This recipe takes the traditional carrot cake and adds a variety of spices and nuts to add depth onto the already beloved dessert. Browning the butter for the frosting is an extra step, but it makes the world of a difference and adds another interesting layer to the flavor profile. A sweet carrot salad is placed to the top of the cake to add more carrot flavor.

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: ~1 hour

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Ingredients

Carrot Cake

• 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups corn oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups carrots, shredded
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pecans

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Sweet Carrot Salad

• 3 carrots, ribboned
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp honey

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Instructions

Carrot Cake

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease two 9 inch pans, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves.
4. In a separate large mixing bowl combine eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn oil and vanilla extract until fully combined.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet in large mixing bowl until combined. Do not over-mix. 
6. Add shredded carrots, walnuts and pecans to mixture and combine with the use of a rubber spatula.
7. Bake for 40 minutes. Check for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the middle of both cakes and making sure it comes out clean.

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a small sauce pan brown the butter.
2. Let the browned butter cool down completely, until it becomes solid again.
3. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, mix the brown butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fully combined.

Sweet Carrot Salad

1. Toss carrot ribbons in maple syrup and honey.

Assembly

1. Let the cakes cool down for 15 minutes before removing from pan into a wire rack. Wait for cakes to cool down completely.
2. Level cakes to desired height.
3. Add a small amount of frosting to the middle of the cake stand. Add first cake layer.
4. Top the cake with a layer of the frosting.
5. Add second cake layer on top of frosting.
6. Frost the sides and top of the cake with a generous amount of frosting.
7. Decorate top of the cake with sweet carrot salad, pecans, and walnuts.

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Buen provecho!