Best Sourdough Carrot Cake From Scratch
My sourdough carrot cake is a moist, fluffy, spiced cake full of finely shredded carrots topped with a light cream cheese frosting. My husband, who doesn't like carrot cake, said it was not only the best carrot cake he's had but the best cake in general he's eaten. Wow, what a statement! I know you'll love it just as much as we do!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Sourdough starter (fed or discard)
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Pure Cane Sugar
- 1/3 cup Butter (melted)
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Shredded Carrots (finely grated with a box grater)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 2 Eggs (room temp: sit out for 20-30 minutes before using)
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup Milk (dairy or dairy free)
For the Frosting
- 8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Milk (dairy or dairy-free)
For the Decoration (optional)
- green and orange food coloring without artificial dye (or red + yellow to make orange)
Instructions
- With an electric mixer on low speed, cream the sugar and melted butter for 1 minute.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed until combined.
- Add in salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, sourdough starter, sour cream, milk, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix with the electric mixer on low just until combined.
- Add in the flour, mixing on medium speed just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure an even mixture.
- Stir in shredded carrots with a spoon or spatula just until evenly combined. Set the cake batter aside.
- Lightly grease or prepare a round 9-inch (or 9 1/2-inch) cake pan with a light coating of butter, then dust with flour and turn upside down to get rid of the excess.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and tap the pan carefully on the counter twice to remove air pockets in the batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35–40 minutes (don't open the oven door while baking).
- Use a toothpick to check if the center is fully baked (it'll come out clean if done) and remove it from the oven. Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes on a wire rack.
How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cake is cooling, add cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to a mixing bowl.
- On medium speed, with the hand mixer, cream frosting until evenly combined without lumps, about 1-2 minutes. Set frosting aside.
- Carefully remove the cake from the pan after cooling and place it on a plate or serving platter. Let it sit and completely cool before frosting.
- Once cooled, top with cream cheese frosting and serve!
Optional Decorating
- If you would like to decorate the cake with mini-frosted carrots, take two large spoonfuls of frosting and place them in a separate bowl.
- Add green food coloring to one bowl and stir to combine.
- Add orange or yellow + red food coloring to the other and stir to combine.
- Place each colored frosting into their own piping bags or plastic sandwich baggies with a corner trimmed, and pipe the carrots onto your cake.