LindaC has a good recipe, lots of people here like it. Some people use the cake recipe and skip the buttermilk glaze. I haven't used this recipe, but it gets rave reviews:

Carrot Cake - Lindac

3 eggs
3/4 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cups buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 TBSP of flour

Buttermilk glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 TBSP light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup softened butter
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind

Preheat oven to 350

With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins.

Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze.

Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting.

Buttermilk glaze:
In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake

Cream cheese frosting:

Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powdered sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

Annie

I just used the last layer I had stashed in the freezer....skipped the frosting but the glaze was there.
Appreciate the compliments, but the recipe really belongs to this lady....see below!

Here is a link that might be useful: Julie

it gets rave reviews

And it should!! OMG. I lft out the raisins cause I didn't have any but this is soooooo good. Very moist and light. Not a dense cake at all. I think this might be my new favorite cake, even over chocolate.

Exactly - have always loved this recipe.

Mom has made a carrot cake for years. I make it as well, and my brother always asks for it when they come.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 1/2 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained
3 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing
8 oz cream cheese, softened
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups icing sugar

In a large bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar, eggs, and oil and beat with electric mixer. Stir in carrots, pineapple and walnuts and mix well.

Grease and flour a 9x13 pan and bake at 375 45 minutes.

For the icing, beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla. Add icing sugar and mix well. Spread on cooled cake and garnish with more chopped walnuts.

The beauty of Julie's recipe is it contains half as much oil as other recipes and one less egg, and subs a cup of buttermilk.
While no one could possibly call the recipe low fat....it is lower fat that most other carrot cake recipes.