This Almond Carrot Cake will knock your socks off! Super moist, tons of carrot, spices and Almond Cream Cheese Frosting.
Let’s be honest..no time is a bad time for carrot cake. Carrot Cake is traditionally served up in the Spring, especially around Easter but I’m looking for excuses all year long to eat it. Carrot cake is great in the Spring and Summer. It’s got all the “warm” spices in it so it’s good to have in the Fall or Winter too! So basically what I’m saying is it’s a year round cake!
This Almond Carrot Cake skips the coconut (for my husband) but has the addition of toasted almonds and an Almond Cream Cheese Frosting…OMG yes, you heard right. YUM! Now, if you’re thinking you’re not sure about how that might taste just try it, you’ll love it!
What’s in Almond Carrot Cake?
- Carrots
- Crushed pineapple (with juice)
- Raisins
- Sugar
- Oil
- Eggs
- Flour
- Vanilla
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Cloves
- Almonds
What’s in Almond Cream Cheese Frosting?
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Almond extract
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
Tips for making the best Almond Carrot Cake
- Use whole carrots and grate them yourself. In my opinion the taste and texture is much better than with matchstick carrots bought from the store.
- Do not over bake the carrot cake. This could cause an off taste to the cake and dryness.
- If you’d like to save time the day of serving, you can make the cake ahead of time, freeze it and take it out to frost the day of.
- The Almond Cream Cheese Frosting can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Make sure the cream cheese and the butter are both room temperature. This can really impact how your frosting turns out.
Can you freeze Almond Carrot Cake?
Yes, absolutely! I would suggest freezing the cake by itself before adding frosting. That way you can just grab it right out of the freezer whenever you need it and add the frosting and toasted almonds. It’s a great time saver! You can freeze the unfrosted cake for up to 2 months double wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and wrapped with foil over the top of that.
If you are freezing Almond Carrot Cake that has already been frosted it will keep in the freezer for about 1 week wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and again with foil. If the cake is frosted and already cut into pieces I wouldn’t suggest keeping it for more than a couple days in the freezer.
Is Almond Carrot Cake healthy?
Ahh, the age old question, is carrot cake healthy? Well…it depends on how you look at it. Does it have carrots in in which are healthy for you? Yes. Does it have sugar and oil in it? Also yes. So that is a question you will have to decide for yourself. It’s kind of like if I eat kale with my Doritos is that healthy? If your answer is yes then so is carrot cake.
How to make Almond Carrot Cake from scratch
Almond Carrot Cake is really fairly simple to make. Preheat your oven to 350°. Spray two 8×8 cake pans with non stick cooking spray, flour them and set them to the side.
Mix your wet ingredients together, the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple with juice, raisins, sugar, olive oil, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk the dry ingredients together, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cardamom and cloves.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined. Pour the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Let the cake cool.
While the cake is cooling toast the almonds on a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Set the almonds aside to cool.
Making the Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
While the carrot cake continues to cool, make the frosting. Beat the room temperature cream cheese and butter together either with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the almond extract, salt and powdered sugar just until mixed in. Scrape down the sides and beat on medium-high speed for about 2 more minutes until light and fluffy.
Once the carrot cake is completely cooled it’s time to frost it! Put a layer of the Almond Cream Cheese Frosting in between the two cake layers and frost the outside of the cake. Sprinkle the cake with toasted almonds in any kind of pattern, design or just over the whole cake. Ready to serve or refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving. If you refrigerate the cake remember to take it out 2-3 hours prior to serving for the best taste and texture!
If you make this Almond Carrot Cake please leave a comment and/or a recipe rating! I love to hear feedback. Also, if you make this recipe tag me on Instagram in your photos! Enjoy!
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Almond Carrot Cake
Equipment
- oven
- stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3 cups carrots grated
- 8 oz crushed pineapple with juice
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 cup olive oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour all purpose
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
- 1/2 tsp ginger ground
- 1/4 tsp cardamom ground
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1.5 cups sliced almonds toasted
Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz cream cheese room temp
- 1 cup butter room temp
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Making the carrot cake
- Mix all of the wet ingredients in one bowl until well combined
- In a separate bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients except the sliced almonds. Place the sliced almonds on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet just until well combined. Pour the cake batter evenly into both cake pans
- Bake for 30 min or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a couple small crumbs. Let cakes cool completely
Toasting the almonds
- Place the baking sheet with the almonds into the oven for 5 minutes or just until lightly browned. Set aside to cool
Making the Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place both cream cheese and butter into a the bowl of your stand mixer. Fitted with the whisk attachment beat cream cheese and butter for 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add the salt and almond extract, mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar slowly until all mixed in. Scrape down the sides and beat on high speed for another 3-4 minutes until frosting is light and fluffy.
Frosting the cake
- Once the cake is completely cooled pipe about 1/2-3/4 inch of Almond Cream Cheese Frosting on top of one of the layers. Top that with the second layer of cake and frost the rest of the cake. Sprinkle the cake in whatever pattern or design you'd like with the toasted almonds. Cut and serve!
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