If you like a moist and flavorful carrot cake, you will love this Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake recipe. This old fashioned carrot cake with pineapple, coconut, walnuts, raisins, and cream cheese frosting is divine. This will be a new favorite dessert in your home.
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Copycat Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake
If you like a traditional carrot cake recipe, you will love this copycat Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Carrot Cake. It’s made with a cream cheese frosting that is divine. This will be a new favorite dessert for your family and your go-to homemade carrot cake recipe.
Carrot cake is exactly what you think it is — carrots incorporated in a batter with a delightful cream cheese frosting. But Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake is so much more. This 5-star recipe is a carrot cake with pineapple, shredded coconut, and raisins (among other ingredients). It may be ingredient-intensive, but don’t let that put you off – the results are well worth it. This recipe makes a moist and fabulous carrot sheet cake.
Where Does Carrot Cake Come From?
If you ask historians about carrot cake, they will tell you it was derived from carrot puddings that were enjoyed by Europeans in the Middle Ages. The inclusion of carrots is thought to have been a great substitute for sugar and other sweeteners that were too expensive for some or just hard to find. Today carrots are still the main ingredient in this delicious cake.
How to Shred Carrots for a Cake
Carrots add moisture to cakes and also infuse them with added nutrients. Carrots can be shredded with a grater or in a food processor. If you are using a hand grater, pick thick carrots that have skin that is free of cracks. The thicker the carrots, the easier they will be to shred. You can shred the carrots and refrigerate them until needed.
Should I peel carrots for carrot cake? Yes, the finer you grate the carrots, the more evenly they will be distributed throughout the cake for a perfect texture, and the more evenly the cake will bake. It’s easier to grate the carrots finely if you peel them first.
This carrot cake also has crushed pineapples, shredded coconut, and raisins (among other ingredients). It may be ingredient intensive but the results are worth it.
Ingredients for Homemade Carrot Cake
You will love the flavors in this delicious carrot cake recipe. This also makes a wonderful cake to share at a party or even as a gift.
Here’s what you need to make the best carrot cake:
- English Walnuts
- Carrots
- Crushed Pineapple
- Shredded Coconut
- Raisins
- Vegetable Oil
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Salt
How to Make Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake
- In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- In another mixing bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until fluffy.
- Add pineapple, walnuts, coconut, carrots, and raisins and blend.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake at 350°F for 40 to 50 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
- Use an electric mixer on high speed to mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add vanilla and a little powdered sugar at a time until all has been blended well.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Once the cake is cool frost the cake with the the cream cheese frosting.
- Sprinkle chopped pecans over frosting.
Recipe Notes
- Do not drain the pineapple juice from the crushed pineapple. The juice keeps the cake nice and moist.
- When preparing the raisins, make sure you soak in water until plump. You DO want to drain the water out of the raisins before adding to the mixture.
- After spreading the cream cheese frosting on top, add some crushed pecans for an added crunch.
- You can make carrot cake cupcakes instead of a full-sized cake. Reduce the baking time to about 25 minutes, or until done.
How to Store Carrot Cake
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting should be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cream cheese and butter can spoil if left out at room temperature for extended periods of time.
This Cracker Barrel carrot cake freezes very well. Place the cake on a freezer-safe tray or plate and freeze for about an hour to harden the frosting. This step helps prevent the frosting from sticking to the wrap. Once the frosting is firm, remove it from the freezer.
Wrap the cake (or cake slices, if you’re storing individual portions) in plastic wrap. Make sure it’s tightly wrapped to prevent freezer burn. If you want extra protection, you can wrap it a second time or use aluminum foil over the plastic wrap. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
More Copycat Cracker Barrel dessert recipes
- Easy Banana Pudding
- Campfire Smores
- Chocolate Pecan Pie
- Chocolate Fudge Coca Cola Cake
- Chocolate Cherry Cobbler
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Pumpkin Custard Recipe
Best Cake Recipes
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- Peach Dump Cake with Pecans
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- Homemade Red Velvet Cake
- 2 Layer Jello Poke Cake
Be sure to check out even more easy cake recipes and copycat restaurant dishes.
What is your favorite Cracker Barrel dessert? This one, of course! Let us know in the comments below what you think about this Cracker Barrel carrot cake. And remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you never miss a copycat recipe again!
Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake ingredients
- 3/4 cup finely chopped English walnuts
- 2 cups finely shredded carrots
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple do not drain
- 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins that have been soaked in water until plump and then drained
- 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake
- Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the vegetable oil, sugars, vanilla and eggs until smooth and fluffy. Add pineapple, walnuts, coconut, carrots, and raisins and blend well. Gradually add flour mixture half at a time until blended through.
- Pour batter into a greased and floured 9×13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness. When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blend cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and a little of the powdered sugar at a time until all has been blended well. Turn mixer on high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy. Spread frosting over the cooled cake and sprinkle with pecans.
Notes
- Do not drain the pineapple juice from the crushed pineapple. The juice keeps the cake nice and moist.
- When preparing the raisins, make sure you soak in water until plump. You DO want to drain the water out of the raisins before adding to the mixture.
- After spreading the cream cheese frosting on top, add some crushed pecans for an added crunch.
Karen
I made this for one of my clients who is 90 years old! He kept insisting that he didn’t like anything with carrots in it! That’s until he tasted this sensational recipe! I made it and then frosted it with my own frosting. It turned out absolutely wonderful! Moist, decadent and inviting!!
David
Awesome, thank you for even taking the time to share this great
Liinda Lawrence
My husband and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last November. All this time, I’ve been trying to find the recipe for the carrot cake from the old Sambo’s restaurant chain. The Cracker Barrel carrot cake is the closest I’ve come, but something’s still missing. Any chance you have the illusive recipe?
Nov111805 .
This is my GO-TO carrot cake recipe. Is it totally THE Cracker Barrel recipe? Well, even if it’s NOT I will tell ya it’s moist and fabulous and makes a LOT! These freeze VERY WELL so I make smaller cakes, freeze them and then on days I am short on time and want dessert just defrost, frost and serve…..WA LA! I have a special request for these for Christmas supper dessert/cupcakes.
Stephanie
Thank you for your comment about the Carrot Cake! I really appreciate the glowing testimony of this carrot cake.
Judith Fay Dalton
This carrot cake is good but I prefer my recipe which do not have coconut ,pineapple or raisins
Dean
I don’t think Cracker Barrel puts pineapple in their carrot cake, because my sister and I have ate it and she is highly allergic to pineapple.
Cindy
The picture doesn’t even look like the restaurant’s, but I would be willing to try the recipe someday…after I can’t get it at the Cracker Barrel.
Since I work there.
I’ll update my picture soon! ~stephanie
Christopher James Cromonic
CB carrot cake is darker n it has dark nuts in it not raisins ,, CB has the best cake ive ever had n i grew up in the pastry business n this recipe just isnt theirs ,, my wife works there also n im going to see if she can talk to some one n see if they will give us the some of the parts to it ,,
joan
I agree this IS the BEST carrot cake! Everyone loves it!
Greg
this is the best carrot cake i have ever made! it is so moist and the icing is excellent! i found this recipes on this site a while ago and have been making it for years!