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Lemon Glazed Carrot Cake. Better than any bakery, this carrot cake is tender and light yet perfectly sweet and delicious! This simple carrot cake is made all in one bowl with grated carrots. It’s sweetened lightly with brown sugar and made soft and fluffy with a mix of sour cream (or Greek yogurt), butter, and eggs. The batter is then swirled with sweet cinnamon and glazed with a light lemony icing, and topped with a sprinkle of lemon sugar! Each soft slice has a little cinnamon swirl and tangy lemon icing. Such a very yummy carrot cake!
Carrot cake has always been a dessert that’s confused me. Why carrots in cake? I mean, who originally thought that up? It seemed so bizarre to me. And since carrot cake wasn’t something I grew up eating, I never dabbled with it until very recently. But once I began creating a carrot cake recipe, I understood just how delicious it can be.
I still need to make a layered carrot cake, as that’s something I haven’t tried. But a loaf cake always seems so much easier to me! And goodness, how I love this carrot loaf cake I’m sharing today.
It’s rich, yet not too sweet, and the texture is just so perfect. I think of this as better than the bakery-style carrot cake!
I was chatting with my sister-in-law, Lyndsie, while she was in town. She mentioned that she’d love a classic carrot cake loaf recipe. It’s one of her favorite desserts! My cousin’s wife, Caroline, who was also visiting, seconded that.
Of course I love to create recipes for the people around me, it’s one of my favorite things to get to do! It took me a couple of days to get this recipe just right, but I’m really excited to share it!
Let’s talk about the details
Ingredients
- Salted butter, melted
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- Dark brown sugar
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Grated carrots
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
Cinnamon Swirl
- dark brown sugar
- cinnamon
- flour
- salted butter
Lemon Icing
- Cream cheese
- Lemon zest and lemon juice
- Granulated sugar
Special Tools
For this carrot cake, you’ll need a mixing bowl and loaf/bread pan.
Steps
Step 1: mix the better.
This is all made in one bowl, simply mix the wet ingredients with the dry, and that’s it. For the wet ingredients, it’s just melted butter mixed with brown sugar, sour cream (or use Greek yogurt), and eggs. Add lots of vanilla for a super yummy flavor.
And then the carrots! I used a good amount of freshly grated carrots. The carrots also contribute to the bread’s sweetness and provide a soft/moist texture and pretty color too.
Once you have the above all mixed up, mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Give this a good beating to really combine the batter.
Step 2: to make the cinnamon swirl
Mix brown sugar with flour, cinnamon, and melted butter.
Step 3: layer the cake and bake
Spoon half the batter into a loaf/cake pan, sprinkle the cinnamon swirl over the batter. Now, add the remaining batter on top.
This cake will take about an hour to bake. As the cake bakes, the cinnamon melts into the center of the cake, becoming nice and gooey.
It is DELICIOUS! And a bit unexpected too!
Step 4: the icing
While the cake is baking, make the tangy lemon cream cheese icing.
Mix a small amount of melted cream cheese with lemon juice and powdered sugar. Once the cake has cooled, spoon or pour the icing over the cake. It’s so pretty!
The final step is to mix the lemon zest with granulated sugar and sprinkle it over the cake. I prefer to blend the lemon and sugar together in the food processor to make the sugar crystals a little finer.
And that’s it – a simple cake that’s fun to make and beyond delicious. Have fun and enjoy some sweet carrot cake!
Looking for other sweet recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Maple Banana Bread with Cinnamon Spice Butter
Blender Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Giant Double Blueberry Muffin Cookies
Bakery Blueberry Vanilla Crunch Muffins
Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake Muffins
Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Carrot Cake Muffins
Lastly, if you make this Lemon Glazed Carrot Cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lemon Glazed Carrot Cake
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 344 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup plain whole milk Greek Yogurt, or sour cream
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 ounces cream cheese melted
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a (9×5 inch) bread pan – line with parchment paper.2. In a large bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Stir in the grated carrots. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until combined.3. To make the cinnamon swirl. Mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.4. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bread pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon swirl over the top. Evenly spoon the remaining batter over the cinnamon. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the center is just set. Remove the bread and let cool.5. To make the icing. In a medium bowl, beat together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, lemon juice, and 1-3 tablespoons of water until smooth and drizzly. Spoon over the cake. 6. Mix the sugar and lemon zest. Sprinkle the lemon sugar over the cake. Let the icing set for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
This post was originally published on February 21, 2025
Really great recipe! I think the collapsing in the middle is probably an oven temperature distribution problem rather than a recipe problem. Turned out great in my new oven!.
Hey Emma,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Have a wonderful weekend! XxT
I am a very sad to say this was a huge disappointment. It looked awesome and could hardly wait to try it after dinner. Just not much flavor and very dry.No carrot taste at all. I made it to give half of it to a neighbor. Unfortunately I gave it to them before I tried it myself.. So sorry to be a downer.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. If there is anything that I can help with, please let me know! xx
Hi! I’m reading comments to see how to avoid the sunken middle and see you mention that you don’t adjust for elevation. But don’t you develop at elevation? Shouldn’t they turn out correctly for you? I would think it would be near impossible to develop a recipe for sea level at an elevation and know it will work for others. Unless this recipe was taken from somewhere else?
Hey Allie! This recipe will be great for you at sea level or elevation! Just give it a try if you’re curious!
Hope you have had a wonderful Monday!
Our son loves carrot cake and it’s his 27th birthday on 3/6. I want to make this cake!
How many days in advance can I make it and still have it be good? Two? Thanks!
Hey Chris,
Sure, two days in advance would be perfectly okay to do! Happy Birthday to your son! xx
My husband can’t have eggs so I used Greek yogurt instead(1/4 cup for each egg)! And used sour cream where there was the option for Greek yogurt. It turned out delicious and still super moist. Only cooked for 40 mins!
Hey Lauren,
Wonderful! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, I appreciate you making it! Have the best weekend:)
My comment keeps getting denied and all I’m trying to do is understand how to adjust for elevation so my loaf doesn’t sink like the pics above. It’s not hateful, it’s a literal question. I understand filtering comments but good grief! Very frustrating!!
Hi Susan,
No tips or tricks! The cake should bake up wonderfully for you. Just follow the recipe as directed! Hope you LOVE the cake! Have a great week!
Is it possible to use gluten free flour in this recipe?
Hey Carol,
Yes, an equal amount of gluten free flour should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This is like an orgasm for your mouth…it’s delicious…and better I think, if served still slightly warm from the oven then drizzle the icing on the slice…too scrumptious to wait for it to cool!
And, btw, I used 1/2 cup almond flour in place of a half cup of all purpose to make it a smidgen healthier. It didn’t rise as much and was more dense but who cares? It’s so good….
Hey there,
Thanks so much! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great weekend! xx
I’m so confused, there’s a picture of pizza at the top of this. 😅 Could you tell me how to adjust for elevation so my loaf doesn’t sink in the middle? Thank you, look forward to making this!! 🙂
Hi Brenda,
The pizza is for the previous recipe post:) No tips or tricks! The cake should bake up wonderfully for you. Just follow the recipe as directed! Hope you LOVE the cake! Have a great week!
HBH, forgive me for being a stickler, but again your ingredient list at the top of this recipe does not match the ingredient list below. I entreat you to edit these posts for accuracy and clarity. I often see you tell people “use the bottom recipe, it’s most up to date and accurate.” This is so unnecessarily complex. If you can’t get both versions correct, then just write the recipe in one place. Please. I’m trying to be as respectful as possible, but find this very challenging when I’m trying to grocery shop.
Hey Hallie! Totally hear you on this and I apologize for any confusion! We do this for SEO purposes as this is something google actually requires! It’s a bit crazy, but I will make sure everything matches the best I can from now on! I have also fixed this post to read better as well. Hope this helps you and thank you for your feedback! Have the most wonderful week!
Hi there, I’m not sure if you actually don’t know or if you were joking, but carrots were originally put into what became carrot cake for moisture and as a mild sweetener. I’ll keep an eye out for another layered version from HBH. This one is too sunken in to be able to serve to folks outside of the family.
Hey Allison! Thanks so much for this information! Very good to know! Have such a wonderful week!
I learned that carrot cake originally was carrot pudding in the Middle Ages England but they added more and more flour until it became a cake. They used carrots because they didn’t have much sugar since it was very expensive. I’ve tried many versions of carrot and will definitely try this one, though I like to grind some nuts (usually walnuts or pecans) and use it for part of the flour.
Thanks so much for sharing, Dominique! Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! xT
I loved your carrot cake recipe back from 2017! I’ll have to try this one!
Love to hear this, Sharon! I hope you love this recipe just as much:) Happy Friday! xT
Hi Tieghan,
I am at a similar elevation to you. Is there a tip or trick to make sure my loaf isn’t sunken in like yours is in the pictures above? Can’t wait to try the recipe! 🥰 Thank you!
Hey Carol! No tips or tricks! The cake should bake up wonderfully for you. Just follow the recipe as directed! Hope you LOVE the cake! Have a great week!
Good morning. can’t wait to try. My guy is pre Diabetic so will use Monk fruit sugar Sub both lite and dark.
.
Advice.
The Lemon glaze is out.. So what about, mixing some Lemon zest Lemon juice and Monk fruit into a paste? and take cake out maybe 15? min and brush on and back in to finish baking? He loves Lemon.. and it will help keep the cake moist ? And he loves crunch so some chopped Hazel nuts or pecans in the batter too ?
thank for some help on this.
Hi Leslie,
Thanks so much! Unfortunately, I have never worked with monk fruit sweetener so I really can’t speak to that. In theory, it sounds like a great idea, but again, haven’t tested it. Let me know how this turns out for you, I hope it’s delish! Happy Friday! xT
I will let you know.