INGREDIENTS FOR CARROT CAKE
Here are some notes about the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page. 2
All purpose flour – regular unbleached all-purpose flour works just fine in this carrot cake recipe for a moist and soft texture.
Spices – a fragrant blend of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger is just right here! I’ve played with the blend of spices a lot and this is the combination I love the most for carrot cake. Feel free to leave out the allspice if you don’t have it, or add a pinch of ground clove instead.
Oil – liquid oil will keep this cake soft even when it’s refrigerated to preserve the cream cheese frosting. That’s because oil is liquid even when cold whereas the saturated fats in butter are hard when cold.
Granulated sugar – granulated sugar keeps these muffins tender and moist.
Brown sugar – brown sugar adds rich molasses undertones to complement the sweet spices in this cake. You can use light or dark brown sugar.
Eggs – two large eggs will add nice structure and help with the moist spongy texture.
Yogurt – use full fat plain yogurt to add tanginess to balance the sweet carrots and the acidity will react with the baking soda.
Grated carrots – you will need 2 cups of shredded carrots which is about 240g from 3 medium carrots. Make sure you grate them on the finer side of your box grater.
Maple syrup – this is my secret ingredient that will make your cake stand out from all the rest. It adds rich robust sweetness in an almost tangy savory way so this cake is not too sweet. It also adds moisture which keeps this cake soft for days. If you really can’t get maple syrup, I’d suggest golden syrup, brown rice syrup or agave syrup, but not honey since honey is much sweeter.
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