Pastel De Zanahoria (Carrot Cake)

The BEST Pastel De Zanahoria you’ll ever have! Fluffy & moist with real grated carrots and a Mascarpone frosting. This cake is always a hit!

Pastel De Zanahoria is a classic favorite in Mexico just as our beloved Arroz Con Leche is. This recipe is made the classic way with fresh carrots as they are the key for a moist cake. The walnuts are a must too!

We’re using Mascarpone frosting which is not the standard one (aka cream cheese) but this one is a life changer! Try it and you’ll love it as much as we do.

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make Pastel De Zanahoria (amounts included in the full recipe card below):

• White sugar or a combination of white and brown sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs: make sure they’re at room temperature
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Ground cinnamon
• Baking soda
• Kosher salt
• Fresh carrots
• Raisins or cranberries – we prefer cranberries 😉
• Chopped walnuts

How To Make Pastel De Zanahorias

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees (176C). Grease 2 (9 x 2-inch) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the flour the pans.

In medium bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil, and eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. Stir in the vanilla.

• With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones.

In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, raisins, walnuts, and the 1 tablespoon of flour.

Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula.

• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 30 to 35 more minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, turn out onto baking rack, and cool completely.

Frost with delicious Mascarpone frosting and top with walnuts if you would like.

THE MASCARPONE FROSTING

This Mascarpone frosting is light and creamy with a hint of cream cheese flavor. Once you have this one, you’ll never want to go back to using the classic cream cheese frosting. So good!

• 12 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature
• 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla together for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Be careful not to over beat since it can make the frosting curdle.

Success Tips

• Use real fresh carrots…not the ones that come pre-shredded. Using fresh carrots is the secret to a super moist Pastel De Zanahorias.
• I didn’t use them on this recipe but you can add raisins, shredded coconut or minced pineapple chunks if you’d like.  This batter can hold about 1/2-1 cup of add-ins.
• If the frosting turns out runny (may be due to how you’re measuring the sugar), you can add more confectioner’s sugar until you reach desired consistency. Place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before frosting the cake. This will ensure it stays on the cake when applying it.
• Store cake in refrigerator and bring to room temperature (if you like) before serving it.

FAQ’s

Other sweet recipes you may like

• Tres Leches Cake
• Pastel De Elote (Sweet Corn Cake)
• Flan

Hope you enjoy this fluffy Pastel De Zanahoria!

Take good care,

Ana

Carrot Cake

Servings 12 slices

Ana Frias

5 from 8 votes

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 55 mins

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The BEST Pastel De Zanahoria you'll ever have! Fluffy & moist with real grated carrots and a Mascarpone frosting. This cake is always a hit!

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Equipment

• Mixer

12 slices

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

For the Cake

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 grams) plus 1 tablespoon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons fine kosher salt
• ▢ 2 cups sugar (400 grams)
• ▢ 1 ⅓ cups vegetable oil
• ▢ 3 large eggs at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 pound carrots peeled and grated
• ▢ 1 cup chopped walnuts
• ▢ 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries optional

The Mascarpone Frosting

• ▢ 12 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions 

Make the cake

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176C).
• Grease 2 (8 x 2-inch) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the flour the pans. Set aside.
• In medium bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or handheld mixer), beat the sugar, oil, and eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. Stir in the vanilla.
• With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones.
• In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, raisins, walnuts, and the 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
• Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the middle of the cake layers are springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, turn out onto baking rack, and cool completely.
• Place one cake on a flat serving plate, rounded side down, spread half the frosting on the top (not the sides). Place the second cake on top of the first cake, rounded side up. Frost just the top of the second cake.

To make the frosting

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla together for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Be careful not to over beat since it can make the frosting curdle.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 282mg | Potassium: 189mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g

The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.

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