Carrot Cake with Chai Spice Frosting

Carrot Cake with Chai Spice Frosting features layers of tender, moist carrot cake and velvety chai spiced cream cheese frosting topped with toasted pecans. Elevate this classic cake to new heights with the addition of warm, aromatic chai spices. It's a crowd-pleasing recipe for any occasion!

My best friend Megan and I have been enjoying chai lattes together since we were in high school. The taste of cinnamon sugar and earthy spices make for a well-balanced, fall-forward flavor.

Since chai spice is one of my favorite flavors, I turned it into a yummy whipped frosting for cakes. I love to pair this chai frosting with a moist carrot cake, which is delicious and easy to make. Each bite of this carrot cake with chai spiced frosting tastes like fall!

Jump to:

• About this Carrot Cake Recipe
• Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Instructions
• Assemble
• Equipment
• How to Store Carrot Cake
• Baking Tips
• Related Recipes
• Did You Like This Recipe?
• 📖 Recipe

About this Carrot Cake Recipe

• Flavor - The cake is rich while the frosting is sweet with just a little spice.
• Texture - The cake is moist and the frosting is velvety.
• Effort - It takes about 20 minutes to prep the ingredients, about 40 minutes to bake the cake, and about 5 minutes to whip up the frosting while the cake bakes. Then let it cool for 30 minutes before you enjoy it!
• Time - This cake recipe has a few straightforward steps. All you need to do is prepare the cake ingredients, bake the cake, whip up the frosting, then assemble the cake and let it cool.

Ingredients

Cake

• Ground cinnamon - Cinnamon adds a warm, fall flavor.
• Vegetable oil - Vegetable oil makes the cake moist.
• Greek yogurt - Greek yogurt makes a tender, moist crumb
• Granulated sugar - Sugar adds sweetness to the cake batter.
• Brown sugar - Brown sugar adds both moisture and sweetness to the cake batter.
• Carrots - Freshly grated carrots add the signature carrot taste that pairs beautifully with the sugar and cinnamon.
• Eggs - Eggs bind the ingredients together. Use a room temperature egg so it spreads evenly in the dough.
• Pecans - Toasted pecans add texture and a nutty flavor to the cake, both inside and sprinkled on the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream cheese - Cream cheese is the base of the frosting.
• Butter - Gives the frosting its creamy and smooth texture.
• Confectioner's sugar - Powdered sugar provides the sweetness in the frosting
• Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract adds complexity and sweetness to the frosting.
• Salt - Salt balances the sweetness from the sugar.
• Cinnamon - Cinnamon adds the warm fall spice to the frosting.
• Ginger - Ginger adds a unique and pungent aroma to the frosting.
• Cardamom - Cardamom provides a light and piney flavor.
• Nutmeg - Nutmeg has a nutty sweetness that blends well with the other flavors.
• Cloves - Cloves provide a little spice to the frosting.

Substitutions

• Whipped Cream - Top the cake with whipped cream instead of chai frosting for a light and rich topping. Check out our Homemade Whipped Cream.
• Cream Cheese Frosting - Replace chai frosting with regular cream cheese frosting if you prefer the taste.
• Gluten free - use gluten free all purpose flour to make this cake gluten free. We recommend this gluten-free flour for the best results.
• Pepitas - Replace pecans with pepitas if you prefer the nutty seed flavor.
• Toasted Walnuts - Replace pecans with walnuts for a heartier and less sweet nut.

Variations

• Carrot Cake Cupcakes - Instead of placing the carrot cake batter in a cake pan, place the batter in a greased cupcake pan or muffin pan and fill each cup ⅔ full.  Bake the muffins for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean.
• Ice cream - This cake will pair well with vanilla bean ice cream or your favorite ice cream.
• No nuts - If you are allergic to walnuts or simply don't like the taste, you can omit them.
• Pineapple - If you like the taste of pineapple, add ½ cup crushed pineapple to the batter and/or ½ cup crushed pineapple on top of the frosting for decoration.
• Apple curd - Add 1 tablespoon of apple curd to the frosting for rich caramel apple flavor.
• Extra chai spice - Add more chai spice mix to enhance the chai flavor.

Instructions

Cake

• Prepare oven - Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Add parchment paper rounds to the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans. Grease with butter and set aside. (Photo 1)
• Whisk dry ingredients - In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg together. (Photo 2)
• Mix wet ingredients - In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and eggs and whisk until well blended. (Photo 3 and 4)

• Mix wet and dry ingredients - Slowly stir in the dry ingredients in two parts using a silicone spatula, just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Don’t overmix. Using a spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are incorporated. (Photo 5 and 6)
• Add mix-ins - Stir in carrots and nuts. (Photo 7 and 8)

• Bake - Split the batter in two and pour in each of the cake pans. Place the cake pans on the same rack in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean. (Photo 9)
• Cool cake - Cool cake in the pan for 10-15 min, run a knife around the edges of the cake, and flip onto a cooling rack until completely cooled. To make the cakes easier to frost, chill them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (Photo 10)

Frosting

• Make frosting - While the cake is baking, make the frosting. First, whisk all of the spices together in a bowl. Then, whip the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, salt, and spices to the frosting and whip on high for 15 seconds. Put the frosting in the fridge until the cake is ready to frost. (Photo 11 and 12)

Assemble

• Frost the cake - Once the cakes are completely cooled, place the first layer on a cake stand, frost the top, then place the other cake layer upside down on top of the frosting. Frost the top of the cake and smooth with an offset spatula. Frost all around the cake until smooth. (Photo 13 and 14)
• Garnish and serve - Garnish the top of the cake with toasted pecans.

Pro tip - Don't over-mix ingredients to ensure the cake bakes evenly and has a light texture. Over mixing can make the batter tough. (Photo 15 and 16)

Equipment

This homemade carrot cake recipe requires common kitchen essentials. To make this cake, you need a measuring cup, mixing bowl, 9" cake pan or springform pan, stand mixer or hand held mixer, paring knife, and wire rack. Serve it on a cake stand with a cake server.

How to Store Carrot Cake

This easy carrot cake is moist and can last up to 4 days covered at room temperature. Whenever we bake this cake, we store it in our favorite marble and glass cloche. The cake looks so pretty on the marble and stays fresh and delicious until the last crumb! You could also gift half the cake to a friend if you don't think you can finish it in time.

Baking Tips

• Bake on the middle rack for even baking.
• Cool down the cake a little before adding the frosting so the frosting won't melt and get runny. Also make sure the cake is completely cooled before storing to ensure the cake maintains its texture.
• Make the cakes easier to frost by chilling them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Use a turntable to spin the cake for easy frosting application.
• Use a food processor to grate the carrots quickly.

Related Recipes

Did You Like This Recipe?

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