Aloha Carrot Cake from Scratch

If you’re looking for the perfect Carrot Cake to serve your guests this Easter, have I got a great one for you! This “from scratch” recipe is rich, moist, and covered in tangy cream cheese frosting! 

The Perfect Carrot Cake from Scratch

I’ve been dying to make a homemade “from scratch” carrot cake for some time now. I’ve got a delicious doctored cake mix recipe for carrot cake and it’s absolutely yummy. 

That said, I’ve got several cans of pineapple in my cupboard, left over from an earlier project. And I wanted to make use of some of it. 

Let’s Bake an Aloha Carrot Cake!

When I stumbled across a recipe for Aloha Carrot Cake I knew it would be perfect. 

I had the carrots. I had the pineapple. I had the perfect-sized pans. 

I even had the ingredients for cream cheese frosting (link). 

I could hardly wait to dive in! 

I’ll tell you more about my thoughts on this cake in a bit, but let’s start by looking at the ingredients. 

Aloha Carrot Cake Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. For now, here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need. These are simple ingredients you probably have on hand already. 

For the Cake: 

• grated carrots
• vegetable oil
• granulated sugar
• all purpose flour
• large eggs
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• cinnamon
• crushed pineapple
• Apple Pie Spice (or allspice, not pictured)

For the Frosting: 

• room temperature butter
• room temperature cream cheese
• cream of coconut (or heavy whipping cream)
• powdered sugar
• pineapple juice
• apple pie spice

How to Make Luscious Aloha Carrot Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. 

Prepare two 7” round pans (or one 9 x 9” pan). I prepared mine with a thin layer of crisco followed by a dusting of flour. You might consider baking spray (like Baker’s Joy). 

Now let’s make that cake! 

Start by grating your carrots. I did mine in my Thermomix but any food processor will do. 

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) combine carrots, sugar, oil, and eggs. Mix well. 

In a separate medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and apple pie spice. 

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated at low speed. You will have a thick batter. 

Now it’s time to add crushed pineapple. The pineapple will loosen up the batter. 

Pour batter into the two pans. I used 7-inch cake pans. (I opted for a round cake but you could just as easily make this a 9 x 13-inch cake.)

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until cake is light golden brown and cake springs back to the touch. Remove pans from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Once you can handle the pans, turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to continue cooling.

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add cream of coconut.

Mix in powdered sugar and pineapple juice. Mix until light and creamy.

When cake is fully cooled, put it on a cake plate. Spread luscious creamy frosting between the layers.

Stack layers and frost the outside of the whole cake. You’re not striving for perfect with cream cheese frosting.

Thicken some of the leftover frosting with powdered sugar and color about 1/3 cup orange and 1/3 cup green for the carrots. You’ll need about half a cup of white frosting in thicker consistency, also.

For the orange carrot you’ll need a round tip. For the green you’ll need a grass tip.

Add dollops of white.

Create carrots by pulling straight up with the orange frosting bag. Now add the green grassy bits.

Slice and serve!

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Cream cheese frosting always does best in the fridge.) Will stay fresh for 3 – 4 days.

You can freeze this cake if you like and allow to thaw naturally before serving.

Note: If you are feeding a larger crowd and want to make two 9-inch cake pans, just double this recipe.

What to Expect from this Classic Aloha Carrot Cake

I was blown away by this cake, y’all! It’s the best carrot cake I’ve had in ages! Talk about a lovely tropical twist!

First of all, it’s a super moist cake. (Thank you, pineapple!)

And the combination of that tart cream cheese frosting with the rich flavors of the cake? Sheer perfection!

I loved everything about this tasty cake. I think it would make an amazing Easter cake. (Those carrots are so cute!)

Variations on this Recipe

This cake is amazing as it is but you know me! I’m already thinking of things I’d love to add. Here are some of my ideas:

Coconut. I love the texture and flavor of coconut and I feel like it would be absolutely perfect in this cake!

Pecans. A half cup of chopped pecans in this cake would be luscious!

Craisins: Yes, please! Throw in 3/4 of a cup of chopped craisins for added texture and flavor.

Lemon juice: For even more twang, add a teaspoon of lemon juice to your frosting.

Other Sweet Treats from Out of the Box Baking

If you love cakes, cookies, and pies, we’ve got you covered here at Out of the Box Baking. Here are a few fan favorites:

Orange Raspberry Pound Cake: If you love the texture of a luscious pound cake but the light, bright flavors of citrus and berries, you’re going to be crazy about this new recipe.

Classic Homemade Cheesecake with Blackberry Topping: If you love a really good homemade cheesecake like you get at fancy restaurants, you’ve come to the right place. This recipe is simple enough to make at home but rich enough to make you feel like you’ve spent a fortune for a slice of it! 

Strawberry Banana Bread with Coconut: Every now and again it’s fun to mix things up. This recipe takes a traditional banana bread load and gives it tropical flair. With the addition of fresh strawberries, shredded coconut, and cream of coconut, you’ll feel like you’re on a desert island! Best of all, it’s easy-breezy to make! 

Southern Hummingbird Cake from Scratch: Here in the south we love our sweets and we’re particularly fond of this traditional fruity cake. It you love a rich, full cake loaded with nuts and fruit, this is the recipe for you!

Check out these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies from Back to my Southern Roots!

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That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. 

See this recipe at

Full Plate Thursday 

Weekend Potluck

Busy Monday

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.