Old Fashioned Carrot Cake Recipe with Pineapple

Name: Old Fashioned Carrot Cake Recipe with Pineapple
Prep time: PT-472579H2M17S
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup (220 grams) granulated sugar; 2/3 cup (140 grams) canola oil; 3 eggs; 2/3 cup (180 grams) crushed pineapple, drained; 1 1/3 cup (200 grams) all purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp cinnamon; ½ tsp cardamom; 2 tsp vanilla; 2 cups (200 grams) grated carrots; 1/2 cup (80 grams) crushed nuts (I like walnuts or pecans); 4 tbs butter, room temperature; 4 tbs crisco; 1 block (226 grams) of cream cheese, room temperature or slightly softened; 5 cups (600 grams) powdered sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; Pinch of salt

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If you love classic desserts like vanilla cupcakes, then you’re in for a treat. This old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple is among my family’s favorite desserts of all-time. It’s our go-to layer cake for special occasions and celebrations. It’s a special cake recipe that various family members have tweaked and altered over the years. Additionally, it serves as the base for my mini carrot cakes. This particular pineapple carrot cake recipe yields three deliciously moist 8-inch layers. Below you’ll also find the steps for making the tasty, tangy cream cheese frosting that accompanies it.

Image of my old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple. The cake, coated in a cream cheese frosting, is sitting on a wooden cake stand

Ingredients for this Pineapple Carrot Cake

overhead shot of ingredients for carrot cake recipe

The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below. Here are some highlights and noteworthy items that make this cake tender and delicious:

Crushed pineapple, drained – Why put pineapple in carrot cake, you ask? It really is a must-have ingredient here. Not only does it provide sweetness, the crushed pineapple contributes lots of moisture to the cake layers. Be sure to drain the excess liquid. Draining the juice ensures that the cake rises properly and isn’t moist to the point of soggy.
Canola oil – Canola oil also helps keep this cake moist. There is no butter in this recipe (and many carrot cake recipes) so oil is the fat that gives this treat its soft texture.
Cardamom – This was the first carrot cake recipe where I used cardamom, but I will definitely include it more in the future! It adds a great, subtly earthy flavor that balances out some of the sweetness.
Cinnamon – I love adding this spice to carrot cake, in both the cake layers and a dusting on top of the cream cheese frosting if you’d like. However, you could experiment with other spices like nutmeg or ginger if you prefer those.
Freshly Grated Carrots – You can’t have this cake without carrots. And carrots, when shredded, release sweetness, hence the reason they are part of this cake! In this Food52 article, Chris Kimball, formerly of America’s Test Kitchen, explains that shredding root veggies helps them taste both sweeter and fresher.

Ingredients for Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

cream cheese frosting ingredients for carrot cake

To make the frosting, you’ll need the following items:

Butter, room temperature
Crisco (you could also skip the Crisco and sub in butter for the same amount. I like the aftertaste of Crisco, though, and typically use it in carrot cake frosting)
Cream cheese, room temperature or slightly softened
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Although I’m a big fan of the pairing of cream cheese frosting and carrot cake, you could go a different direction. Making a batch and a half of my Biscoff buttercream could be interesting, given the spices that are in that and the spices in the carrot cake. While I haven’t tested the combination, I imagine it would be a good if you’re looking for carrot cake without cream cheese frosting.

Steps for Baking this Flavorful Carrot Cake Recipe

First, preheat oven to 350°F.

I like using bake even strips on most of my cakes. They almost look like a belt that you wrap and secure around your cake pan! They help your cakes rise evenly in the pan and prevent the edges from heating too quickly. I recommend these strips, and if you, too, follow this step, you’ll want to start soaking three of your strips in water before diving into the rest of the recipe.

Line three 8” cake pans with parchment paper on all sides. Butter and flour well or coat with baking spray before setting aside. A lot of wet batter goes into the pans. It’s important to use proper baking release spray or butter and flour.

To a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together your sugar, canola oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and pineapple.

oil, sugar, eggs, and pineapple mixed together for carrot cake

Then add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon.

how your carrot cake will look after dry ingredients have been added to your bowl of wet ones

Fold in your nuts and freshly grated carrots before dividing and pouring batter evenly into 3 pans. The batter in each pan will weigh about 380 grams.

image of shredded carrots and nuts, before they're mixed into the batter for carrot cake

image of shredded carrots and nuts, mixed into the batter for carrot cake

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until you insert a toothpick into your cake and it comes out cleanly.

Let cakes cool in pans about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps for Making Cream Cheese Frosting

As your cake cools, place your room temperature cream cheese, butter, and Crisco into the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat until all ingredients are well-combined, about 3 minutes.

mixing bowl full of cream cheese frosting

Stop mixer and add your vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and powdered sugar. Start setting on low to gradually incorporate sugar and prevent it from flying everywhere. Then increase speed to fully combine ingredients.

Afterward, spend a minute or two with a spatula, running it around the inside of the mixing bowl to remove air bubbles and smooth the frosting.

rubber spatula in a bowl of cream cheese frosting

Fit a piping bag with a large, open piping tip of your choice. Spread the larger opening of the bag over the rim of a glass. Lastly, use a spatula to fill bag halfway with cream cheese frosting (it’s easier to maneuver and creates fewer hand cramps when the bag isn’t filled to the top!) from your mixing bowl.

Assembly for Old Fashioned Carrot Cake Recipe with Pineapple

First, pipe or spread a dollop of cream cheese frosting onto a cake circle to act as glue to hold the layer in place. Set first cake layer on top of that.

Pipe roughly 20% of your frosting on top of the bottom layer and spread evenly with a cake spatula or large metal spoon. Place second cake layer on top of the first, repeating the same steps, and then add your third layer.

first of three layers of carrot cake sitting on a white cake turntable

two of three layers of carrot cake sitting on a white cake turntable

Then, starting from the base of the cake and moving to the top, pipe a thick layer of frosting all around your cake’s sides and top. Place a cake scraper against the side of the cake and gently pull the cake around to smooth out bubbles in the frosting.

old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple, sitting on a white cake turntable with cream cheese frosting covering the cake

Next, fill in any gaps in the frosting with remaining cream cheese frosting.

If desired, gently press crushed nuts around the base of your cake and on top for extra crunch and flavor.

up-close image of the side of my pineapple carrot cake, with crushed pecans on the top and around its base

FAQ for Old Fashioned Carrot Cake Recipe with Pineapple

How many carrots in a homemade carrot cake?

The number of carrots in a carrot cake all depends on the size of the cake you’re making. In this recipe, I used about four carrots. But carrots vary by size, so it’s best to weigh your ingredients to get the exact proportions right for this recipe.

How do you store carrot cake?

This cake will stay incredibly moist for days after making it. Due to the dairy in the cream cheese, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator and bringing it out about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it.

This cake also freezes well. You can keep it in the freezer for about three months. Transfer it to an airtight container for best storage.

Why do carrot cakes sink in the middle? How can this be prevented?

This carrot cake recipe has been tested many times and does not sink in the middle. If your carrot cake is sinking, I suggest checking the leavening agents. Are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? If they’re expired, they could be causing your cake to rise improperly.

Also, I always recommend using a scale when weighing and baking your ingredients. If you’re using cups to measure your ingredients, you may be unintentionally adding more liquid to a recipe than you should. Weight is really helpful for baking with precision and accuracy.

For baking even cakes, I use these strips on most of my cakes. They almost look like a belt that you wrap and secure around your cake pan! They prevent the edges from heating too quickly. When starting a cake recipe, soak your strips in a glass of water so they’re wet before your cakes go in the oven.

Tips for Decorating this Homemade Carrot Cake

For ease of decorating cake, I recommend putting your cream cheese frosting in a piping bag. Doing this will make it easier to direct your frosting onto your pineapple carrot cake.
Have fun dusting the tops of these cakes with your favorite spice or some crushed nuts. In this recipe, I used pecans to decorate mine.
Want a rustic-looking design like the one you see here? I took a small cake spatula and dragged it around my cake in circles for a rougher but simplistic appearance.

Image of cake for my old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple. Cake is sitting on a brown wooden cake stand, decorated with crushed pecans

More Dessert Ideas

If you’re looking for something smaller than this old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple, check out my Lotus Biscoff cake. It’s full of Biscoff spread and cookie flavor and makes a 6-inch, 2-layer cake. The frosting is also Biscoff-based and so good!

More on a cookie kick? Then check out my oat flour chocolate chip cookies, which are delicious, easy to make, and naturally gluten-free.