Grate carrots on a fine grater and add it to the large mixing bowl.
Add eggs, sugars, and oil. Whisk very well until completely combined.
Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk together well.
If using nuts, fold in the chopped walnuts or pecans.
Split the batter between two cake pans evenly. If available, use a kitchen scale to make sure batter amount is even in each pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, check with a toothpick to make sure it’s done. Be careful not to overcook or the cake will be dry.
Let cakes cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Run a butter knife along the edge of the cake layer to help separate it from the pan. Gently tap the corners of the cake pan to loosen the cake a bit. Turn the pan over to take the cake layers out of the pans.
Cool cake layers for 45-60 minutes on the wire rack before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
Combine softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl of the electric mixer. Beat for 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed.
Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Starting on low speed and then gradually bringing it up to medium-high, beat for another 3-4 minutes.
Use a long serrated knife to even the bottom of top layer and the top of the bottom layer by off a very thin layer. KEEP the dome that you sliced off and crumble it to use for decorating the cake.
Frost the bottom cake layer on top and stack the second layer on top. Add about 1/2 cup of chopped nuts over the frosting if you wish. Then, frost the second layer and the sides of the cake.
Use the cake crumbs to decorate the cake and add some more nuts of top. (You can also use the crumbled cake pieces to make cake pops.)
Notes
Make sure your cake batter is divided evenly: use a kitchen scale to measure each baking pan with batter in it to make sure that the batter is divided equally among the pans.
Toothpick test: Do a toothpick test to check if the cake is baked through: insert a dry toothpick into the very center of the cake and pull it out. It the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. If the toothpick comes out with some unbaked batter on the end, it needs more bake time.
Make sure to make the frosting fresh, right before frosting the cake. Cold frosting will be too hard to spread on the cake. Make sure the cake is completely cooled before frosting.
Storing the cake: Since this cake is made with cream cheese frosting, I do not recommend storing it at room temperature for more than a coupe of hours. It’s best to store the cake in the refrigerator, either covered with plastic wrap or in an air-tight cake storing container. If you like to have your carrot cake at room temperature, cut off a slice 30-45 minutes before you want to eat it and let it warm up on the counter.
Nutrition
Calories: 714kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 59g | Vitamin A: 6046IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 2mg
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