It was a Saturday afternoon and there were three sad-looking carrots in the fridge — the kind that have gone slightly soft at the tips and probably wouldn't last another three days. Throwing them out felt wasteful. Buying a carrot cake from the supermarket felt expensive. A Costa carrot cake slice is north of £4 these days.
So I made one instead. Total cost: £2.80 for the whole thing.
Eight slices. Cream cheese frosting included. Came out properly moist, smelled amazing while baking, and disappeared by Sunday evening. Since then I've made it twice more — once with slightly more cinnamon, once exactly as written below. The version below is the one that worked best.
Why a Loaf Tin? (And Why It Saves You Money)
Most carrot cake recipes call for two round sandwich tins. That means more washing up, a longer bake time adjustment if you only have one, and a layered cake that needs significantly more frosting to fill and cover. More frosting means more butter and cream cheese — the two priciest ingredients in this recipe.
A 2lb loaf tin keeps everything in one container. You still get a proper slice-and-serve cake with frosting on top and in the middle if you fancy it. The bake is straightforward. And the cost stays down because you're using less frosting per serving.
Most households already own a loaf tin. If yours has been sitting at the back of the cupboard since your last banana bread phase, this is a decent reason to get it out again.
What This Costs — Exact Pence Per Ingredient
Prices checked against Aldi and Tesco basics range, April 2026. Where both stores stock the item, the lower price is used.
| Ingredient | Quantity Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Medium eggs (Aldi) | 2 eggs | 26p |
| Granulated sugar (Tesco) | 175g | 21p |
| Vegetable oil (Aldi) | 120ml | 19p |
| Plain flour (Aldi) | 225g | 12p |
| Baking powder (Tesco) | 1.5 tsp | 5p |
| Bicarbonate of soda (Tesco) | 0.5 tsp | 1p |
| Ground cinnamon (Aldi) | 1 tsp | 4p |
| Vanilla extract (Tesco) | 1 tsp | 12p |
| Carrots (Aldi) | 225g | 15p |
| Frosting | ||
| Cream cheese (Tesco) | 75g | 48p |
| Unsalted butter (Aldi) | 75g | 56p |
| Icing sugar (Tesco) | 120g | 31p |
| Total Recipe Cost | £2.80 | |
| Per Slice (8 slices) | 35p | |
⚠️ Prices checked at Aldi and Tesco, April 2026. Costs are based on pro-rata amounts used from each pack, not the full packet price. Your total may vary slightly depending on which store you use and current pricing.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 medium eggs
- 175g granulated sugar
- 120ml vegetable oil
- 225g plain flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 225g carrots, peeled and grated
- Pinch of salt
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 75g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 75g full-fat cream cheese
- 120g icing sugar, sifted
Equipment: 2lb (900g) loaf tin, greaseproof paper or baking paper, box grater, two mixing bowls, electric hand whisk (or a wooden spoon and some patience).
Step-by-Step Method
Preheat your oven to 170°C conventional (150°C fan / Gas Mark 3). Grease your loaf tin lightly with a bit of butter or oil, then line the base with a strip of greaseproof paper — just enough to overhang the two long sides. This is what lets you lift the cake out cleanly once it's cooled. I've skipped this step before. You end up with a cake that comes out in two pieces. Just do it.
Step 1 — Beat the eggs and sugar. Crack both eggs into a large jug or bowl with the 175g of granulated sugar. Whisk together with an electric hand whisk for about a minute and a half until the mixture looks pale, creamy, and slightly increased in volume. You can do this by hand with a balloon whisk — allow 3 to 4 minutes of proper whisking.
Step 2 — Add the oil. Pour in the 120ml of vegetable oil and whisk again for another minute. It'll look glossy and well combined. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Step 3 — Add the dry ingredients. Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and cinnamon directly into the bowl with the wet mixture. Add the vanilla extract and pinch of salt. Fold everything together with a spatula or large spoon — don't beat it. The batter will be noticeably stiff. That's correct. Don't panic and add liquid. It loosens considerably once the carrots go in.
Step 4 — Grate and fold in the carrots. Peel your 225g of carrots and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater. There's a fine side and a coarse side — use coarse. Fine-grated carrot basically disappears into the batter and you lose the texture. Fold the grated carrot into the batter until evenly distributed.
Step 5 — Into the tin. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top with the back of your spoon. No need to tap or press it down — it'll sort itself out in the oven.
Step 6 — Bake. Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Check at 45 minutes by inserting a skewer or a thin knife into the centre — it should come out clean with no wet batter on it. If there's still wet batter, give it another 5 minutes and check again. This cake took 45 minutes in a conventional oven both times I made it. In a fan oven it may be done slightly sooner — check at 40 minutes.
Step 7 — Cool completely. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then use the overhanging greaseproof paper to lift it onto a wire cooling rack. It needs to be completely cool before frosting goes on — not just warm, completely cool. Put it in the fridge for 20 minutes if you're impatient.
The Cream Cheese Frosting
Make this while the cake is baking so it has time to firm up in the fridge.
Put the 75g of softened butter and 75g of cream cheese into a bowl. Both need to be at room temperature — cold butter won't incorporate properly and you'll get lumps. Beat them together with the back of a wooden spoon until smooth. It takes about 2 minutes of actual effort.
Sift the 120g of icing sugar and add it in three stages, beating well after each addition. Adding it all at once creates a cloud of icing sugar across your kitchen and a lumpy frosting. Small batches. Once all the sugar is incorporated, give it a final beat and pop it in the fridge.
To frost: once the cake is fully cool, cut it horizontally through the middle with a serrated knife. Spread roughly half the frosting on the bottom layer, place the top back on, and spread the rest across the top. A palette knife or the back of a spoon both work. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before slicing — the frosting sets slightly and you get cleaner cuts.
What If It Goes Wrong?
Cake is still wet in the centre at 45 minutes
Normal. Give it 5 more minutes and test again. Fan ovens run hotter than conventional — if you used a fan oven and it's overbrowning on top before the centre is done, loosely cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.
Batter looked too stiff before the carrots went in
That's right. It's meant to be stiff. The carrots release moisture as they bake and the whole thing sorts itself out. First time I made this I nearly added a splash of milk. Glad I didn't — it would have made the texture too loose.
Frosting is too runny to spread
Butter wasn't soft enough when you started, or the cake was still slightly warm. Put both the frosting and the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes. The frosting will firm up. If it's still too soft, add another 20g of sifted icing sugar.
Cake stuck to the tin
Greaseproof paper was either missing or too short. The overhang on both sides is what lets you lift it. For next time: line before you fill, not after. A buttered tin alone isn't enough for a dense loaf.
Top cracked down the middle
Not a problem. That's the oven spring working. Crack down the centre is standard for loaf cakes — once frosted you won't see it at all.
Common Mistakes
Using the fine side of the grater for the carrots. Fine-grated carrot basically melts into the batter during baking. You lose the texture and visible flecks of orange that make this look like a proper carrot cake. Use coarse.
Frosting a warm cake. The frosting slides off and pools around the base. You end up with a bare cake sitting in a puddle of cream cheese icing. Completely cool, always. 20 minutes in the fridge after coming off the rack if you're short on time.
Cold butter in the frosting. Lumpy frosting that won't smooth out. Take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour before you start. If you forgot, 10 seconds in the microwave on 30% power works — but watch it. Melted butter makes a greasy mess.
Overmixing the batter after the flour goes in. Fold, don't beat. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour and makes the crumb tough and chewy rather than soft. Once there are no visible dry pockets of flour, stop.
Opening the oven in the first 30 minutes. The loaf is still rising and setting. Opening the door causes a temperature drop that can make the centre sink. Look through the oven glass if you need to check — don't open it until the 40-minute mark at the earliest.
Storage and Freezing
Once frosted, this cake needs to go in the fridge — cream cheese frosting doesn't keep safely at room temperature for more than a few hours. Covered in the fridge it keeps well for 3 days. The cake actually improves slightly on day 2 as the flavours settle.
If you want to freeze it, do so before frosting. Wrap the fully cooled unfrosted loaf tightly in cling film, then a layer of foil. Keeps well in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, then make fresh frosting and apply before serving. Frosted slices can be frozen individually wrapped, but the texture of the frosting changes slightly after freezing — it's still edible, just less smooth.
Without frosting, the unfrosted loaf keeps for up to 4 days wrapped in cling film at room temperature. The oil-based batter stays moist for longer than a butter-based cake would.
Is This Worth Making?
Yes. Straightforwardly yes.
£2.80 for 8 slices of proper carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is genuinely good value. A single slice from Costa or a supermarket premium range costs more than the entire loaf. Even a supermarket own-brand carrot cake — a small one, not a large — runs to about £2.50 for 6 thin slices. This recipe beats that on cost and, in my view, on flavour.
The actual work involved is about 20 minutes, split between mixing the batter and making the frosting. Then 45 minutes of doing nothing while the oven does the job. If you've made a banana bread or similar loaf before, this is exactly the same level of difficulty. No specialist equipment, no complicated techniques.
The one honest caveat: if your carrots are very old or very dry, the batter will be stiffer than expected and the final texture will be slightly less moist. Use reasonably fresh carrots. Those soft-tipped slightly sad ones from the fridge worked fine for me, but anything actually shrivelled should go in a soup, not a cake.
If you're after more budget bakes in the same vein, the coconut cake at 21p per slice is even cheaper and similarly simple to put together in a loaf tin. And if you're making this for an occasion and want a no-bake alternative for alongside it, the banoffee pie at 47p per slice pairs well and requires zero oven time.
FAQ
Can I make this without the cream cheese frosting to save money?
Yes. The cake itself without frosting costs about £1.15 total — around 14p per slice. It's perfectly good plain, or with just a dusting of icing sugar on top. The frosting adds flavour and moisture to each slice, but it's not structurally necessary. If you're cutting costs further, skip it and serve the loaf slightly warm with a bit of butter.
Can I use self-raising flour instead of plain flour?
You can, but reduce the baking powder to just half a teaspoon and omit the bicarbonate of soda entirely — self-raising flour already contains raising agents. Using it alongside the full quantities of baking powder and bicarb risks over-rising and then collapsing. The flavour won't change; just adjust the leavening.
Can I add nuts or raisins to this recipe?
Yes, though it will add to the cost. A handful of raisins (about 50g) or chopped walnuts folded in with the carrots works well — both add texture without affecting the bake time or method. Walnuts are the classic carrot cake addition. Sultanas are cheaper and give a similar result. If you're making this for the same kind of crowd as the chocolate chip muffins, the nut-free version is usually safer with children.
Why use oil instead of butter in the cake?
Oil keeps loaf cakes moist for longer because it stays liquid at room temperature, whereas butter solidifies and can make a cold-stored cake feel dense and dry. It's also cheaper — vegetable oil at Aldi costs less per 100ml than butter does per 100g. For carrot cake specifically, the oil doesn't compete with the cinnamon and carrot flavours the way butter sometimes does.
Can I bake this in a round tin instead of a loaf tin?
Yes — a 20cm round tin will work. The batter depth will be less, so reduce the baking time to around 30 to 35 minutes and start checking with a skewer at 30 minutes. The cake will be shallower, which means the frosting-to-cake ratio per slice increases slightly. If you go this route, you might want to halve the frosting quantities to keep the cost down.
⚠️ Ingredient prices were checked at Aldi and Tesco in April 2026. Costs are calculated on a pro-rata basis from standard pack sizes. Prices vary by location and may change — always check current shelf prices before shopping.
About the Author
Vinod Pandey researches and documents budget recipes from real UK home cooks. Every recipe on Baking on Budget is sourced from verified UK cooking sources, with ingredient costs checked against current Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl pricing. No guesswork — exact pence, every time.
Questions or corrections? Get in touch · LinkedIn
One last thing worth saying plainly: this recipe works well most of the time, but ovens vary. If your oven runs hot or uneven, the loaf may brown faster than expected on top while the centre is still setting. That's worth knowing before you commit to 45 minutes and walk away. Check at 40. A slightly paler top is fine. A burnt crust with a raw centre is not.
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