Made from scratch, this sourdough carrot cake is quick and easy, moist and delicious. Topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting, it’s easily one of our favorite cakes.
A classic for a reason, homemade carrot cake whips up easily with pantry staples. Adding sourdough gives a subtle tang and a tender, moist texture, which works happily with the fun pops of pecan pieces and the soft chew of grated carrot. Let the cake cool on a wire rack while you mix up a rich, fluffy cream cheese frosting.
Now, while we love homemade vanilla buttercream (especially spread between these sourdough oatmeal cream pies!), the blend of cream cheese and butter in this zesty frosting delivers cozy, savory hints that leave this cake irresistible.
Maintaining a sourdough starter leaves you with extra sourdough starter called discard, a fully fermented byproduct that works well in loads of recipes. Aside from this sourdough carrot cake, some of our other favorite sourdough discard recipes are granola bars, monster cookies, easy sourdough pancakes, hamburger buns, and soft pretzels. For more ideas, scroll through these lists of 15+ healthy sourdough recipes, 20+ discard breakfast recipes, and 20+ discard desserts.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious dessert – Made with sourdough starter, brown sugar, crunchy pecans, fresh carrots, and warm spices, this moist carrot cake is spiced just right and smothered with thick cream cheese frosting.
Simple classic – This sourdough carrot cake recipe utilizes simple ingredients and sourdough starter for a well-loved, easy-to-make classic.
Long-ferment optional – If you prefer a long-fermented batter for easier digestion and more bioavailable nutrients, start by mixing the oil, sourdough starter, and flour. Once combined, cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature overnight. This time allows the natural yeast and bacteria to break down carbohydrates and proteins in the batter. Not only is it easier to digest, but the sourdough enhances the flavor the longer it ferments.
Ingredients
Carrots – I used three large carrots, peeled and freshly grated.
Pecans – Chopped pecans keep the texture more uniform and sliceable. Toasting the pecans adds more flavor and better crunch than keeping them raw.
Sourdough starter – Either an active starter or discard works fine. Active provides a milder flavor, and discard tastes more deeply sour. Are you new to sourdough? Get started by learning how to make your own sourdough starter, how to maintain and feed it, and how to use it.
Vanilla extract – I love to make my own vanilla extract because it’s both economical and super flavorful.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Stand mixer – Not required, but it makes mixing the batter super easy.
Box grater – A box grater or food processor shreds the carrots small enough to suit the cake. Pre-shredded carrots from the store are too thick.
Recipe Modifications and Variations
- Swap out the pecans for chopped walnuts, pistachios, or sliced almonds.
- Add orange or lemon zest for a brighter take.
- Add raisins, dried cranberries, or coconut flakes.
- Make a one layer cake using a 9×13 baking dish instead of two round cake pans. Adjust bake time to 40 to 50 minutes.
- Turn it into a trifle. Break up the cake and place it into a trifle dish, layering the cake with frosting.
- Make sourdough carrot cake cupcakes using lined muffin tins and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
How to Make Sourdough Carrot Cake
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans or line them with parchment paper. Grate carrots and chop pecans. For easy grating, I suggest using a food processor with a grating attachment. A box grater works well, too.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, white sugar, brown sugar, sourdough starter, and vanilla.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the carrots and pecans.
Step 5: Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, spreading it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If using a 9×13 baking dish, adjust time to 40 to 50 minutes.
Step 6: Allow the cake to cool while you prepare the frosting.
Step 7: Add softened cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer bowl. Whip for a few minutes until creamy and smooth. Adjust the speed to low and slowly add in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy. Fold in pecans or other mix-ins of choice.
Step 8: Frost the cake generously once it is fully cooled.
Long Fermented Sourdough Carrot Cake
Step 1: The day before baking, add oil, sourdough starter, and flour to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Cover and allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours at room temperature.
Step 2: The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans or line them with parchment paper. Grate carrots and chop pecans.
Step 3: Whisk eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir into the fermented batter.
Step 4: Sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon over the batter and mix well.
Step 5: Fold in grated carrots and chopped pecans.
Step 6: Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If using a 9×13 baking dish, bake 40 to 50 minutes.
Step 7: Allow to cool completely while preparing the frosting. Frost the cake once fully cooled.
Tips
- This cake can be made quickly or long fermented for more health benefits.
- Grate carrots by hand for a better texture and flavor. Pre-shredded carrots from the store are too thick and dry to bake nicely in a cake.
- Stir the batter gently, just until combined. You don’t want to overmix.
- Active sourdough starter or sourdough discard works for this recipe, since the sourdough isn’t used for rising, but rather for flavor and fermentation.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt.
- Ensure the baking powder and baking soda are fresh. If they have been sitting in the back of the cabinet for a while and are past their prime, then the cake won’t rise properly.
Recipe FAQs
A cream cheese-frosted cake needs refrigeration to keep the cream cheese from turning. An unfrosted cake can remain at room temperature for a couple of days, or it can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Sourdough reduces the gluten formation, producing a more tender crumb. It can also add depth of flavor to the cake with a mild sourdough tang that pairs well with the sweet and spice.
Yes. As long as it has not been too long since feeding the starter, you can stir it up and use it in this recipe.
Underbaking your cake tends to be the most common reason for the middle of your cake sinking. Opening the oven too early to check the cake can also affect the rise, so just peek in with the light on if possible. Finally, be sure to check the freshness of your leaveners. Baking powder and baking soda need to be replaced about every 6 months or so once opened.
You can! You can either follow the long-fermented option and finish mixing the batter the following day, or you can bake the cake, leave it unfrosted, and keep it covered at room temperature until needed (1 to 2 days). Frost before serving.
More Delicious Cake Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Delicious Sourdough Chocolate Cake
- The Best Sourdough Coffee Cake
- Sourdough Vanilla Cake
- Gingerbread Cake
- Lemon Sourdough Pound Cake
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 2 9 inch round cake pans A 9×13 baking dish can also be used.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups grated carrots, 3 large
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup oil, 168 grams
- 1 cup white sugar, 192 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar, 200 grams
- ½ cup sourdough starter, 100 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, 10 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 280 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt, 5 grams
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 5 grams
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans or line them with parchment paper. Grate carrots and chop pecans. For easy grating, I suggest using a food processor with a grating attachment. A box grater works well, too.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, white sugar, brown sugar, sourdough starter, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the carrots and pecans.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, spreading it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If using a 9×13 casserole dish, adjust time to 40 to 50 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool while you prepare the frosting. Add softened cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer bowl. Whip for a few minutes until creamy and smooth.
- Adjust the speed to low and slowly add in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy. Fold in pecans or other mix-ins of choice.
- Frost the cake generously once it is fully cooled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made half the cake in a 9×9 and did the long-ferment. A stand mixer (or good electric hand mixer) is probably a must to incorporate the other ingredients well after fermenting. I substituted “flax eggs” due to an egg allergy and added a little extra baking powder to help the cake rise properly. I used half the amount of sugar in the cake, and 2/3 the amount of sugar in the frosting. It had the perfect amount of sweetness that way, in my opinion. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but even I think the full amount of sugar may make it cloying. With these few adaptations, we loved this cake!
This looks amazing!Does this need active starter or discard?
Either will work!
I made this for the first time. It never said doing long fermentation if I needed to do that on the counter or the fridge. I ended up putting it in the fridge which was a mistake. It was super hard and I had to wait for it to soften up but once it was the consistency it was last night before long fermentation I mixed everything up and there was a bunch of chunks from the dough. I am not sure how this is going to turn out and I would like to know for next time how to do long fermentation. And is the patter chunky It says not to over mix but if I mixed it until there was no chunks it would be over mixed. Please help 😩
I used my stand mixer after the long ferment to incorporate the other ingredients, and although I also worried about overmixing it, I decided to let it go until everything was WELL incorporated. It did not cause any issues with the texture of the cake. I think that when you are long fermenting, the gluten is broken down enough that you are still able to avoid a tough cake even though you do have to kind of beat the heck out of it to get it all well mixed.
First time making carrot cake and this recipe is just as good as my grandma’s home made carrot cake.
The cook time for this is way off. Mine was done in like 20 min so I’m glad I checked it.
Made this yesterday–it tasted great and was so easy to make. Great way to use that little bit of leftover sourdough. My husband told me at least 6 times last night how good this cake is; he told me this while eating his second, huge piece. We loved it.
Would like to try this recipe but hubby doesn’t like the taste of anything sourdough. Can I substitute something else for the starter? Maybe yogurt?
No. You won’t really taste the sourness in this recipe.
We all enjoyed this delicious cake! I am saving this recipe
This is probably the best carrot cake I have ever had, thank you so much Lisa for sharing it with us ! Love that it is sourdough! I did make a few modifications and wanted to share in case it may help others. I have insulin resistance so I have to be very limiting with sugar and carbs. I did the long ferment, and switched the flour to einkorn a mix of AP and whole grain einkorn. I also only used 1 cup of coconut sugar and used 1/3 cup of grated apple with the carrot mixture (for 2 cups total) for extra moisture and sweetness. It came out amazing!! My husband loved it too!
Thank you for those tips! I came to the comments to see if anyone had tried this with honey or maple syrup in place of cane sugars, as my husband cannot tolerate those (and needs to watch his insulin spikes, too!) I am also going to try it with freshly milled soft wheat flour and a long ferment! Thank you for reminding me about coconut sugar. I prefer to make healthier versions that still taste yummy, so I am hopeful! 😊
Would it work to sub whole wheat flour and if so how much?
Yes, you can do a 1:1 conversion.