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Legend has it that George Washington was once served a carrot tea cake at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan. Little did Washington know that one-day, many thousands of these earthy, spiced delicacies would be baked fresh, flash-frozen, and delivered to doorsteps all across the country.
The best carrot cake delivery services use modern commerce, packaging, and shipping methods to deliver the flavors and textures we love and expect, with no peeling or shredding required. We explored the world of carrot cake delivery and discovered a handful of the very finest establishments, all poised to send you a perfect, exquisite carrot cake. Here are our top picks.
Best Carrot Cake Delivery Services of 2022
- Best Overall: Blue Owl Bakery
- Best With Nuts and Raisins: Sanders
- Best Organic Carrot Cake: Jan's
- Best Gluten-Free and Vegan: Daisy Cakes
Best Overall : Blue Owl Bakery
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Blue Owl Bakery
SPRUCE15 for $15 off of minimum $50 spend, first time customers only, excludes shipping, standard T&C applies.
Why We Chose It: Blue Owl Bakery delivers a classic carrot cake backed by a stellar reputation.
Traditional recipe
Three layers
Only serves six to eight people
Mary Hostetter's Blue Owl Bakery in historic Kimmswick, Missouri, has been delighting tourists and locals alike for decades with generational recipes and a touch of modern flair. Most famous for its Levee High Apple Pie—an absurdly tall, caramel-covered apple pie that made the list of Oprah's Favorite Things—The Blue Owl also makes a perfect version of a traditional, three-layer carrot cake.
The Blue Owl Bakery isn't famous for its carrot cake, but it should be. The cake is made with sweet baby carrots, which are baked into a moist and light cinnamon-spiced cake, and layered with Blue Owl's homemade cream cheese icing. The carrot cake contains no nuts or raisins, so the sweet, earthy carrots are the star of the show. The top of the cake is decorated in a classic style with a radial pattern of small orange and green icing carrots—both fun to look at and eat.
Blue Owl ships its carrot cake nationwide through Goldbelly. The six-inch cake serves six to eight people and sells for $69, shipping included.
Best With Nuts and Raisins : Sanders
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Sanders
Why We Chose It: If you like your carrot cake with nuts and raisins, it doesn't get any better than the Carrot Bumpy Cake from Sanders.
Buttercream and cream cheese frosting
Great reviews
Only one layer
Sanders was founded in Detroit by Fred Sanders Schmidt, who had to borrow a barrel of sugar to make his first batch of chocolates. Over the years, Sanders stores added more offerings, becoming full-service dessert shops serving ice cream and baked goods, as well as light lunches and fountain beverages.
The cakes from Sanders are special. Called Bumpy Cakes, these unique creations are in a category somewhere between cake and confection. A layer of supple, tender cake is topped with thick speedbumps of rich buttercream, then topped again with icing. The buttercream bumps on the carrot Bumpy Cake are, naturally, covered with cream cheese icing, and the cake is studded generously with raisins and walnuts for an extra delicious textural contrast.
The carrot Bumpy Cake is 8 inches by 8 inches, serves eight to 10 people, and sells for $17.99. You must order a minimum of two cakes, but consider ordering three because orders over $50 ship for free.
Best Organic Carrot Cake : Jan's
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Jan's
Why We Chose It: Jan's organic carrot cake is made 100 percent from scratch with organic, non-GMO ingredients.
Organic
Free shipping
Some may not like the pineapple
If you're looking for an organic carrot cake, look no further than Jan's. Shari Campos founded Jan's Carrot Cakes to honor the life of her mother Jan, whose secret recipe for carrot cake had enchanted the family for countless special occasions over the years. Before passing in 2008, Jan bequeathed the recipe to Shari, and today, through the bakery's online store, all of us can share in this tasty family legacy.
Jan's organic carrot cake is super moist and chunky, thanks to the bounteous quantity of shredded organic carrots, chopped walnuts, and hunks of sweet pineapple filling the velvety, spiced cake. Two layers of luscious cream cheese icing tie it all together, and the cake is finished with a dusting of more chopped walnuts.
Like The Blue Owl Bakery, Jan's also ships nationwide through Goldbelly. Each three-pound cake serves eight to 10 people and sells for about $80. Free shipping is included.
Best Gluten-Free and Vegan : Daisy Cakes
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Daisy Cakes
Why We Chose It: Daisy Cakes makes a carrot cake that's not too sweet, contains a whole pound of carrots, and is vegan and gluten-free.
Gluten-free and vegan
Great reviews
No free shipping
Kim Nelson also comes from a family of bakers. Her business, Daisy Cakes, is named for her Great Aunt Daisy, a Southern belle from South Caroline whose recipes have been passed down through the family for generations. In 2012, Nelson appeared on Shark Tank, where she secured a deal from Barbara Corcoran that allowed Daisy Cakes to expand, adding the capacity the bakery needed to serve a national audience.
A savvy businesswoman, Nelson has created a nice balance of tradition and modern innovation, of which the vegan, gluten-free carrot cake is an excellent example. To adapt her traditional family recipe, Nelson uses Blends By Orly gluten-free flour, vegan eggs, Earth Balance buttery spread, and Tofutti vegan cream cheese, creating an incredibly moist cake that you'll forget is vegan and free of gluten.
Like Jan's and Blue Owl, Daisy Cakes leverages Goldbelly for nationwide shipping. Each 8.5-inch diameter cake serves 16 to 20 people and sells for about $69.95, plus shipping.
Final Verdict
There are many carrot cakes available for delivery, but few of them bring the classic homestyle taste that many of us savored growing up. Each one of these bakeries offers an essential variation on this time-honored theme, but the cake that, in our opinion, hews most closely to our carrot cake expectations is from The Blue Owl Bakery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Carrot Cake Delivery Service?
Most carrot cake delivery services send you a fresh-baked, flash-frozen carrot cake, packed in a special insulated box and shipped with dry ice. Upon receipt, you either place the cake in your freezer for future consumption or set it out to come to room temperature before enjoying it.
How Much Do Carrot Cake Delivery Services Charge?
To get a carrot cake delivered, expect to pay around $44 on the low end to as much as $100.
How We Chose the Best Carrot Cake Delivery Services
We evaluated many carrot cake delivery services, with an eye toward bakeries offering nationwide shipping. We wanted to include both a stellar version of a traditional carrot cake, as well as essential variations like organic ones, carrot cake with nuts and raisins, as well as gluten-free and vegan options.
The Blue Owl Bakery delivers, in our opinion, the best overall classic carrot cake. Sanders provides the best carrot cake with nuts and raisins. Jan's offers the finest organic carrot cake. And finally, for a healthful alternative that doesn't compromise on flavor, Daisy Cakes sells the best gluten-free and vegan carrot cake.