Best Carrot Cake

4.84 from 12 votes

This tender and delicious three-layer carrot cake is incredibly moist and packed with crunchy walnuts, fresh shaved carrots and warm spices, making every bite rich and satisfying. It's finished with a luscious brown butter cream cheese frosting that adds a nutty, caramelized depth—truly the ultimate carrot cake experience.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Decorating Time30

Total Time1 10

Course: Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Halal

Servings:

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Cost: $9

Equipment

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Layers:

2 1/2 (325g) cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg OR ground
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup neutral oil (such as avocado, vegetable or canola oil)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (store-bought or homemade vanilla extract)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk shaken
2 1/2 cups (250 grams) grated carrots (from 4 large carrots)
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped walnuts

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

3/4 cup unsalted butter straight from the fridge cut into cubes
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar divided
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

To Make the Carrot Cake Layers:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round baking pans. I also like to line my baking pan with a parchment just to make sure nothing sticks.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger. Set the dry mixture aside.
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, add the butter, neutral oil, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract; beat until nice and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Crack in the eggs; beat until combined.
Alternating between the buttermilk and the dry mix, add them to the butter/egg mixture, until just combined. Lastly, add the carrots and walnuts and mix until thoroughly distributed throughout the batter. Grab a spatula and scrape the bottom of the bowl just to make sure there aren’t any flour pockets.
Divide the batter amongst the three prepared cake pans. If you want precise even layers, you will weigh each one out to 569 grams. Transfer the cake pans to the oven to bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool before adding the frosting.

To Make the Frosting:

In a small saucepan, set over medium heat, add the cubed butter. Once it’s melted, it will begin to foam up and bubble a bit. Allow it to cook until you begin to see lightly browned specks beginning to form. Give it a stir and cook until it’s browned. You should also start to smell its nutty aroma. Pour it in a freezer-safe bowl and stir to cool it down.
Transfer it to the freezer to chill, for about 10 minutes. We want it to be around room temperature butter. After it gets to that room temperature butter-firmness (it can be a bit softer—that’s ok), transfer it to the bowl of a stand-up mixer (or bowl using an electric mixer). Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Pour in the powdered sugar and add the vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream. Beat the frosting for about 3 minutes. The fluffiness from the heavy cream really lightens up this frosting so be sure to beat it for the full 2 minutes. If the frosting is too loose, feel free to transfer it to the fridge to chill for about 10 minutes. Then beat it one last time.

To Make Mini Carrots for Decoration (Optional):

Scoop out about three tablespoons of frosting and add it to a small bowl. Repeat this with another three tablespoons of frosting. You'll have two bowls of frosting.
Add 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar to each bowl (for a total of 6 tablespoons). And mix in it in. This will thicken up the frosting a bit so it's easier to pipe.
Add two drops of orange food coloring gel to the first bowl. Mix. And then add two drops of green food coloring gel to the second bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Divide the frostings amongst two piping bags fitted with #2 piping tip (a small round tip)

To Assemble the Cake:

Place the 1st cake layer on a cake stand, cake turntable or serving plate. Add about 1/3 cup of frosting and spread it out evenly. Top with the 2nd layer and add more frosting, and spread into an even layer. Add the final 3rd layer and top with frosting.
I did a crumb coat where I did a thin layer of frosting all over the outside of the cake and then transferred it to the fridge for about 15 minutes. I then added the remaining frosting to the outside. It doesn't have to be perfect! I made little swoops.
I then piped on little carrots and stems all over. See the blog post for photos of how I created them. They're super easy--anyone can make them! Slice and serve.

Notes

Tips and Tricks:

- To make this cake ahead. I love freezing cakes. To do so, bake the cake layers, let them cool completely. And then wrap in two sheets of plastic wrap. Stick in the fridge for up to 3 months. Defrost on the counter at room temperature overnight.

- Add coconut. Yes, feel free to add shredded coconut to this cake if you like! Sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut will be great.

- Decorating tip. Here's how I pipe on carrots. I use a Wilton #150 round tip. I do a squiggly line, starting larger and then going smaller to imitate the shape of a carrot. Two tiny lines are the carrot stem. It doesn't have to be perfect!
- Buttermilk replacement. You can use 2/3 cup milk and add in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the milk stand for 10 minutes until it begins to curdle and use as is!
- How to store: Keep at room temperature, covered, for up to two days. If longer, feel free to store in the fridge for up to 4 days, in an airtight container.
- Using 9-inch cake pans. I love the look of 8-inch cake pans but this recipe will work with 9-inch too! You'll have slightly thinner layers but it'll still look gorgeous and delicious.

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