This tasty Brown Butter Carrot Cake has a great nutty flavor, but without the nuts. I love a delicious carrot cake, but they usually have nuts, and while I love a nutty flavor, I don’t love nuts actually being in my desserts. So I created this carrot cake that is filled with spices and topped with a delicious cream cheese buttercream.
Best Easter Cake
This brown butter cake should definitely be on your Easter dinner menu this year. It’s so simple and easy to whip up and will have your guest talking about it all night long. I actually wouldn’t blame you if you ended up serving it before dinner! It’s made with fresh carrots and filled with spices that will keep you coming back for more.
If you like this cake, you should try these other recipes:
Churro Bundt Cake, Coconut Key Lime Pie Cake, Lemon Blueberry Cake
How to brown the most perfect butter:
The brown butter in this recipe is what gives this cake a nutty flavor that will keep you coming back for more.
So what is browned butter? And how do you successfully brown it? Basically, you are burning the butter. But don’t be alarmed, you don’t want to really burn it and make it black, you just want to “toast” it until it turns brown. Browning the butter gives it a nutty aroma that adds to the great flavor of this dessert.
Why you need to make this recipe:
- Brown butter base-Since I don’t think nuts belong in carrot cake, I decided to use a brown butter to help give it that nutty flavor without actually adding any nuts.
- Spiced-This cake has a bunch of different ground spices that just build flavor into the cake.
- Fresh grated carrot-Freshly grated carrots help make the carrot flavor organic and delicious as well as making the cake moist.
- Cream cheese buttercream-Need I say more? Okay I will. Cream cheese buttercream is just the best!
- Layered cake-Although this is a layered cake, you can make this into a sheet cake as well! Just follow the same process, but in a sheet pan.
Ingredients you will need
Here are notes, and a list all of all the ingredients you will need:
- Unsalted butter-You will need butter for the cake and for the buttercream. So make sure you have enough.
- Unsweetened applesauce-Make sure that it is unsweetened. Too much sugar will make your cake collapse.
- Large eggs-You will use 6 large eggs. Make sure to pull them out ahead so they come to room temperature.
- Vanilla extract-I use pure vanilla extract.
- Ground nutmeg, cloves, and ginger-Since fall is long behind us, check your spices to make sure you still have these on hand.
- Fresh carrots-Make sure you use fresh carrots. The pre-shredded ones just won’t add the same moisture to your cake.
- Cream cheese-This is for the buttercream. You definitely don’t want to leave this one out.
- Powdered sugar-Remember to always sift your powdered sugar so you have a smooth buttercream.
- Fresh baking soda/powder-Fresh baking powder and baking soda are vital to your baked goods. They are what make your cake rise. They expire every 6 months, but I change mine out every 30 days, just to be safe!
Substitutions
Although I don’t recommend substitutions, if you are ever in a pinch, here are a few things you can substitute:
Vanilla extract-You can always use vanilla flavoring or imitation vanilla.
Vegetable oil-You can use another non flavored oil like canola oil.
Brown sugar-If you are low on light brown sugar, you can always use white granulated sugar.
Applesauce-You can use pineapple chunks instead of applesauce.
Step by step instructions
Here are instructions on how to make the cake and the buttercream.
STEP 1: Brown the butter-After you brown the butter, let it cool down to room temperature.
STEP 2: Grate the carrots-While the butter is cooling, start grating the fresh carrots.
STEP 3: Mix all the dry ingredients together-Mix all of the spices, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
STEP 4: Beat the butter, sugars, and oil-Beat the butters, both sugars, and oil, for two minutes. Scrape down the sides and beat again.
STEP 5: Add the vanilla and applesauce-Mix both of them on low just until combined.
STEP 6: Add the eggs-Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides, and beat a little more.
STEP 7: Add the dry ingredients-Mix on low until there aren’t any streaks of flour.
STEP 8: Fold in the grated carrots- To prevent over mixing, use a rubber spatula to fold in the grated carrots.
STEP 9: Bake the cakes-Bake the cakes for about 30-33 minutes.
STEP 10: Make the frosting- Make the frosting by beating all of the ingredients together.
STEP 11: Assemble the cake-Below are the steps that will help you assemble your cake.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE
- Place a small amount of frosting on the center of a cake board. This will act like a glue to help you keep your cake on the cake board while you decorate.
- Make sure your layers are cold or frozen. This will help reduce crumbs and make it so the layers don’t slide around.
- Make sure your cakes are level. Place the first cake layer on a cake board, bottom side down. Gently and evenly spread 1 cup of the cream cheese buttercream over the cake, making sure it’s nice and level. If you really want to include nuts in your carrot cake, now is the time to add them (sprinkled over the buttercream layer).
- Place a second cake layer on top of the filling, bottom side up, and repeat steps 2 and 3. Place the final cake layer, bottom side up, on the second layer of filling.
- Crumb coat. This is SOOO important! A crumb coat locks those pesky crumbs in!
Storing your Brown Butter Carrot Cake
If I am dividing my brown butter cake making into multiple days, I bake my cake layers, cool them, and wrap them with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge or the freezer. This help reduce crumbs and makes it so the layers don’t slide around when decorating. They can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
FREEZING
If you want to make the entire cake ahead of time, you can freeze the decorated cake by simply chilling it and then wrapping it with plastic wrap. If you want to store it for longer than a few days, put a layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap. It can be stored like this in the freezer for up to 6 months. Once you are ready to serve the cake, pull it out of the freezer, and place it in the fridge to thaw to help decrease condensation.
If you need some other recipes to try, here are some:
Brown Butter Blueberry Cookies, Rocky Road Brownies, Banana Biscoff Cake
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