Italian Carrot Cake Recipe (Torta di Carote) (2024)

Italian Carrot Cake known as Torta di Carote, is a delicious and simple cake made with fresh grated carrots. This slightly dense cake is perfect for breakfast or dessert and goes great with a cup of coffee or espresso.

Italian Carrot Cake is unlike any American-style carrot cake you've ever eaten. This cake is simple and dense with grated carrot, and is made without any of the typical carrot cake ingredients like raisins or cinnamon.

If you love simple classic Italian desserts, don't miss this Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake or this Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake. For another sweet carrot treat, try this Carrot Pineapple Cake or this Carrot Zucchini Bread.

You'll Love Italian Carrot Cake!

Italian Carrot Cake, or Torta di Carote, is a classic Italian recipe made with just a few ingredients. This slightly dense and moist cake is unlike any American carrot cake you've ever eaten.

If you love baking with fresh carrots, this recipe is for you. Here, the sweetness of the carrots really shine through leaving specks of beautiful bright orange color throughout the cake.

Like many dense cakes, this recipe tastes even better the next day. It's a cake that's great for having on hand for a simple dessert but goes great with a cup of coffee in the morning. It's also perfect for special occasions like Easter.

You'll love that this is a one bowl recipe and you can easily shred the carrots in the food processor. Plus, it comes together in just minutes and you don't even have to worry about making a cream cheese frosting!

So, if you love the fresh sweetness of carrots, give this simple Italian Carrot Cake recipe a try. You're going to love it!

Ingredients and Variations

Carrots: the carrots are the star of the recipe so use the freshest you can find. You'll need about three large carrots, or about 150 grams total.

Oil: use a neutral flavor oil like canola oil or vegetable oil. Olive oil will take away from the flavors of the carrots.

Eggs: you'll need three whole room temperature eggs, using both the egg yolks and the egg whites.

Sugar: regular granulated sugar is best. You can also use equal amounts of sugar and brown sugar.

Flour: all-purpose flour works best. You can use almond flour or almond meal, but it will change the texture of the cake.

Baking Powder: make sure you are using baking powder and not baking soda.

Vanilla: a bit of vanilla extract adds great flavor.

Milk: I always use 2% or whole milk for baking, but you can use what you have on hand.

Orange Variation: to give the Italian carrot cake an orange flavor, substitute orange juice for the milk and add in a tablespoon of orange zest.

American Variation: flavor this more like a classic carrot cake by adding a teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ cup of golden raisins.

​How to Make Italian Carrot Cake

Italian Carrot Cake is a simple and delicious cake that is not overly sweet or spiced like its American counterpart. This single-layer cake is made in one bowl and tastes even better the next day.

Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper; set aside.

Step 1: Mix Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Use an electric mixer to mix the ingredients together until they are light and frothy; about 2 minutes.

Then, add in the oil, milk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt, and mix until well combined.

Step 2: Add Dry Ingredients

To the same mixing bowl, add in the flour. Mix until the flour is just combined, being careful not to over mix the batter.

Step 3: Add in Carrots

In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse peeled and cubed chunks of carrots until they are finely chopped. Pour the shredded carrots into the cake batter and use a rubber spatula to fold in.

Step 4: Bake and Cool

Lastly, pour batter into the prepared pan. If your springform pan has tendency to leak, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil to catch any drippings.

Place the cake on the center rack of the preheated oven. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let the Italian Carrot Cake cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the collar from the pan. Then, let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Before serving, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar for a simple and pretty finish.

How to Serve Italian Carrot Cake

Italian Carrot Cake is delicious served on it's own with a hot cup of coffee and tastes even better the next day.

This simple cake is perfect dressed up with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. You could also serve it with a mascarpone cream and a side of fresh fruit.

Recipe Tips

The easiest way to finely grate the carrots is to dice them into large chunks and place in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until the carrots are finely diced.

You can turn this into a carrot orange cake by substituting the milk with orange juice and add in a tablespoon of fresh orange zest. Decorate with orange peel.

Store leftover cake in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up a week. You can also freeze in an airtight container for up to a month.

More ClassicItalian Cakes!