, but if you choose this option, you will need to leave out the orange zest.
Carrots: My recipe uses 2 large carrots, which I have washed and peeled before grating. Yet again, try to get organic carrots for better quality.
Spices: Cinnamon, cardamon, and ginger are warm spices that will add another layer of flavor to our beautiful orange carrot cake.
Walnuts: Although using walnuts is optional, they add a nice texture to this cake. In addition, I am using walnuts to garnish our smooth and tangy cream cheese frosting with it.
How To Make Our Orange Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
This orange carrot cake with a zesty and smooth cream cheese frosting is such a treat.
Step 1
Firstly, prepare the carrots by washing and peeling them. Then, grate the carrots into a bowl and set aside. Next, remove the orange peel, segment the orange, and chop it into small pieces. Add the walnut pieces to the mixture, along with the juice of a freshly squeezed orange.
Step 2
Now, for the dry ingredients, combine the baking powder with the all-purpose flour. Next, incorporate the spice mix and blend it thoroughly.
Step 3
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vegetable oil, and brown sugar together until well combined. Next, add the carrot, orange, and walnut mixture and gently fold it in.
Step 4
Finally, mix the dry with the wet ingredients and fold it gently. Now is also the time to add baking soda dissolved in milk.
Step 5
Fill the batter into a greased baking tin and bake for 45 minutes at 180 Degrees Celsius/ 350 Fahrenheit.
Step 6
While the cake is cooling down, time to prepare the frosting. Put the soft butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, orange juice, and zest into a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until the frosting is smooth and fairly thick.
Final Step
Once you put the frosting on, garnish with walnut pieces and more orange zest. Enjoy! The cake will keep in the fridge for at least a week.
Let’s Get Baking
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I’m confident that our moist, homemade orange carrot cake will become just as cherished in your family as it is in mine.
Please note that the recipe card contains affiliate links for the equipment (in case you need any kitchen gadgets).
But now, put on your aprons, and let’s get baking.
Homemade Orange Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 large bowl for the batter
- 1 small bowl for the frosting
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup sunflower oil
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 finely chopped orange – make sure the white skin is removed (optional)
- juice from one orange
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup milk
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 80 grams soft butter
- 125 grams cream cheese – I use Philadelphia cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- juice and zest from one orange
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts plus orange zest for decorating
Instructions
How To Make The Cake Batter
- Beat the eggs until fluffy and then add the oil.3 eggs, 1/2 cup sunflower oil
- Now whisk in the sugar, making sure to get rid of any lumps.1 cup brown sugar
- Add the grated carrots, orange juice, orange pieces, and walnuts and mix gently.2 cups grated carrots, 1 finely chopped orange – make sure the white skin is removed (optional), 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, juice from one orange
- Mix the spices, and the baking powder with the flour and add it to the batter. Also, dissolve the baking soda in the milk and incorporate it into the batter as well.Fold in gently with a spatula.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cardamon, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup milk
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius/356 Fahrenheit (I use the fan-forced setting)
- Grease the baking tin and fill in the cake batter
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
How To Make The Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until well combined80 grams soft butter, 125 grams cream cheese – I use Philadelphia cream cheese
- Add the powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and beat until smooth Note: add the juice gradually until you reach the desired consistency. You want a thick and smooth frosting2 cups powdered sugar, juice and zest from one orange
Putting It All Together
- Wait for the carrot cake to cool down.
- Once the cake is cool enough, spread the frosting on top
- Garnish with grated orange zest and walnut pieces (optional)1/2 cup chopped walnuts plus orange zest for decorating