Carrot Cake with Walnuts and Cinnamon Recipe
Carrot cake with walnuts and cinnamon is a moist traybake inspired by American recipes but adapted to Polish kitchens. It has a soft, oil-based crumb with noticeable carrot, crunchy nuts and a pronounced warm spice aroma. This version slices well, stays fresh for a long time and freezes without any trouble.
Carrot cake, originally popularised in Anglo-American baking, has become a staple on Polish tables, especially for casual gatherings and school bake sales, thanks to its simplicity and long-lasting freshness.
This is a cake that looks modest but, thanks to its moist texture and warm spice aroma, disappears from the tin faster than decorative layer cakes., Carrot adds natural sweetness and ensures that even the next day it tastes like freshly baked., The nuts add pleasant crunch, so every bite has multiple textures.
Why this version works
- Finely grated, lightly squeezed carrot moistens the cake without turning it into a dense, underbaked mass.
- Beating the eggs with sugar aerates the mixture, so despite the oil the cake is not heavy.
- Toasted walnuts stay crunchy and have a more pronounced flavour in the moist crumb.
Chef's tips
The most common mistake is baking “by eye” without checking with a skewer – the centre often needs longer than the edges, so always test in two spots., Once cooled, I immediately cut the cake into portions and freeze some, separating the pieces with baking paper so they’re easy to take out one by one., If you want a more spiced flavour, add a pinch of nutmeg or ginger instead of another teaspoon of cinnamon.
How to serve
For holidays or birthdays, serve it with a cream cheese and lemon frosting, sprinkled with extra nuts., For everyday, it’s perfect with coffee, tea with lemon or cocoa and travels well in a lunchbox., In autumn, warm a slice for a few minutes at 80–100°C and serve with thick plain yogurt and a drizzle of honey.
Watch out for
- Don’t squeeze the carrots completely dry, or the cake will be dense and not very moist.
- Don’t overmix after adding the flour – excessive mixing reduces the cake’s lightness.
- If the top browns quickly, loosely cover the tin with aluminium foil towards the end of baking.
Substitutions
- Replace part of the wheat flour with wholemeal or spelt flour for a heartier cake.
- Use pecans instead of walnuts for a slightly sweeter, buttery note.
- Instead of vanillin sugar, use vanilla sugar or a little vanilla extract.
Ingredients
- carrot - 250 g
- flour wheat - 220 g
- sugar - 160 g
- eggs - 3 pieces
- oil vegetable - 150 ml
- baking powder - 2 teaspoons
- ground cinnamon - 2 teaspoons
- walnuts - 60 g
- salt - 0.25 teaspoons
- vanillin sugar - 1 teaspoon
- sugar powdered
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Line a roughly 20×30 cm tin with baking paper and lightly grease the sides with oil so the cake releases easily.
- Peel the carrots and grate them on the fine side of a grater. Gently squeeze out excess juice in your hands – the shreds should be moist but not dripping.
- Roughly chop the walnuts. Toast them briefly in a dry pan until they smell intense and turn lightly golden, then set aside to cool.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and vanillin sugar so the baking powder is evenly distributed and doesn’t form lumps.
- In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar for 3–4 minutes until the mixture lightens noticeably, becomes foamy and increases in volume; when you lift the whisk, it should leave a trail on the surface.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the oil into the beaten eggs in a thin stream until you get a smooth, uniform mixture with no separated fat.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently fold with a spatula just until combined. As soon as the streaks of flour disappear, stop mixing so the cake doesn’t lose volume.
- Add the grated carrot and chopped walnuts. Gently fold until the batter is uniform, thick and clearly speckled with pieces of carrot and nuts.
- Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the top is springy and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the baked cake from the oven and leave it in the tin to cool completely so it doesn’t crumble. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with a simple icing.
Storage
After 1–2 days the cake becomes even more moist and dense but doesn’t dry out thanks to the carrot and oil. After freezing, the edges may be slightly more crumbly, so after defrosting keep it at room temperature until they soften.
I like it best the day after baking – the texture is even, moist and perfect for cutting thin slices “for coffee at the computer”.
