If you love carrot cake, it doesn’t get much better than this moist, Layered Carrot Cake recipe filled with a light cream cheese and whipped cream frosting. This is the perfect cake recipe for a stand mixer like KitchenAid (affiliate link), allowing you to quickly whip up both the cake and the frosting with the common whisk attachment.
In Italiano? Torta di Carote Soffice
How to Make Layered Carrot Cake (Whisk Attachment)
You can use a hand mixer and any variety of stand mixer with a whisk attachment to make this delicious Layered Carrot Cake! For some recipes (pizza dough, leavened cakes and bakes, bread dough) we usually use the more powerful KitchenAid Professional stand mixer for the job (affiliate link).
However, for this recipe—which simply involves mixing a light cake batter and whipping cream with cream cheese or mascarpone—the entry level KitchenAid stand mixers are perfect for the job. Here, we used a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer with the whisk attachment (affiliate link).
👩🍳 Setting the Stage
Position your oven’s rack in the center and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Use the ‘static’ oven setting rather than the ‘convection’ or ‘fan’ setting.
Grab a 10×15-inch (25 x 38 cm) jelly roll pan, give it a coat of cooking spray, line it with parchment paper, and then, because we love being extra, spray the parchment as well.
🌪 Spicing Things Up: Combine the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. It’s like a spice party in there!
🍯 A Sweet Symphony: Mix it Together
Let’s rock that stand mixer! With the whisk attachment, beat sugar and oil on medium speed until they’re smoother than a jazz tune—around 1 minute.
Add the eggs, one by one, followed by a splash of vanilla. Then, take it down a notch by reducing the speed to low to mix in the carrots. Add the dry ingredients a few spoons at a time, then the chopped nuts (optional).
🎨 Pan Artistry: Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into your prepared pan, spreading it evenly like a maestro. Give the pan a tap on the counter to settle the batter.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Test the cake with a toothpick – if it comes out clean, it’s done! Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool down. Release the cake from its pan and cut it vertically into four equal rectangles.
🎂 Frosting Fantasy: Light and Creamy
We love carrot cake, but some varieties of carrot cake frosting feel heavy and too sweet. This frosting is the best of all worlds! It’s a cream cheese frosting lightened up with whipped cream. For a more European taste, use mascarpone cheese (that’s the cheese used to make Tiramisù) instead!
In your stand mixer, whisk together cream cheese (or mascarpone cheese), heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until smooth (about a minute). Crank it up to medium-high and beat until you achieve stiff peaks ( around 30-60 seconds). But be careful – don’t overbeat the frosting!
🛠 Building the Cake Tower
Stack the cake layers evenly, covering each of them with a generous amount of frosting.
⭐ Garnish & Glory
Optionally, you can crown your cake with candied pecans (or walnuts) and carrot curls.
Tantalizing Carrot Cake Toppings
🌰 Pecan Paradise
Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the sugar in a skillet over medium-low heat without stirring until you’ve created a golden syrup (~3 minutes). Add walnuts or pecans, stir them to coat them with the caramel and cook them just until the sugar turns dark amber (around 2-3 minutes). Let them cool and chop them coarsely.
Voila! You’ve created a masterpiece worthy of a standing ovation! 👏🍰🎉
Watch the Video Recipe!
We don’t have a video recipe for our Moist Layered Carrot Cake recipe yet! In the meantime, check out our Angel Food Cake recipe!
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Moist Layered Carrot Cake Recipe | Stand Mixer Cake Recipe with KitchenAid
Equipment
- jelly roll pan 10×15-inch (25 x 38 cm)— or a similarly sized rectangular cake pan covered with parchment paper.
- hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment
- grater or food processor: to grate the carrots
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 1 ½ cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg preferably, freshly ground!
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup safflower oil or similar
- 3 whole eggs large
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups carrots coarsely grated; ½ cup = about 1 medium carrot
- ¾ cup pecans toasted and finely chopped; alternative? walnuts
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- 18 oz cream cheese cold; Alternative? Mascarpone cheese!
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar cold
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Candied Pecans or Walnuts (Optional Topping)
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts
Instructions
Make the Carrot Cake
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.1 ½ cups cake flour, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp fine salt, ½ tsp baking soda
- Using either a hand or stand mixer (with the whisk attachment), beat the sugar and oil on medium speed. Whisk these ingredients until they are smooth— about 1 minute. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well to incorporate each one. Finally, add the vanilla.1 ½ cups granulated sugar, ¾ cup safflower oil , 3 whole eggs, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, and mix in the carrots as well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet a few spoons at a time. Finally, stir in the nuts (ideally, toasted).2 cups carrots, ¾ cup pecans
- Pour and spread the carrot cake batter evenly in the parchment-lined jelly roll pan. You can give the pan a top on the work surface to level the batter.
Bake the Carrot Cake
- Bake the carrot cake in a preheated 350°F (180°C) static oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Bake the cake until you can insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and have it come out clean. For even baking, you can turn the cake halfway through the bake time.
- Transfer the baked carrot cake to a cooling rack and let it cool in the pan. When the cake is cool, loosen the sides with a spatula or something similar. Turn the cake over onto a cutting board. Gently peel off the parchment paper. With the long side of the cake facing you, cut the cake vertically into four (equal) rectangular slices pieces. These will be our four carrot cake layers.
Make the Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer) with the whisk attachment, whisk together cream cheese (or mascarpone cheese), heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until smooth (about a minute). Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until you achieve stiff peaks —around 30-60 seconds. Be careful not to over beat the frosting.18 oz cream cheese, 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Assemble the Layered Carrot Cake
- Place one of the majestic cake layers on a serving plate (cake stand or cake platter). To keep the surface clean as you frosting the cake , you can tuck strips of waxed paper or parchment just under the edges of the cake.
- With your spatula, spread a generous 1/2 cup of the enchanting frosting evenly over this base layer. Think of this as laying the foundation for your glorious tower! Each layer you add should be level to be sure your cake is stable and lovely when the layers are finished.
- Time for the second layer! Be sure the edges align. If the cake layer does not look level, apply slight pressure to make it level. Top with another heaping 1/2 cup of frosting.Repeat this process with the third layer of cake, spreading another lavish 1/2 cup of frosting.Crown your tower with the fourth and final layer, top side up. Your tower now stands tall and proud!
- Let your cake chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to fortify its defenses (firm up the frosting).
- Brush off any crumbs with a pastry brush. Then spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake for the final touch. For a well-rested and set cake, let it refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 12 hours.
Garnish (Optional)
- Top the cake with the candied nuts, candied carrot curls—or whatever inspires you.3 tbsp granulated sugar, ½ cup pecans or walnuts
