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This copycat version of J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake is every bit as perfect as the original: full of carrots, pineapple and coconut, and soaked with a buttermilk syrup for a melt-in-your-mouth slice of cake.
I don’t throw out the word “best” in front of many of my recipe titles, but I almost did for this carrot cake.
I’ve been obsessed with the carrot cake from J. Alexander’s for no less than 10 years. In my opinion, it is carrot cake perfection.
I would get a piece to go almost every time I ate there and nibble on it every night for dessert throughout the week.
When we moved to Cleveland from Toledo, my love affair with J.’s kind of ended because the closest one is now almost an hour away. :(
Last Easter I decided to search for a copycat recipe for the cake and stumbled upon one from the Sun-Sentinel. You guys, it is pretty much an exact dupe.
I have no idea why I forgot to share the recipe with you last year, but I knew I couldn’t let another spring go by without introducing you to this carrot cake. It’s hearty, moist, perfectly sweet and the frosting – it’s seriously eat-it-with-a-spoon good.
If you’re looking for a last-minute dessert for your Easter dessert table or just one seriously delicious cake recipe, I promise you, this carrot cake will quickly become your new fave!
J. Alexander’s carrot cake recipe
Even as someone with a self-proclaimed baking addiction, it’s not all that often that I recommend a restaurant based solely on one dessert. But J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake is everything you could want.
The thing that I think makes J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake special and different from other carrot cake recipes is the cake syrup.
Most carrot cake recipes have a yummy cake base and a tangy cream cheese icing. But J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake is soaked in a sweet buttermilk syrup before it is frosted.
The result is a carrot cake that never dries out and almost melts in your mouth.
Carrot cake with pineapple and coconut
One of the other things I love about J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake recipe is the inclusion of pineapple, coconut and chopped pecans.
If you love Hummingbird Cupcakes, you’ll love pineapple in your carrot cake. The bright, almost tart pineapple and the sweet coconut are a great match for the carrots in this cake.
Make sure you grab the canned, crushed pineapple for this copycat J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake. There’s a time and a place for fresh pineapple, but for baking recipes like carrot cake, morning glory muffins or pineapple fluff, canned is the way to go.
Cream cheese frosting for carrot cake
Cream cheese frosting is traditional for classic carrot cake and carrot bundt cake, and J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake is no different.
There’s just something about tangy cream cheese frosting paired with the sweetness of the carrot cake. The texture of the frosting is also soft and pillowy and so perfect with a moist carrot cake.
The frosting for this copycat J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake is actually super simple: just butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. The cake is so flavorful, especially after soaking with the cake syrup, that the frosting doesn’t need to be anything fancy.
This year, enjoy your Easter brunch with plenty of ham, hash brown casserole and amish ham and pea salad, but make sure to leave lots of room for a big ol’ slice of this J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake. You’ll be glad you did.
J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup canola oil plus more for pan
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple drained
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 3 ounces shredded coconut about 1 cup
- 1 cup pecan pieces
For the Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Make the Carrot Cake:
- Generously grease a 9×13-inch cake pan, set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix remaining cake ingredients in a separate medium bowl. Combine the wet ingredients with the flour mixture, mixing well.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake approximately 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cake should be 1 ½-inch thick.
- While the cake is still hot, poke holes all over the top with a large fork. Pour the Cake syrup over the top, allowing cake to soak up the syrup. Refrigerate cake until completely cool.
- Frost with Cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate cake to let frosting set.
Make the Syrup:
- Using a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
Make the Frosting:
- Using the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed, combine ingredients, mixing until smooth and free of lumps.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you want to REALLY impress your family or friends, make this cake. It takes a bit of time….but there will be no clean up since everyone will fight over licking the pan clean!
Hello,
Is the shredded coconut sweetened or unsweetened?
Hi Anna – I have used both! I typically use sweetened because that’s what I keep on hand most often, but either one will work just fine. Happy baking!
My family loved this! My neighbors loved this! My workmates loved this! It made a huge cake and I shared it and everyone was delighted. A brilliant carrot cake.
Amazing! The original carrot cake recipe, moist and balanced flavors. My taste buts could hardly find any difference with the famous J.Alexander’s carrot cake – being served by a friendly attendant in a nice venue.
Just made this. Delicious. We had J Alexander’s carrot cake for the first time last weekend. They served us a warm slice out of what must have been a sheet cake pan. Super thin and we liked that. As for those wondering about using less sugar, I cut the sugar in half in both the cake and the frosting. Still so decadent. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Made this several times and tastes amazing and freezes great so you can have a piece anytime you have the urge (and it’s quite often) our family love it, Thanks for sharing
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback.
-Jamie
Delicious cake everyone loved. How could it be warmed before serving like at J. A!exander’s?
Hi! You can actually just pop it into the microwave at 10-second intervals until its warmed.
-Jamie
Can this cake be frozen?
I think it would be just fine if frozen.