Very moist, a little bit boozy and bursting with carrots and a great blend of spices: I am not joking when I say this is the Best Carrot Cake recipe! It is very easy to make and it can be made into a loaf cake or cupcakes.  Plus, it’s dairy-free! Please give it a go – you won’t regret making it.

Swiss Carrot Cake

According to my research, the typical English or American carrot cake is baked with some add-ins besides the grated carrots, such as pineapple pieces, whole walnuts, pecan nuts or almonds. I also found some other recipes that call for oat meal, grated apples and mashed banana. Depending on the recipe, there might be some raisins in there too. Me being Swiss, all those add-ins are quite the surprise, because the Swiss Carrot Cake only uses grated carrots and ground nuts. But add in whatever you like! 🙂

A little bit of booze …

I feel the world a.k.a the internet needs an easy, yet fantastic carrot cake recipe, which is exactly what I am showing you today. No special ingredients except some carrots, grated almonds, and a couple of eggs (and some other ingredients you surely have in your pantry) are needed for this simple Swiss Carrot Cake, the best you will ever eat. The Swiss stay true to their roots, so I am staying true to this old traditional Swiss recipe. I am sure you have heard of “Rüeblitorte” before 🙂 Rüebli is Swissgerman for carrots, and Torte means cake/tart.
Totally optional, but I suggest you do add a little bit of “Kirsch” (a cherry brandy) to the cake batter and the icing, as directed in the recipe. It enhances the carrot flavour … and Kirsch is Kirsch. Of course you can leave it out – just note that you need to add a bit more lemon juice to the icing.

Simple and dairy-free, yet sooo tasty

Yep, you read that right. The carrot cake is really simple – but simple doesn’t mean lack of flavour. This cake is naturally dairy-free, but you can also opt for a cream cheese frosting (which I think pairs nicely with the cupcakes).
Carrots make for a great cake, and make it really really moist. “Normal” cakes use beaten egg whites, sour cream or buttermilk to get a light, fluffy, and especially moist batter. But either one doesn’t have those at home, or it just gets complicated with all the ingredients. So this cake really benefits off of the grated carrots, ground nuts (which are a great source for moisture too) and the beaten egg whites. But what rounds this whole moist cake off, is the combo of different spices:

• Clove powder
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

A baker’s spice drawer definitely also needs cardamom, (flaky) sea salt and if you don’t have it yet, vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar and extract can be used interchangeably, but I find it easier to use vanilla sugar when I am creaming it together butter and other sugars.

Gluten-free Carrot Cake

I originally published this recipe in April 2020. In March 2021, my sister had to change her eating habits to only gluten-free foods. To make life easier, we’ve kind of all shifted to a gluten-free lifestyle.

I am happy to say that this cake came out perfectly when I baked it with gluten-free flour. The texture was exactly the same, and the taste was phenomenal – no one would know it is gluten-free. I used this gluten-free flour mix from Schär.

I know not every gluten-free flour mix is the same, so it might need some trying out on your behalf what flour works best.

The secret about this cake

The carrot cake, baked as a loaf, is really moist (I think I have made myself clear). It keeps really well for 3-4 days, in fact it gets more moist the longer you keep it. I recommend you bake the cake 2 days or so in advance, and just leave it in the fridge before cutting it. You can also make and put the icing on already.
The cupcakes keep for 1-2 days, after a while the top can get a bit dry through. Please read my recipe notes at the bottom of this post for further info on adjusting the recipe to bake cupcakes 🙂

How to make Swiss Carrot Cake

You can make the cake batter into a loaf or cupcake, just note that the cupcakes don’t need as long to bake. Place cupcake cases into a muffin pan, or simply butter and line a loaf tin (either a 35 cm long loaf tin or a 24 cm ø cake tin). If making only cupcakes, I suggest halving the recipe.

First, you beat your egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer). Whilst the mixer is doing its thing, grate the carrots in a food processor. Then, I carefully move the beaten egg whites into another bowl, so I can use the same bowl from the stand mixer for the other ingredients. You do you – I strongly suggest though that you use several bowls.
Then you cream the egg yolks, sugars, vanilla and salt. Whilst creaming, whisk together all your dry ingredients. When finished creaming, mix in the grated carrots on low speed. Then, fold in the dry ingredients. Stir in the Kirsch and lemon juice. Lastly, fold in the egg whites in a figure eight motion, but reserve about half of an egg white for the icing.

Some recipe notes

Kirsch and lemon juice

In the German-speaking region of Europe, Kirsch is very accessible. We have several desserts dedicated to Kirsch: I am sure you’ve eaten Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake) – I have some mini versions up on the blog – and maybe you also know the Zuger Kirschtorte.
Now,  in other regions Kirsch isn’t as greatly accessible as here, and I most definitely don’t want you going on a mad hunt just to track down a bottle of Kirsch. This “Rüeblitorte” tastes absolutely fantastic without the alcohol too. The cake will do fine without it, but to the icing you will have to sub in some more lemon juice. Otherwise the icing would be too thick, won’t spread that well on the cake and won’t drip down as easily. And believe me, the beautiful drips (and the marzipan carrots on top) make the cake.

Baking time and amount

If you use the full recipe to bake cupcakes, it should yield about 25-30 cupcakes. I suggest adjusting the recipes to 3 eggs to make about 16 cupcakes. The cupcakes do not need longer than 15-20 minutes to bake – if you overbake them, they won’t be as moist anymore. Insert a toothpick after 15 minutes of baking, and if it still comes out wet, try again after 4-5 minutes.

Using 5 eggs, the recipe makes a good 35 cm long loaf. Bake the cake for 55-65 minutes. You can either adjust the recipe to 3-4 eggs to make a smaller loaf, or when baked, slightly cooled, and iced, you can freeze the cake for up to a month, and let thaw at room temp.

As you can see, I find it easiest to adjust the recipe by eggs. I mean, yes, you can crack an egg and weigh it, mix it well and then remove half of the weight to get half an egg (if you’re halving the recipe). But even food bloggers can be a lil’ bit lazy – and I don’t want half an egg in the fridge waiting a few days to be used. Because I will forget it was there and 1) either manage to through the bowl on the floor or 2) remember after 2 weeks, but then find a fridge-dried-egg-something.

Personalized Cupcake Cases

I made my own cupcake cases by simply cutting some parchment paper squares, making them a little bit wet, and by using a glass, pushing them into the moulds of the muffin pan. I wouldn’t do this with a very runny batter, but the carrot cake batter works, and so would banana bread cupcakes, or a vanilla or chocolate cake batter – it will look beautifully rustic.
Enjoy!

If you make my super moist Carrot Cake, please leave me a comment and rate the recipe! 🙂 And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and Facebook.

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