Shortcut Carrot Cake
"This is one of the best carrot cakes we have had. It is from Kraft, and is SO easy. I changed it a tad, by adding golden raisins to my liking, and I made it in a 11x13 pan, and added baking time to it until it tested done as directed. The prep time was based on shredding the carrots, but buying the prepared carrots cuts the prep time to about 10 minutes!"
photo by diner524
- Ready In:
- 55mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Serves:
-
18
ingredients
- 1 (18 ounce) box spice cake mix
- 3 eggs (or as called for by your cake mix)
- 1⁄3 cup oil (or as called for by your cake mix)
- 1 1⁄3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
- 2 cups shredded carrots (about 1/2 lb.)
- 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup chopped pecans, divided
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip Topping, thawed
directions
- PREHEAT oven to 350°F, and spray baking pans with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare cake mix batter as directed on package, stirring in carrots, pineapple and 3/4 cup of the pecans until well blended.
- Pour into 2 (9-inch) square baking pans.
- Bake 25 to 30 minute or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool.
- MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer or wire whisk until well blended.
- Stir in whipped topping until well blended.
- PLACE 1 cake layer on serving plate.
- Spread with 1-1/2 cups of the cream cheese mixture.
- Carefully place second cake layer on top of first cake layer.
- Frost top and sides of cake with remaining cream cheese mixture.
- Garnish with remaining 1/4 cup pecans.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Questions & Replies
-
Hi, how long did you bake it in 9 x 13 pan please? Thank you. -
I plan to leave out the pineapple; I think that would make it soggy. I plan to also add a touch of flour (maybe a bit under a quarter cup) because the mix I'm using is already one with pudding built in so it does need to have something to balance the added moisture of the fresh carrots I'll be adding to the mix. OH! And I plan to replace half the water with carrot juice too, which is another reason I need to be sure it doesn't come out too moist. Wish me luck!
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Can you use a box carrot cake instead of a spice cake mix
Reviews
-
This was awesome! I also added a cup of soaked raisins and 1/2 cup coconut flakes into the batter. It made 24 cupcakes. I might add a 1/4 - 1/2 tsp extra spices next time but they’re already excellent!! -
Best carrot cake ever. No substitutions needed. -
Very easy and quite tasty! I added about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries (Craisins) and skipped the frosting. We just topped it with some fat-free Cool Whip. The cake was very moist. I baked mine in a 9 x 13 pan instead of two square pans.
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Came out terrible. The wetness of the drained pineapple ruined the proper ratio.
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Mine came out so moist and delicious. I used the 15oz cake mix box, 2 cups of shredded carrots and 1 cup of chopped walnuts. I baked until a toothpick came out clean, approx 35 min for a 9" round pan.
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see 8 more reviews
Tweaks
-
I'm gonna use unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and make cupcakes, using a small amount of icing to save calories.
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I was craving carrot cake, and while this did satisfy my craving, I think it would have been much better if I would have substituted applesauce for the oil or just not drained the pineapple because mine was not very moist inside. I did add some coconut and used walnuts instead of pecans, which maybe the addition of the coconut absorbed some of the moisture of the cake-I think I need to experiment some more with this. Thanks for posting an easy carrot cake though!
