Carrot Apple Cream Cheese Cake — If you like carrot cake, you’re going to LOVE this version that includes apples and a tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the center!! EASY, amazing, and a MUST-MAKE!!
Table of Contents
If you’re a carrot cake fan, this is an absolutely incredible twist on carrot cake. I added apples as well as a tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the cake.
This is a showstopper kind of cake in terms of the flavor it delivers. There’s lovely texture between the carrots and apples which is a great contrast to an otherwise very soft cake. I spiced the cake with plenty of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cloves. I hate bland carrot cake and this one is nicely flavored without being overwhelming.
The tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the center of the cake is complemented by tangy cream cheese frosting that adorns the cake. I love cream cheese in desserts, in frosting, you name it, and I am never skimpy when it comes to cream cheese frosting and this cake has plenty.
Recipe Ingredients
To make this moist apple carrot bundt cake, you’ll need:
- Cream cheese
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Spices
- Baking power and baking soda
- Apples
- Carrots
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioners’ sugar
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Apple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Add in the dry ingredients, followed by the grated apples and carrots.
- Turn half the batter out into a greased 12-cup bundt pan.
- Add the cream cheese layer over top, then spoon the remaining batter over the cream cheese layer.
- Bake until done (see notes below on bake times). Let the apple bundt cake cool completely before frosting.
FAQs
It’s important to grate the carrots on the coarsest blade of a box grater. It will take you about 5 minutes but it’s an essential step. Do not buy pre-shredded carrots in bags and do not simply dice the apples. Both need to be coarsely grated for the cake to deliver the results you’re looking for.
I used one large red Fuji apple and one large green Granny Smith. However, I think most any kind of apple will work.
This is a very thick batter by design. The carrots and apples will both release a lot of natural juices and if you started with a thinner batter, by the time they would release their juices, you’d have a runny mess.
I am not usually fond of walnuts in my carrot cake, but you could add them if you are. I do like raisins in my carrot cake but felt this cake already had plenty going on and didn’t need any raisins so I didn’t add any, but you could if you need raisins in your carrot cake.
Storage Instructions
Leftover cake is best fresh but will keep airtight for up to 3 days at room temperature and in the fridge for up to 1 week.
I am comfortable storing baked goods with cream cheese at room temperature, but if you aren’t, store the cake in the fridge noting it will be more prone to drying out.
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Apple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Tunnel
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups coarsely grated apples, peeled (I used 1 Fuji and 1 Granny Smith)
- 1 cup coarsely grated carrots, peeled (from about 1 extra large carrot)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- cinnamon, for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 12-cup Bundt pan very well with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
Cream Cheese Tunnel:
- To a medium bowl, add all ingredients and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high until smooth and well blended, about 2 to 3 minutes; set aside.
Cake:
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, oil, extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, baking powder, salt, cloves, baking soda and beat to just incorporate, don’t overmix.
- Add the apples, carrots, and beat to just incorporate, don’t overmix. Batter will be very thick, this is to be desired. Turn half the batter out into the prepared pan.
- Add the cream cheese in a smooth, even layer over the batter.
- Top with the remaining half of the batter and bake for about 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow cake to cool in pan for about 20 minutes before inverting it onto a cake stand or serving platter. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting it so that frosting doesn’t melt.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- To a large bowl add the cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, salt, and beat with a handheld electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Turn frosting out over the top surface of the cake, noting it will naturally fall down the sides. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Notes about baking time: due to various variables including the sheer large size of this cake, the fact that not all apples or carrots have the same amount of natural juices, how coarsely or finely they were grated, climate, pan variances, etc. baking times could vary quite widely. I suggest starting to check at 50 minutes and check every 5 minutes or so until the cake is done. I wouldn’t be alarmed if it took 70+ minutes to bake and fully set up. If that’s the case, you may wish to tent the pan with a sheet of foil to prevent excessive browning at the surface after 65 minutes or so.
- Storage: Cake is best fresh but will keep airtight for up to 3 days at room temp and in the fridge for up to 1 week. I am comfortable storing baked goods with cream cheese at room temp, but if you aren’t, store the cake in the fridge noting it will be more prone to drying out.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Carrot Cake Recipes:
Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Bars — Dense, chewy, super moist bars that taste like carrot cake with a cream cheese topping that’s baked right in so you don’t need to worry about frosting them!!
Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — A tender and moist classic two-layer carrot cake with tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting!
Carrot Apple Bread – Carrot cake with apples added and baked as a bread so it’s healthier! Super moist, packed with flavor, fast and easy!
The Best Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — A marriage of pumpkin cake and carrot cake into one soft, moist, tender, and amazing cake! The tangy cream cheese frosting is truly the icing on this easy cake!
Salted Caramel Carrot Cake — Soft, tender, EASY carrot cake infused with salted caramel sauce and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting is the ULTIMATE in decadence!!
Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting — My favorite recipe for carrot cake!! It’s ridiculously moist, soft, tender, and full of cinnamon-and-spice-and-everything-nice, including an abundance of carrots and sweet, juicy raisins!
Here is mine…Delicious! Even with changes I made for not having all the specific ingredients. Thank you Averie!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that it was delicious!
Hi, mine is already in the open. Can’t wait to taste it! I made 2 changes because I didn’t have all specific ingredients. I used corn oil instead canola and add cinnamon as indicated but substituted other spices for about 2 teaspoons of pie spice. Hope it works, if not, I’ll try again soon with exact ingredients. Thanks and blessings, Averie!
Hi, mine is already in the open. Can’t wait to taste it! I made 2 changes because I didn’t have all specific ingredients. I used corn oil instead canola and add cinnamon as indicated but substituted other spices for about 2 teaspoons of pie spice. Hope it works, if not, I’ll try again soon with exact ingredients. Thanks and blessings, Averie!
I understand, thanks. I was supposed to say “oven” not “open”, sorry.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad it turned out great for you with the changes you made!
Hi Avery, if I wanted to add the walnuts and raisins, what is your recommendation for how much to use? One cup of each?
I would say a 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 to 3/4 raisins. You need to kind of see how it looks when you get them in the batter as not to overwhelm.
I bake carrot cakes fairly often and this was intriguing. It was not one bit easier than the traditional. Assembling took forever. The only change i made was that I made my own Allspice (1 tsp). This darn thing did not rise.
Baked for 70 minutes and it still looks undone in the center.
It tastes fine, but the presentation is now lackluster.
great
This looks so amazing! Added it to my must make list, thank you Avery! Oh and by the way, your cream cheese cookies both chocolate chip and the chocolate chocolate chip are so over the top, delicious, I make them all the time!!!
You recommend grating the apples and carrot by hand. Can I use my food processor instead?
If you prefer. It’s just so much work to clean all those parts for me vs. one simple box grater.
This looks really good-I have tried some of your other recipes that turned out awesome! My question is: I do not have a bundt pan, so could I just bake this in a 9×13, forego the cream cheese tunnel, and just frost the top??? And if using a 9×13, would it turn out too dense? Thank you for all your great recipes!
You probably will be fine doing just as you said but I haven’t tried so I cannot say for sure.
Glad my other recipes have turned out awesome for you!
Hi, mine is already in the open. Can’t wait to taste it! I made 2 changes because I didn’t have all specific ingredients. I used corn oil instead canola and add cinnamon as indicated but substituted other spices for about 2 teaspoons of pie spice. Hope it works, if not, I’ll try again soon with exact ingredients. Thanks and blessings, Averie!
Averie, this looks delicious. I was wondering if you knew or could recommend something to use instead of eggs when baking? There is an egg allergy in our family and sometimes the store bought egg substitute just doesn’t work. It seems ok if recipe calls for 1-2 eggs but if more doesn’t bake right. Appreciate any input you might have.
I really have never found anything quite perfect. The egg replacers are sufficient but not wonderful and I would say keep trying brands, maybe something will work. In a recipe like this, sorry to say, but it just may not be the perfect fit for you BUT you can keep trying different brands. Also lots of my pumpkin recipes are inherently egg free since with pumpkin many times you just don’t need an egg to bind it.https://www.averiecooks.com/tag/pumpkin/ Not all but many. Good luck!
I did not make this recipe–YET. I was so excited I had to rush to comment. I have a favorite “loaded” carrot cake recipe from a blog that has become my go to for special occasions. That recipe just met its competition. I will be trying this recipe for my birthday in a couple of weeks. Or I might just have to taste test it first… Carrots and apples. Mmm. 😁. Thanks.
I hope this cake delivers big time for your birthday! I think it will :) Keep me posted!
Cream cheese filling and frosting sounds like pure bliss! Carrot cake is a favorite at my house and I love the look of it in a bundt pan. I know I say this frequently, but the texture looks perfect (everything you bake has that)!
Awww thanks Paula! Yes the texture on this cake is so good and the Bundt pan was great so that the cake cooked evenly because it’s such a thick and moist batter.
Love carrots and apples…such a great idea to combine them in a dessert! :)
Lots of fruit/veg in this one… so it’s healthy right :)
This cake needs to happen in my kitchen soon! I am swooning over the cream cheese filling!
It’s SUCH a great cake and I agree about that filling :)
This cake needs to happen in my kitchen soon! I am swooning over the cream cheese filling!
How seriously awesome is this!! Today I made your brownies that you posted last week and they were good. The pumpkin part was the best! But I think I’m going to make this cake as well because it just looks too good to be true.
Glad you made and enjoyed the brownies and I have to say this cake…wow, it was reallllllly good. Let me know if you make it!