Old Fashioned Carrot Cake recipe with Pineapple

If you want to make the best carrot cake from scratch, it's easier than you think. This Old Fashioned Carrot Cake recipe with pineapple, pecans and coconut is exactly that; just like how my Grandma used to make her carrot cake in an old-fashioned bowl, without a stand mixer, no food processor, no blender, no pastry wheel - just a bowl and a whisk.

What is Old Fashioned Carrot Cake?

Carrot Cake is a very juicy and moist cake due to the addition of freshly grated carrot to it. The carrot gives moisture and sweetness to the cake, while the spices add flavor to it. The reason I call it an old fashioned carrot cake is because it doesn't have any fancy ingredients or equipment. You can make the whole thing with nothing more than a bowl, a whisk and a 9x13-inch pan. (You'll also need a grater.) You don't even have to get out the electric mixer.

This makes the perfect carrot cake base recipe along with homemade cream cheese frosting for birthday cake, wedding cake or simply enjoy it on its own without any frosting.

Since you guys loved our Old Fashioned Boiled Fruit Cake so much I thought you guys might be interested in another old fashioned Grandma style recipe.. Are you?

Ingredients Needed:

Simply skip to the end of the post for the recipe card.

• 240 gms (2 cups) Plain Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 5g (1.5 tsp) Baking powder
• 4g (3/4 tsp) Baking Soda
• 4 gms Cinnamon
• 2 gms Nutmeg
• 270 gms (1.5 cups) firmly packed brown sugar
• 125 gms Oil
• 3 eggs
• 240 gms ( 2 cups) Carrots grated
• 40 gms coconut
• 225 gms (1 cup) Pineapple
• 35 gms Pecans
• 4g Vanilla

For Best Results:

1. Buy fresh carrots of about 6-8 inches which are easier to grate. Use freshly grated carrots (not packaged pre-shredded carrots). Use the larger side of the cheese grater and not the fine ones. If you have a food processor use that or a grater would work perfectly.
2. Even though I have used desiccated coconut in this recipe, the shredded ones would work even better.
3. I recommend using canned crushed pineapple along with the juices for this recipe but you can use fresh pineapple chunks too.
4. Walnuts can be used in place of pecans.
5. Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg can also be adjusted as per choice. You can opt for all spice or cardamom too.

This is an old-fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple and pecans. You can substitute the pecans with walnuts but I would not recommend substituting the pineapples.

Step by Step Tutorial:

Step 1 - Prepare the Cake Pan

Oil or butter the cake pan and place a parchment paper on the base of the cake tin. Add 2 tbsp of plain flour and rotate the cake pan to spread it on all four sides. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)

Step 2 - Carrot Cake Base

Start by sieving together the dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set this aside.

Please note that you can do this directly on top of the wet ingredients too without doing it in a separate pan like this. Just sharing it separately for those of you who are new to baking.

Next in goes the canned pineapples along with its juices and coconut. Whisk well. (image 5)

Finally, add the freshly grated carrots, vanilla extract and whisk again. That was all of your liquid ingredients (image 6).

Please note the batter at this stage will be super liquidy but that is ok because ultimately the pineapple juices and carrots make the cake moist and juicy.

Now add the dry ingredients in two stages reserving about 2 tbsp of the flour mixture. Gently fold in the batter (image 7).

To the reserved 2 tbsp of flour mixture add the chopped pecans and mix well and fold it into the batter (image 8).

Coating the pecans with the flour would prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake while baking.

The batter at this stage would be a little thicker but not super thick like your regular chocolate or vanilla cake batter.

Pour this into the prepared pan. I am using an 8x8 inch square tin to make a sheet cake today but this would also work in 9x13 cms cake tin or 3; 6-inch cake tins.

Bake it in a preheated oven of 180°C for 40 to 45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let it sit in the pan for 3 mins and then invert it onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before proceeding with frosting.

Step 3 - Preparing the Frosting

Talking about frosting, this classic carrot cake recipe goes well with cream cheese frosting.

You can refer to my post on stiff cream cheese frosting for an in-depth tutorial on the same.

But briefly, start by beating the cream cheese until creamy. Then add the soft butter and beat well. (image 9)

Add about 1/2 cup of sieved icing sugar also known as confectioners' or powdered sugar at a time and beat until creamy and fluffy. (image 10)

Finally, adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding a tsp of lemon juice at a time to form a smooth spreadable consistency. (image 11)

Step 4: Assembling the Cake

Once the cake is cooled completely, simply add all of the frosting reserving about 1/4 cup for decoration and spread using an offset spatula on all the sides.

To make it even I preferred cutting the corners of the cake which is optional.

Then divide the left out frosting into two and colour one orange and the other green.

Using a small round nozzle (Wilton 6) just create a carrot with the top being fuller than the bottom.

Then using a petal nozzle create leaves on top with the green coloured frosting.

You do not have to follow the instructions for decorating the cake which is based on your creativity. You can use the same creamy frosting to decorate the flavorful carrot cake in creative ways.

Then slice the cake as per choice and enjoy this moist carrot cake recipe with delectable cream cheese frosting.

And that's your hearty grandma style old fashioned carrot cake recipe.

Storage Instructions

Storing a carrot cake depends upon whether it is frosted or unfrosted. Let us tackle one at a time.

Storing Unfrosted Carrot Cake:

Once cooled, wrap it in a cling wrap and store it at room temperature for 2 days and in the fridge for 5-7 days. Or freeze the cake for 3 months.

Storing Frosted Carrot Cake

Once frosted the cake has to be stored in the fridge or freezer. I do not recommend storing the cake at room temperature.

Place the frosted cake in an airtight container or cake box and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If freezing place the cake on a baking tray and in the freezer for 1 hour. Once frozen wrap the cake with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 months.

Read our detailed post on how to store cakes and cupcakes for more information.

Baker's Tips:

1. Always start by lining the cake pan and preheating the oven for evenly baking the cake.
2. When making any cake, using good quality ingredients would always yield the best results. Use freshly grated carrots in this case for optimum results.
3. You can consider toasting the nuts and coconut in the recipe for an added flavour.
4. The cake should be baked until the edges are set, the centre is just barely firm to the touch. Don't overbake it. The skewer should come out clean but the top and edges should not be crispy.
5. To prevent frosting from sticking to your knife and messing up your cake when slicing, dip the knife in warm water and wipe it on a kitchen towel before cutting each slice.
6. Homemade cream cheese frosting is best for this homemade carrot cake. So make sure you have enough time for making a batch of frosting. Do not opt for a store-bought one here.
7. Spread the frosting when the cake is completely cool or the frosting will melt.

Recipe FAQ's

Related Recipes:

1. Stiff Cream Cheese Frosting
2. Frosting recipe without butter
3. Old Fashioned Boiled Fruit Cake recipe

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