My layered carrot cake with pineapple, walnuts, and raisins is a family favorite and likely the best you'll ever taste! This moist spice cake is loaded with flavorful mix-ins, filled with pineapple jam, and finished with tangy cream cheese frosting--absolutely bomb.
And if you enjoy this cake, you'll love my carrot cake cookies with cream cheese frosting, too!
Jump to:
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - The basic steps for this carrot cake with bourbon soaked raisins are just prep, mix, and bake. You don't need to be an advanced-level baker or have a kitchen full of fancy equipment. And we're using everyday ingredients available at most grocery stores.
Ultimate Flavor - This is a deluxe carrot cake that toes the line between a spice cake and a fruit cake--just like I like it! You'll enjoy a moist, tender cake with warming spices, shaved carrots, bourbon-infused raisins, crunchy walnuts, and crushed pineapple.
👉🏾 I love putting a twist on classic cake recipes like this one. Check out my pineapple upside-down rum cake, red velvet cake with chocolate-covered strawberries, peach cobbler pound cake, bourbon birthday cake, and sweet potato pie cheesecake next!
Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"Did this cake a week ago, and I swear everyone even asked me the recipe, was a total hit. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. It is just perfect."
-Petit
Summarize + Save this Content on:
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Bourbon-Soaked Raisins are extra plump and juicy and infuse the cake with flavor notes of oak and caramel. Use whichever kind of raisins you like and your favorite whiskey. I've made this recipe with black, red, and golden raisins and they all work well.
Pineapple Jam adds extra sweet golden pineapple flavor and a change-up in texture. You can use store-bought pineapple jam or preserves or make your own!
Pecans and Walnuts sometimes get left out of carrot cake, which I totally understand if you're dealing with nut allergies. Otherwise, I highly recommend mixing walnuts into your cake batter and adorning the outside of the cake with chopped pecans.
Why put pineapple in carrot cake?
For one thing, the flavors are complementary. The sweetness and slight acidity from the pineapple balance out the buttery, spiced cake and rich frosting. Adding pineapple to the carrot cake mix also provides a boost of natural sweetness and moisture.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Bourbon - You can use amaretto liqueur, cognac, or rum instead--carrot cake with rum raisins, anyone? Or if you need to leave the alcohol out, simply soak the raisins in water and add an extra two teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Coconut - One thing I don't like to find in my carrot cake is coconut. But if you like it, I love it! You can add up to half a cup of shredded or flake coconut to this recipe.
Size and Shape - This recipe makes a two-layer cake or you can turn it into a carrot sheet cake by baking it in an oblong 9 x 13-inch pan. You can also use a jumbo muffin pan to make 12 bakery-style carrot cake raisin muffins, a standard cupcake pan to bake 24 carrot cupcakes or transform it into a carrot bundt cake instead.
For a small-batch option, cut the recipe in half to make a single-layer carrot cake, or peep my loaf pan carrot cake with praline cream cheese frosting, too!
How to Make a Carrot Cake with Pineapple Filling
- Step One: Add the raisins and bourbon to an airtight container and soak for at least 24 hours.
- Step Two: Shred the carrots then lay them on a piece of paper towel to soak up excess moisture.
- Step Three: Mix the dry ingredients then dredge the carrots, raisins, and walnuts in this mixture.
- Step Four: Mix the wet ingredients then stir the dry mixture into it along with crushed pineapple.
Pro Tip #1
If you're omitting alcohol from this recipe, you'll only need to soak the raisins in water for about 30 minutes. In this instance, you'd simply be rehydrating them not infusing them.
Pro Tip #2
Dredging the mix-ins in the flour mixture helps them float throughout the cake batter so that you have them evenly dispersed throughout each slice and not clustered all together or sunk to the bottom of the cake and burnt.
- Step Five: Transfer the batter to two baking pans then bake until golden brown on the outside and baked through on the inside.
Pro Tip #3
You can let the cakes cool in the pan or transfer them to a wire cooling rack to speed up the process.
- Step Six: While the cakes cool, beat together the frosting ingredients until smooth, glossy, and fluffy.
Pro Tip #4
For the smoothest frosting, you'll want to sift the powdered sugar first, however, I'm usually too lazy to do this and found a workaround. Add just the powdered sugar to the mixer first and run it for about 10 seconds before adding the other ingredients. This helps break up clumps of sugar.
- Step Seven: Pipe a ring of cream cheese frosting just inside the perimeter of one cake layer then spoon the pineapple jam inside that ring.
- Step Eight: Place the other cake layer on top of the filled layer then frost all around and over top.
Pro Tip #5
If you don't have a piping bag, you can just snip one corner off of a ziploc bag to use instead!
- Step Nine: Sprinkle chopped pecans in a circle on top of the cake to garnish it. Or decorate it however you like!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You can bake, cool, and frost this cake up to three days in advance for the best taste and texture following the storage instructions below.
Store refrigerated in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap to keep the cake moist and the frosting soft. Keeps for up to five days.
Yes. To freeze just the cake, wrap the fully-cooled cake layers in a few layers of plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil, and transfer to the freezer. And to freeze the frosted carrot cake, refrigerate it overnight first to allow the frosting to get firm, then wrap it and transfer it to the freezer. With either option, the cake will keep for up to three months.
How to Serve
This easy double-layer carrot cake is best served at room temperature but tastes pretty good cold, too. Serve it for Easter or even on the Thanksgiving dessert table.
And decorating carrot cake for Easter doesn't need to be fussy! Place a few egg candies on top in the center instead of chopped pecans. Or use carrot-shaped candies to make an Easter carrot patch cake.
Add a scoop of ice cream to be extra but it stands deliciously on its own.
More Favorite Cake Recipe Ideas
Looking for more recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you enjoy this spin on an old-fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
The Best Carrot Cake with Pineapple Walnuts and Raisins
Equipment
- 1 airtight container
- 1 hand grater or food processor
- 1 whisk
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 piping bag or ziploc bag
- 1 offset spatula optional
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cak
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup bourbon whiskey
- 3 large carrots
- 5 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup crushed pineapple drained
- 2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup walnut pieces
For the Cream Cheese Frosting, Filling, and Topping
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ cup pineapple jam or pineapple preserves
- ½ cup chopped pecans optional garnish
Instructions
- Prep Your Ingredients: Add raisins and bourbon to airtight container and set aside at room temperature for at least 24 hours up to one week.½ cup bourbon whiskey, ½ cup raisins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two cake pans and set aside. Grate carrots using hand grater or food processor and spread out onto a paper towel to absorb some of their moisture. They don't need to be completely dry.3 large carrots
- Make the Cake Batter: Add eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to mixing bowl and use whisk, stand mixer, or hand mixer to beat until uniform. Drain the bourbon from the raisins into the bowl then add in melted butter, vanilla extract, and crushed pineapple and stir until combined.1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 5 eggs, ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¾ cup crushed pineapple
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Add in drained raisins, walnuts, and grated carrots. Stir to dredge these ingredients in the flour mixture.2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 cup walnut pieces
- Add flour mixture to egg and sugar mixture and stir until just combined and no dry pockets remain. Do not overmix batter. Spread batter into prepared baking pans, dividing it evenly between them.
- Bake the Cakes: Transfer pans to oven and bake on upper rack for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
- Make the frosting: While the cakes cool, use stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment attachment or hand mixer to beat the powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth and fluffy (about five minutes).2 ½ cups powdered sugar, 8 ounces cream cheese, ¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Assemble and Decorate: Once cake layers are fully cooled to room temperature, pipe a ring of cream cheese frosting around the perimeter of one layer then spread pineapple preserves inside the ring. Stack the other cake layer on top of it then spread frosting around the sides of both layers and over the top until evenly coated. Top with pecan pieces and serve.1 ½ cup pineapple jam, ½ cup chopped pecans
Petit Cooker says
Ofc it deserves 5 stars and even more ❤️
Jacquelyn Dixon says
I just want to say, I think we should be BFFs... I know that is super web-stalker, crazy speak, BUT.... The moment I noticed your a Jesus lover, who writes "Who TF invited coconut?" I knew in my bones it was meant to be... Just sayin'
Jazz says
Lol, we should totally be friends then! Thank you for reading!
Jen Smith says
Jazz, this is my dream cake! Definitely pinned this!
Jazz says
Yay! I hope you love it!
Kait says
Can I use rum instead? Looks delicious
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Kait! Yes, you can absolutely use rum--I recommend dark rum. Cognac also works.
Krysten says
I always think that I am so original or have original ideas and then I like google it and it shows that I'm not.
I think this idea is glorious and it looks delicious though!
Petit Cooker says
Did this cake a week ago, and I swear everyone even asked me the recipe, was a total hit. Thanks for sucjya wonderful recipe. It is just perfect.
Jazzmine Woodard says
So glad to hear this--thank you for your feedback!
Courtney Connolly says
Ooh that looks delicious! I loved the taste of bourbon in baked goods, it is such so rich!
La Belle Sirene
Miri says
I would say allspice is my favorite thing to put in carrot cake, but bourbon may take the cake. If you know what I mean. 🙂
Morgan says
Loved this recipe!! Left out the raisins since my family isn’t big fans and instead with the bourbon directly into the cake and then drizzled more on top as soon as it came out of the oven (because why not, the boozier the better!) It came out delicious and will definitely be adding this recipe to my box of recipes!
Jazz says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this cake--great idea to drizzle more bourbon on top!
Tiffany | Arrows & Awe says
yumm!! Carrot cake is one of my faves. this looks delish!
Tiffany | http://www.arrowsandawe.com
Clarissa says
I love carrot cake....and equally, I love bourbon. This may be heaven for me <3
-Clarissa @ The View From Here
loveyoumoretoo says
Not only does that sound like it would be incredibly delicious, but it looks so pretty! I am a huge fan of naked cakes.
Jasmine S. says
That happens to me all the time!! But this all sounds pretty original to me! 🙂 Looks amazing, Jazz!! Great idea to soak the raisins in bourbon.
Brandy Burke says
oh you have got to be kidding me this looks fanflippintastic! I love carrot cake and my daughter (20, college student) has learned to make one from scratch for me, but we may need to up the game with this one!
twoboysonepup says
I love carrot cake!...and bourbon:-D
kage2015 says
Carrot cake is my all time favorite cake. Usually I go for the cream cheese frosting and completely cover the cake. I like the way your frosting is only on the top. Still looks great and with less hassle. Must try this out.