Carrot cakes always fall for me, even different recipes. Why?

Answer 1

without seeing you actually preparing the cake it is hard to say BUT one common problem people have when doing any kind of cake is adding ingredients out of order.
Make sure to follow your recipe to a tee and use exactly the correct size pan recommended in the recipe.
Next thing that seems to fail bakers is their blending in technique. If you carefully fold in from the outside edge when asked you wont "scare the air out of it" as my gram would;d say. Of course not mixing well enough can also spoil the batter as well.
The only other thing I can think of is to grab a level and check your oven for even consistent temp. An oven out of alignment (tilt) can cause 50 to 100 degrees diference in your oven temp and baking is too precise a science to forgive that much of a discrepancy.
Cook it for the right length of time as taking it out too soon can make it sag because the middle is still loose. The oven temp being off can definitely play tricks on that one and may make more sense if thats the case.
Im afraid thats all i can offer unless I was watching you make it.
Good Luck!

Answer 2

without seeing the cake, i would have to say it could be one of two reasons - underbaked or too much moisture.

carrot cakes LOOK easy, but they can be quite tricky. i use a very old recipe with alot of success - - but still, when it is humid out, I have to adjust moisture.

If I were you, I would start the next carrot cake recipe by reducing the moisture you put into the cake, just a bit. See if that helps.

Answer 3

Carrot cakes are very dense, so you must make sure you are not overbeating it, thus adding too much air. Underbaking is another problem, or baking at the wrong temperature. Make sure you are preheating your oven and check the cake in the center for doneness with a toothpick prior to removing it from the oven.

Good luck!

Answer 4

It may be your altitude - check the recipe and adjust the flour for your altitude. You could also need to sift the flour, especially if you are using a whole or unbleached flour - personally I prefer King Arthur brand for perfect cakes, cookies and pies regardless of altitude. Good Luck!