Carrot Cake
Carrot cake gets a bad rap. I think a lot of people think dry and bland when they think of carrot cake. Well if you aren’t a carrot cake believer, let me convince you. This carrot cake is moist, perfectly spiced, and topped with the most delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting. It is perfect. Dare I say, my favorite cake ever?
Carrot cake:
This cake is loaded with tons of spices, carrots, and pecans. Thanks to the use of vegetable oil and applesauce it has the best, moist texture. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with an oven rack in the middle position. Prepare three eight or nine inch round cake pans by greasing, flouring, and lining with parchment paper. Start by whisking together the vegetable oil and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla and whisk together. Add the apple sauce and continue to whisk until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl add the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg. Whisk together.
Peel and shred your carrots. You will need one and half cups. The amount of carrots you need will vary widely by the size so be sure to measure once grated and add just the one and a half cups. I used two large carrots and had just a little bit left over. Chop your pecans. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together. Add the carrots and pecans and carefully fold in to distribute evenly. Be careful not to overmix. Overmixing leads to a tougher, drier texture.
Add equal amounts of batter to all three pans, I do this by measuring a cup of batter into each one and then dividing the remainder. Bake in the oven for 14-18 minutes for nine inch pans. If using eight inch pans it will most likely take a bit longer, so keep an eye on your cakes! I would start checking around 14-16 minutes for either size. When done a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean and when a finger is pressed into the center it should bounce back. Be careful not to over bake, this will cause your cake to be dry.
Brown butter:
While your cake is baking, brown your butter. In the recipe for this brown butter cream cheese frosting we will be using a cup of butter total, or two sticks. However, we will only be browning half of this. The other ½ cup or stick will be left as is, and soft at room temperature. To brown your butter, slice ½ cup into small pieces. Add to a pot or saucepan and cook over low to medium heat until lots of browned bits appear on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Pour this into a heat safe container and allow it to cool back to room temperature. Make sure to scrape all of the brown bits into the container, that is where all of the flavor is! Allow to solidify at room temperature before using in your frosting.
Brown butter cream cheese frosting:
Once your butter is ready and your cakes are cooled, it’s time to make your frosting. Add your browned butter, your room temperature butter, and room temperature cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for about a minute to fully combine the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract, the salt, and one cup of the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add each cup of powdered sugar one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds, until all is added and combined. Then add the heavy whipping cream, scrape down the edges and bottom of the bowl, and mix on medium to medium high speed for a full minute. After that, turn down to the lowest speed for about 30 seconds to knock out some of the air bubbles. Frost each layer of the cake and decorate as desired. Enjoy!
Find more of my cake recipes here.
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Carrot cake
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and shredded carrots
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Brown butter cream cheese frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, divided into 1/2 cups and softened at room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Carrot cake
- Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit with an oven rack in the middle position. Prepare three eight or nine inch round cake pans by greasing, flouring, and lining with parchment paper. Start by whisking together the vegetable oil and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla and whisk together. Add the apple sauce and continue to whisk until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl add the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg. Whisk together.
- Peel and shred your carrots. You will need one and half cups. The amount of carrots you need will vary widely by the size so be sure to measure once grated and add just the one and a half cups. I used two large carrots and had just a little bit left over. Chop your pecans. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together. Add the carrots and pecans and carefully fold in to distribute evenly. Be careful not to overmix. Overmixing leads to a tougher, drier texture.
- Add equal amounts of batter to all three pans, I do this by measuring a cup of batter into each one and then dividing the remainder. Bake in the oven for 14-18 minutes for nine inch pans. If using eight inch pans it will most likely take a bit longer, so keep an eye on your cakes! I would start checking around 14-16 for either size. When done a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean and when a finger is pressed into the center it should bounce back. Be careful not to over bake, this will cause your cake to be dry. Carefully remove cakes after five minutes and place on wire rack to cool completely.
Brown butter cream cheese frosting
- For the first step, browning your butter, you will only need 1/2 cup of the butter, or one stick. Leave the other stick at room temperature. We will use it as is in the frosting. To brown your butter, slice 1/2 cup into small pieces. Add the sliced 1/2 cup to a pot or saucepan and cook over low to medium heat until lots of browned bits appear on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Pour this into a heat safe container and allow it to cool back to room temperature. Make sure to scrape all of the brown bits into the container, that is where all of the flavor is! Allow to solidify at room temperature before using in your frosting.
- Once your butter is ready and your cakes are cooled, make your frosting. Add your browned butter, your room temperature butter, and room temperature cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for about a minute to fully combine the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract, the salt, and one cup of the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add each cup of powdered sugar one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds, until all is added and combined. Then add the heavy whipping cream, scrape down the edges and bottom of the bowl, and mix on medium to medium high speed for a full minute. After that, turn down to the lowest speed for about 30 seconds to knock out some of the air bubbles. Frost each layer of the cake and decorate as desired. I like to garnish mine with a few chopped pecans. Enjoy!