Mine usually comes out more or less this colour. It uses white sugar. I’ve used my recipe for over 40 years and everyone likes it. I add a large handful of white raisins to the mix as well as chopped pecans and crushed pineapple.

IME, there are two basic popular carrot cakes. One is a spice cake with some carrots in it, with a normal sponge texture, and a color like light gingerbread. The color comes from the spices. The other kind tastes sweet like cake but is chock full of carrot shreads, and in between them has a solid, very moist but not completely gooey texture, and a rich coffee color. The latter uses brown sugar or a bit of molasses.

I had a roommate who only knew how to make fried chicken and carrot cake, and while hers was good, I was cured of a yen to make it, but I like Sally's recipes in general, so offer hers as a point of comparison: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/my-favorite-carrot-cake-recipe/

That recipe is very similar to mine. The differences are, I don’t toast the pecans (but I might just try it next time I make one), instead of the applesauce it has drained crushed pineapple, the sugar is all granulated and it has about a cup of white raisins as well. As to colour, it looks the same as mine, which is also quite moist and keeps well.

One thing I’ve found is that if you want a fat free cake you can sub applesauce for the oil and a side by side taste test you can’t easily tell the difference.

I came across this blog a few weeks ago that bakes recipes found online and has about thirty tasters rate them. They did carrot cake.

https://www.thepancakeprincess.com/bake-offs/cake/page/2/

I agree with plllog regarding Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Just tossing this in here, too.

https://www.thekitchn.com/carrot-cake-recipe-reviews-23072888

Eileen, that is an amazing blog site. Thanks for posting it!

My carrot cake is dark because of all the spices, lots of cinnamon especially.

A local BBQ restaurant serves a HUGE slice of carrot cake.

That’s ridiculous. Who could eat that much cake?

It's a promotional gag, based on similar ”towering” chocolate cakes. Most restaurant desserts, at least in the cities, in the USA, are really at least four portions, and come meant to share with the whole table. This after diet guides said to share desserts to just get a satisfying taste, but in reality a lot of people want the dessert more than the main dish—and at many places dessert is the best thing they serve. So the portion sizes go up. And to stand out and have something that people will enjoy eating, they make a truly giant thing, like this slice of cake, or a ten scoop banana split with three sauces and more toppings, plus whipped cream and cherries. So basically ten servings. At least the extra cake can be wrapped to go. Often these giant things are promoted with a prize for an individual who eats the whole thing, alone, in one sitting, which is grotesque and potentially dangerous, but young men, especially, can be eager to try. Most don't come near succeeding. Many who do, puke, which is a proper reaction from their bodies. But, normally, I'd figure a whole family nibbling on that cake and leaving quite a bit over.

Besides the ridiculous size, I don't think that giant cake looks very appealing. There is too much frosting for my taste and the cake itself looks a bit dry.

That’s the current style for frosting. I think 1/4” is decadent, but the standard the cake people are pushing is the filling layers the same width as the cake layers, or at least an inch for just frosting. Ugh!

colleenoz, I imagine it's shared. No one would eat that by themselves unless they were a glutton.

I'm not a fan of frosted cake in the first place. Enjoyed it as a kid and made my share, but it's been a couple decades since I made one or ate a slice.

The frosting is the best part of the cake - any cake - in my book. The cake is simply the vehicle for the frosting

My carrot cake is pretty dark, uses regular sugar but lots of spices in there which I would think is what colors it up. Also lots of grated carrots and crushed pineapple. I like pecans in my carrot cake but my family does not, so I usually omit on their behalf. And cream cheese frosting -- lots on the cake and more leftover for a good bowl-licking afterwards. :0)

Thanks for all the great comments. They've been very helpful.

I couldn't answer earlier, I did not have my regular computer, just my phone, and when I tried commenting, the Houzz program deleted words just as fast as I could type them in. It seems to be very buggy on my phone.

That taste test looks very useful. I'll have to try another recipe at some point. I do like raisins in mine, so I'll try that in the future. And a pineapple inclusion.

Despite the light color, the cake we made was really good, and so was the cream cheese frosting.

Thanks for all the tips!

When I get home tonight I’ll post the recipe I’ve used for probably 50 years.

Was never a fan of carrot cake until I tasted this one. Julie T ran a small restraunt out of her farm home and a catering business......and wrote a cookbook.

Many carrot cakes leave a slick of oil....this uses pineapple and cuts down on the oil. and the raisins are chopped.....and the buttermilk glaze adds moistness....The frosting is not a lot and I only frost the top and middle of the layers and sometimes for presentation I will add some chopped pecans around the ttop of the frosting.

Carrot cake Julie T’s My fave….
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsps cinnamon
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour
Buttermilk glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 Tblsp 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 powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

Here's the recipe I use:

Mrs Bishop's Carrot Cake

Stir together

3 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream together

1 1/2 cups oil (or as I often do, you can substitute applesauce)

2 cups sugar

Add

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 large eggs

Mix in

2 cups finely grated carrots

About 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple

About 3/4 cup chopped pecans

About 3/4 cup golden raisins

Stir in flour mixture. Pour into a well greased and lined tube pan or 10" square cake tin and bake at 350F for about 80 minutes.

One batch makes about 26 cup cakes.

Those recipes above are very similar to the one I use - shared by an old friend many years ago - and which I tweaked by reducing the sugar and oil, and subbing grated raw apple + lemon or lime juice when I didn't have crushed pineapple. It's hubby's fave, so I make it for his birthday every year - which is in the spring. I haven't made any since then, but it's not that dark, IIRC.

I've never included raisins, and prefer walnuts.

I make a simple cream cheese & vanilla frosting recipe that came with it.

I don't know what the color issue is, but I have two carrot cakes that I make, and one is darker than the other. The darker one is more dense, so it might be an oil thing . . . denser equals darker?