Honey Apple Carrot Cake

This Honey Apple Carrot Cake is a simple twist on classic carrot cake that uses apple along with carrot inside a moist spiced cake, and it's finished with a honey buttercream frosting.

If you love carrot cake as much as I do, be sure to check out Orange Ginger Carrot Cake, Eggless Chocolate Carrot Cake, Vegan Strawberry Carrot Cake, or the Best Carrot Cake Recipes.

3 layer honey apple carrot cake on a ruffle cake plate.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: Honey Apple Carrot Cake
Ready In: 1 hour 35 minutes
Makes: 3 layer 6-inch cake
Main Ingredients: carrots, all purpose flour, salted butter, powdered sugar
Flavor Profile: slightly sweeter than carrot cake, cozy spices, creamy honey buttercream
Dietary Info: gluten free swap available
Difficulty: Medium
Why You’ll Love It: naked carrot cake with a fluffy honey buttercream

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Why You'll Love This Recipe

Twist on a Classic: This classic take on carrot cake makes an amazing moist, fluffy, and sweet carrot cake. I love this Honey Apple Carrot Cake because it uses apples in addition to carrots, making it really moist, but also providing a different flavor!
Easy Naked Cake: This Honey Apple Carrot Cake is frosted naked cake style with a honey buttercream and a simple piping bag and decorating tip. Even if you do not have the decorating tip, you can still make this a naked cake by just adding frosting with a spatula onto each layer for a more rust look. Check out my post How to Make a Naked Cake for more info.
Fall Vibes: This Honey Apple Carrot Cake is perfect for spring or fall! Serve this Honey Apple Carrot Cake with vanilla bean ice cream for an indulgent dessert the next time you're craving carrot cake.

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A Quick Look At The Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Baker’s Tips for Honey Apple Carrot Cake
How to Make Honey Apple Carrot Cake
Recipe FAQ’s
More Fall Dessert Recipes
Honey Apple Carrot Cake
The Bake Shop

This Honey Apple Carrot Cake was a special on my bakery menu. A lighter version of classic carrot cake that uses a sweet variety of apple and the addition of honey! I love adding honey to dessert as it brings more than sweetness to desserts—it brings moisture, gentle floral notes, and beautiful browning. In this Honey Apple Carrot Cake, a touch of raw honey keeps the crumb tender and complements the warm spice and apple, while the honey buttercream echoes that flavor beautifully.

If you love what honey does here, try it in fruit-forward bakes like my Orange Blossom Honey Apple Pie, where honey sweetens the filling and glazes the crust for a naturally eggless finish. For more honey-kissed treats, reach for Eggless Strawberry Honey Galette or Olive Oil Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies, which use honey for chew and a balanced sweetness. If you prefer a snappy candy-style dessert, try Honey Sesame Dark Chocolate Bark that blends honey with dark chocolate and seeds for a crunchy, no-refined-sugar treat!

Ingredients

Carrots: Make sure to use a fine grater to grate the carrots. If you use a larger grater, then the carrots don't bake into the cake as well, and the texture can be gummy.
Apples: You can use any kind of apple for this cake, though I prefer the sweet varieties like Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady or Macintosh.
Canola Oil: I use organic canola oil because its the most neutral oil. If you are avoiding seed oils, then you can use extra virgin olive oil in its place.
Eggs: Use large eggs so you have the right amount. Eggs will help bind this carrot cake together as well as make it rise.
All Purpose Flour: I use organic all purpose flour because this cake has a lot of moisture with the carrots and apples. So, the higher protein content helps bind this cake more than a cake flour would.
Baking Powder: Use baking powder, not soda. Be sure to check out my post the Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder for more info on leavening agents.
Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon for the best flavor. Check out my post the Best Cinnamon to Bake With to learn more about the different cinnamon varieties.

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker's Tips for Honey Apple Carrot Cake

Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
This carrot cake is a really easy recipe, it's basically a one bowl cake turned into a layer cake. You can easily make this batter using a hand mixer or a just a bowl with a wooden spoon, you do not need a stand mixer for this cake recipe.
Usually I don’t butter and flour the sides of my cake pans and I just use parchment paper on the bottom. But, whenever making a naked cake it is always ideal to butter and flour the sides of the cake pans (as well as use parchment) because it makes the cake pull away more form the sides. With a naked cake, you will see the sides versus with a fully frosted cake you won’t. So, you want the sides to look good. And if you use butter and flour the cake will bake a little apart from the sides, so you won’t have to cut around with a butter knife to remove as much and possibly ruin the sides of the cake.
When making this type of naked cake, you don’t have to use a piping bag or tip if you don’t have one or if you don’t want. You can just use a cake spatula to spread out the frosting too! Or you can even use a different decorating tip if you prefer. I use Ateco tip #827 for this cake, but use whatever method you prefer! Check out How to Make a Naked Cake for more tips.
Be sure to store under a cake dome so this stays fresh.
Gluten Free — Replace the organic flour for 191 grams (1 ¼ scant cups) of gluten free flour blend.

How to Make Honey Apple Carrot Cake

dry ingredients for honey apple carrot cake in a glass mixing bowl on a white marble counter with other ingredients around it.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. To make the batter: In a bowl add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, sea salt and whisk together.

ingredients for honey apple carrot cake in a glass mixing bowl with a spatula in it on a white marble counter.

In either a mixing bowl with a whisk, using a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the carrots, apple, canola oil, cane sugar, honey, and eggs. Then add the flour mixture on top.

honey apple carrot cake in a glass mixing bowl on a white marble counter.

Mix on low or stir with a spatula until the mixture comes together into a cake batter.

honey apple carrot cake batter in 3 cake pans on a white marble counter.

Measure batter evenly into each pan, about 272 grams each. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans.

ingredients for honey buttercream frosting in a stand mixer on a white marble counter.

To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, honey, and vanilla extract.

honey buttercream frosting in a glass stand mixing bowl on a white marble counter.

Mix on low until all ingredients are combined, then speed mixer up to high for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape sides and mix again on high. Once the frosting is made, put at least half into a piping bag with Ateco tip #827.

3 layer honey apple carrot cake on a ruffle cake plate on the kitchen counter.

On your cake round, spinner or stand, place the first layer of cake. Next, spread a good amount of frosting in the center of the cake. Then, go around the outer edge with the piping bag and tip to create a pretty side view. Top with the second layer of cake and repeat this process until the last layer is on.

Recipe FAQ's

Can I frost the whole cake?

Yes, you do not have to make this a naked cake. The frosting recipe is enough for a naked cake or to frost the whole cake. While that may seem odd, naked cakes actually have the same amount (if not more) frosting! Check out my tutorial How to Crumb Coat a Cake if you would like to frost the whole cake.

Can I make this cake vegan?

Yes, if you want to make this cake vegan you can. You'll need to omit the eggs and honey and replace that with ½ cup dairy free milk. I have tested this with coconut milk. Then, use vegetable shortening or vegan butter for the frosting and remove the honey in the frosting as well. You may need to add some coconut milk or water into the frosting for the right consistency.

Can I make this cake gluten free?

Yes, there's a simple adjustment in the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for gluten free. I also list the flour I used to test this recipe.

Can you make a naked cake in advance?

You can, but you'll need to store it under a cake dome. Because the sides of the cake are exposed when you make a naked cake, it can dry out much quicker than a cake that is fully frosted. So, you do need to store it in a cake dome if you plan to make ahead of time.

More Fall Dessert Recipes

Sourdough Apple Pie

Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies Without Eggs

Brown Sugar Carrot Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Small Batch Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

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