Carrot bundt cake is flavorful and perfectly moist. Top it with a tangy cream cheese frosting for a cake that will be the centerpiece of your holiday dinner!
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray - preferably the type made for baking. You can also generously butter and flour your pan instead of using nonstick spray if that’s your preference.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and carrot baby food until well-combined and smooth.
Use a rubber spatula to gradually combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Fold in the shredded carrots and optional walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cake has fully cooled, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes. Add in the salt, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 3 minutes, taking care to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cake.
Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
If you would like to make your own carrot puree instead of using carrot baby food, steam unseasoned carrots until very soft. Puree until smooth in a food processor or high-speed blender.Helpful resources:
Before starting, make sure you know how to measure flour properly. This will help your carrot bundt cake to turn out perfect every time.
If your brown sugar hardened in the pantry, check out my tips for how to soften brown sugar and save yourself a trip to the grocery store.
The butter and cream cheese for the frosting need to be at room temperature for the cream cheese frosting to come together. If you forget to set yours out ahead of time, I’ve got some tips for softening cream cheese and softening butter quickly.