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Moist Carrot Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze Recipe

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4.2 from 86 reviews

This Moist Carrot Bundt Cake is a soft and flavorful classic carrot cake baked elegantly in a bundt pan, enriched with warm spices and finished with a luscious cream cheese glaze.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Carrot Bundt Cake

  • 2 cups (225 g) finely grated carrots – about 3 medium-sized carrots
  • 1 cup (190 g) canned pineapple – Blended (drain the liquid from the can before blending—see note 1). I use canned pineapple in juice, not syrup.
  • 2 1/4 cups (290 g) all-purpose flour – plain flour in the UK
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 tsps cinnamon – ground
  • 1 3/4 tsps ginger – ground/powdered
  • 1/4 tsp cloves – ground
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg – ground
  • 1 1/2 cups (300 g) soft brown sugar – firmly packed (see note 2)
  • 3 large eggs – room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) unflavoured vegetable oil – I use canola
  • 3 tsps vanilla essence/extract
  • 1/2 cup (110 g) yoghurt – unsweetened, regular not Greek (low fat Greek yoghurt is okay). Room temperature.
  • 1 cup (100 g) pecans or walnuts – coarsely chopped. I like to use both so I use 1/2 a cup of each.

Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar – also known as icing/confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tsps unsalted butter – melted
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract/essence
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) cream cheese – room temp

Instructions

  1. Prepare pan and oven. Set your oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional (see note 3 if using a convection oven with a fan). Very generously grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan, or use a baking spray or cake release that has flour in it (I use my homemade cake release to grease my pan). Set aside for now.
  2. Prepare carrots and pineapple. Start by peeling and finely grating the carrots, then set them aside. Next, prepare the pineapple—drain the liquid from the canned pineapple, blend it, and set it aside.
  3. Mix dry ingredients. In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
  4. Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl combine your soft brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, yoghurt and crushed pineapple. Using a whisk, mix until well combined, and then for a further minute to incorporate some air into the batter.
  5. Combine mixtures. Add your dry ingredients into your wet mixture and using a spatula, gently fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
  6. Add carrots and nuts. Add in the grated carrots and walnuts and/or pecans. Using a spatula, gently fold through until just combined. Do not overmix.
  7. Bake the cake. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, smoothing the top as best you can. Give the pan a little shake to help the batter settle into all the corners, then tap it lightly on the counter twice to release any large air bubbles. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  8. Cool the cake. Once ready, allow the cake to cool in the cake tin for 45 minutes, before turning it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling (see note 4 if your bundt cake doesn’t come out).
  9. Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and cream cheese. Using a hand or stand mixer on a low speed, mix until well combined and smooth. The glaze should be thick in consistency.
  10. Glaze the cake and serve. Once the bundt cake is completely cool, pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

  • Even after draining the liquid from the canned pineapple, it should still be fairly liquid once blended. If it turns out too thick, add a little of the reserved pineapple juice to loosen it up (or a little water will do the trick too).
  • If using measuring cups for this recipe, be sure to firmly pack the soft brown sugar. To do this, fill the measuring cup with sugar, then press it down gently with the back of a spoon (applying light pressure). Add more sugar as needed to fill the cup completely.
  • If using a convection oven that has a fan function, bake at 160°C (320°F) as the fan function bakes food faster.
  • Once the cake has had some time to cool, it should release easily from the bundt pan with a gentle shake. If it’s sticking, it may be due to insufficient pan preparation. Try running a knife along the inner and outer edges of the pan to help loosen the cake. You can also try placing a hot, damp cloth over the bundt pan which may help release any stuck edges.