Christmas Carrot Cake. I have been making carrot cakes for decades now and they have always been a family favourite. Fun fact – I actually made two of my brothers their wedding cakes, they specifically requested carrot cakes.
What makes my carrot cakes a family favourite?
They are super moist and the not-so-secret ingredient I use is pineapple! The cream cheese frosting is creamy, slightly tart and balances out the textural contrast of the cake. I have updated this recipe for Christmas slightly by replacing the black currants for tart, sweet, dried cranberries and we serve fresh pomegranate arils with each slice. That. Is. it! I did not want to mess with a winner!
I decreased the quantities from the original recipe so that it can be gifted into an 8×8 baker for the holidays. Decorate with rosemary springs, arils, then wrap it in a cellophane bag, tie it with ribbons, add an ornament, and voilà you have the most delicious homemade gift!
Did I mention how easy this cake was to make? The prep and clean-up time is minimal; the cake batter is hand mixed in a large bowl and the frosting is blended in a food processor.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Dried cranberries
- Walnuts
- Crushed pineapple
- Carrots
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
Frosting
- Butter
- Icing sugar
- Lemon
- Cream cheese
Decorations
- Rosemary sprigs
- Pomegranate arils
See recipe card for quantities.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F
Make the Batter
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir in the cranberries, walnuts, pineapple, and carrots to coat in the flour mix.
In a food processor, add the eggs, sugar and oil and blend until smooth.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Pour into a greased and floured 8" x 8" baker.
Bake for 65-75 minutes or until an inserted knife comes our clean.
Place cake on rack to cool
Frosting
Add the butter into a food processor, then sift in the icing sugar, pour in the lemon juice, and add the cream cheese. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Once the cake has cooled, spread the frosting.
Decorate
Decorate with rosemary sprigs and pomegranate arils. Serve and enjoy!
Cooked in my Hestan Culinary OvenBond Tri-ply 8″ x 8″ Square Baker. Proud Hestan Culinary Ambassador. Opinions in this post are my own.
Watch how this Christmas Carrot Cake recipe was made here.
FAQ
Yes, you sure can! My brothers both froze some of their wedding carrot cake (that I made them) to eat on their first anniversary, but I personally would not recommend freezing it for that long!
Place the cake in the freezer or fridge until the frosting hardens to touch. Then wrap the cake in plastic wrap and place in an airtight bag or container and freeze
Absolutely! We have substituted the flour with a 1-to-1 Gluten-Free baking flour and you could not even tell!
📖 Recipe
Christmas Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons dried cranberries chopped
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- ¾ cup crushed pineapple drained well
- 1 ½ cups grated carrots
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1⅛ cups vegetable oil
Frosting
- 3 tablespoons hard butter
- ⅔ cup icing sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- 500 g cream cheese cubed
Decorations
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 1 tablespoon Pomegranate arils or as many as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir in the cranberries, walnuts, pineapple, and carrots to coat in the flour mix.
- In a food processor, add the eggs, sugar and oil and blend until smooth.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Pour into a greased and floured 8" x 8" baker.
- Bake for 65-75 minutes or until an inserted knife comes our clean.
- Place cake on rack to cool
Frosting
- Add the butter into a food processor, then sift in the icing sugar, pour in the lemon juice, and add the cream cheese. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Once the cake has cooled, spread the frosting.
Decorate
- Decorate with rosemary sprigs and pomegranate arils.
- Serve and enjoy!
💬Tried this recipe?
- We'd really appreciate a rating and quick review! It helps more home cooks find the recipe, and we love hearing what you think.
This looks delicious and easy! Thank you!
Thanks Dina,
It really is easy to make… but don’t tell your guests that! 😉
Happy Holidays!
Elaine & James
This is a delicious carrot cake! It is delicious for breakfast the next day as well.
Hi Shanley,
We are so glad to hear you liked this cake! I (Elaine) love it for breakfast too!
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Elaine & James
Can I use fresh cranberries for this recipe? If so, how much?
Hi Angela,
We haven’t tested either option, but we think this would work. You can use fresh cranberries, chopped into about 6 tablespoons, so they’re evenly distributed and less tart. Or you can use whole cranberries, like in a cranberry muffin, the same amount, which will give a sharper, tangier flavour. Please let us know how it turns out if you try it!
Elaine & James 🙂
Do you have to add pineapple??
Hi Morgan,
You don’t have to add pineapple, but it really helps keep the cake moist and flavourful. Without it, the texture and taste will be different.
Let us know if you try it without the pineapple. We’d be interested to know how it turns out.
Happy Holidays!
James & Elaine
Thank you I’ll keep the pineapple then but also what kind of sugar in the cake? Would brown sugar work or does it have to be while granulated sugar?
Hi Morgan,
We used white granulated sugar for this cake. Brown sugar would work, but it will make the cake a bit denser with a deeper flavour. We love how the granulated sugar keeps it lighter, especially with the pineapple.😊
Hope this helps!
Elaine & James