
This carrot cake was really special because when I made this again to photograph it I took a bite of it and remembered when she’d made it for me. It’s from scratch, but it’s really easy to whip together.
I love that this cake doesn’t use raisins in the batter. I love carrot cake but I’ve never been a big fan of the raisins in a lot of carrot cake.
Here are her original recipe cards:


This cake is extremely moist thanks to the crushed pineapple. If you make the icing then I like to err on the side of making it less sweet. It’s easier to add more sugar than it is to take any out.

14-Karat Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
An easy carrot cake recipe that uses pineapple.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups sugar
- 1.5 cups canola oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 8.5 ounce canned crushed pineapple
- 0.5 cup chopped nuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 0.5 cup butter softened
- 0.5 pound powdered sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or pineapple juice
Instructions
The Cake
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
- Add the sugar, oil, and eggs. Mix well.
- Add the carrots, drained pineapple, and nuts.
- Pour the batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans or a 9″x13″ cake pan.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool completely.
- Frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting. Use only half of the frosting recipe if you’re making this cake in the loaf pans.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mix together the butter and cream cheese.
- Whip in the powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Use for topping the cake.