Carrot Cake {That’s Actually Good}

I’ve never tasted a carrot cake that I liked...until now!

When my husband requested a carrot cake for his birthday this year, I set out to find a carrot cake that he would love (obviously) but I would also enjoy…or at least not hate. I am so happy to say, after baking and tasting FOUR different versions, we both agree this is the best carrot cake we’ve ever had!

I hope you bake this soon and enjoy it as much as we have!

Ingredients

Cake:

2 ½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp fine table salt (not coarse sea salt)

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup light olive oil or another neutral vegetable oil

1 ½ cups (330 grams) brown sugar

½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

¾ cups unsweetened apple sauce

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

2 cups (about 4 large) shredded carrots

1 cup whole shelled pecans

Optional:

Extra pecans for garnish

Frosting:

8 ounce block cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract

⅛ tsp table salt

1-2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Cake:

1. Spread the pecans on a sheet pan and place into a cold oven

2. Turn on the oven to 350°F

3. Lightly roast the pecans in the oven while it’s preheating, approximately 10 minutes*

*If your oven takes a long time to preheat, remove the pecans from the oven after 10-15 minutes or when they are lightly browned and fragrant

4. Set aside the toasted pecans to cool

5. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg

6. In a separate mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together the wet ingredients: oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, apple sauce, and vanilla extract

7. To the wet ingredients, gently fold in the dry ingredients in thirds, and stop stirring when you can still see a few streaks of flour

8. Add the shredded carrots to the batter and gently fold until just combined

9. Chop or crush the roasted pecans to your desired size (I prefer tiny bits but my husband prefers big chunks, so I do a combination of the two sizes)

10. Add the pecans to your batter and gently fold until the nuts are just incorporated and you can no longer see streaks of flour; do not overmix!

11. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans (I prefer to use a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of my pans rather than using additional oil)

12. Bake in preheated oven:

18-21 minutes for cupcakes
24-27 minutes for 4 5-inch pans
30-35 minutes for 2 8-inch or 9-inch pans

13. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan

14. Frost when the cake is cooled completely or wrap in plastic wrap and leave overnight

Frosting:

1. Add room temperature butter and cream cheese to a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer

2. Beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until cream cheese and butter are fully combined and lighter in color

3. Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time while the mixer runs on low speed, allowing each addition to incorporate before adding the next

4. Add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes until mixture is smooth

5. Add the heavy cream ½ Tbsp. at a time as needed to reach your desired consistency

Carrot Cake {That’s Actually Good}

Recent Posts

Comments