This carrot cake is bursting with brown sugar flavor in the batter and frosting and is loaded with a blend of crushed pineapple, carrots, pecans, coconut, and spices.
Carrot Cake
Carrot cakes are rich and decadent, primarily due to the inclusion of various ingredients beyond basic cake flour. This recipe highlights the essential combination of grated carrots, pineapple, pecans, coconut, and applesauce. However, what truly elevates it is the cream cheese frosting, which features a luscious brown sugar sauce, adding a delightful buttery richness that makes it irresistibly delicious!
Spices in Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar
This cake features a long ingredient list, but fear not—many of them are simply spices. It includes cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Is it necessary to use all of these? Absolutely! Each spice contributes to the cake’s delicious flavor. If you’re not fond of any spice other than cinnamon, feel free to omit it. However, if you choose to leave out the cardamom, be sure to compensate by adding an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. After all, this is a spice cake!
Preparing this Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar
This three-layer cake can be made in one day or stretched over two days. Prepare the ingredients before starting, as the prep work is a significant part of this recipe. Consider grating the carrots a day in advance and storing them in the refrigerator for easy use. The nuts can also be toasted beforehand. Alternatively, you can purchase toasted, chopped nuts at the grocery store, saving you prep time.
Preparing the Pans for the Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar
Use three 8 or 9-inch cake pans for this recipe. Grease the pans with shortening, butter, or cooking oil. Cut three parchment paper circles (slightly smaller than the pans) and place them at the bottom of each pan. Grease the three parchments and then dust all the pans with flour. Greasing the bottom of the pans before adding the paper causes them to lie flat and stick to the pans, making it easier to finish preparing the pans.
TIP: You can buy precut round parchment paper in 8 or 9-inch diameters (or other sizes), making it easy to prepare the layer cake pans.
Mixing the Batter
You will not need a mixer to make the batter for this carrot cake, as it can be whisked and stirred by hand. Follow these steps.
Preparing the Sauce for Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cake layers are baking, prepare the frosting. It is a two-step process that involves making a brown sugar butter sauce, cooling it, and adding it to the whipped cream cheese frosting. The sauce is easy to make, but it must be cooled before adding it to the frosting, or it can melt the butter and cream cheese. Make the sauce by adding all the ingredients except the vanilla extract to a small or medium-sized saucepan. The sauce will foam due to the added baking soda, so ensure the pan is large enough to contain the sauce as it expands. Boil the sauce for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Making the Cream Cheese Frosting for Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar
Make the frosting with a mixer and whip it until fluffy, following these steps:
- Whip the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla.
- Beat well until thoroughly mixed.
- Add the cooled butter sauce and beat until smooth. The sauce will give the frosting a delicious buttery, brown sugar taste. The sauce contains buttermilk; however, you can substitute cream for it if desired. The buttermilk tang disappears after cooking the sauce, resulting in a smooth, rich flavor with notes of brown sugar and butter.
Removing the Cakes from the Pans
The cakes are done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. Remove the pans from the oven and let them sit for 10 or 15 minutes. Then, run a knife around the inside of the pan between the cake and the pan. This will help loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Repeat for each pan, and then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. These cakes are soft and crumbly, so be careful not to break them when you flip them onto a cooling rack.
Remove the parchment paper by peeling it back and pulling it off each cake. Cool the layers before frosting them.
Frosting the Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar
Place the first cake layer on a cake stand. Use any leftover butter sauce by spooning it over each layer. Then add frosting to the first layer and spread it to cover the top. Continue until all the cakes are stacked and frosted. Then, frost the sides. This is a soft frosting. If it is too soft to work with, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to chill, and it will stiffen.
Adding Nuts
After frosting, add pecans around the edge of the cake. Place them one-third of the way up the cake from the bottom. You can substitute another nut, such as walnuts, for the pecans in this recipe. Or you can leave them out altogether. The nuts around the cake serve as decoration and also enhance the nutty taste of the cake.
Add Decorations to Your Carrot Cake
Leave your cake plain or add decorations to it. You can purchase icing decorations and place them on your cake, or create your own using fondant, frosting, or chocolate. I made carrots with white chocolate and gel food coloring. It was easy to do. Heat the chocolate in the microwave and add gel coloring. Pipe the carrots with a round tip and a piping bag. Start at the top of the carrot and zigzag the chocolate, gradually decreasing in size until you reach a point. Create 6 large carrots for the top of the cake and 8 small ones to decorate the sides. Refrigerate the carrots to harden the chocolate; then add a green carrot top by mixing white chocolate and green gel coloring.
Use a leaf tip and pipe two leaves on the top of each carrot. Refer to the photos for inspiration. Then, refrigerate the carrots again to harden the green chocolate.
Decorate Using a Clock Template
Place the 6 large finished carrots in a circle on the top of the cake. Add the small carrot to the sides. Think of the top of the cake like a clock face. This will help you place the carrots evenly apart. Start at 12 o’clock and position a carrot. Add one at the 6 o’clock position. Then, add carrots at 2, 4, 8, and 10 o’clock positions.
Decorate the sides of the cake in a similar fashion using a real or imagined clock template as a guide. You will press small carrots onto the sides at noon, 3, 6, and 9. Space the other carrots evenly, halfway between noon and 3, 3 and 6, 6 and 9, and 9 and 12. When you think about spacing decorations on a round surface, an imagined clock face can help you visualize the spacing more clearly.
Storage of Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar
Store this cake under a dome or wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator, and it will last several days. I do not recommend storing it on the countertop because of the cream cheese.
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Brown Sugar Carrot Cake
Equipment
- (3) 9-inch cake pans
- parchment paper
- 1 no. 10 round piping tip
- 1 no. 66 leaf piping tip
- 2 piping bags
- mixer
- 1 or 2 baking sheets for making decorations (optional)
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk, shaken
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- (1) 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
- 2 cups peeled and grated carrots
- 1 cup shredded coconut (may use sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1 cup toasted chopped pecans
Frosting
- 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup buttermilk, shaken
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup toasted chopped pecans
Carrot Decorations (optional)
- ¾ cup white chocolate wafers (divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)
- orange gel food coloring
- green gel food coloring
Instructions
Cake
- Grease the cake pans. Cut out and add a parchment round to the bottom of each. Grease the 3 parchments and then dust all the pans with flour. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, sugars, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until well mixed in a large bowl.
- Stir in the flour mixture until almost mixed. Then, stir in the applesauce, pineapple, carrots, coconut, and pecans. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs. Let the cake cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then, insert a knife between the pan and the cake, running it around to loosen it from the sides. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Peel the parchment paper from the bottom. Repeat for each cake layer.
Frosting
- Place the butter, brown sugar, buttermilk, baking soda, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let cool completely.
- Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and salt and beat until mixed well. Stop the mixer and add the powdered sugar. Place a towel over the mixer and mixing bowl to catch the sugar dust. Beat until thoroughly mixed. Add 3 tablespoons of the cooled butter sauce and beat.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake plate. If there is butter mixture left over, spoon it on top of each layer. Add frosting to the top of the cake layer. Spread to cover the top. Add another layer and repeat until all the layers are stacked and have frosting on top of them. Then, coat the sides.
- Use your palm to add chopped pecans to the bottom of the cake all the way around.
Carrot Decorations
- Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate wafers in a microwaveable measuring cup or bowl with a handle. Heat on high for 30-second intervals, stirring between each interval. Stir until melted. Add drops of orange gel and stir. Place in a piping bag with a round tip.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Pipe (8) 1 1/2-inch carrots and (6) 2-inch ones onto the parchment paper by piping in a back-and-forth motion, wider at the top, and end in a point. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to harden the chocolate.
- Add the rest of the chocolate wafers to a clean microwave-safe cup with a handle. Heat on high for 30-second intervals, stirring between each interval. Add green gel coloring until you reach the desired color. Add the leaf tip and chocolate to a piping bag. Pipe two leaves on top of each carrot. Return the chocolate carrots to the refrigerator to harden.
- Place 6 large carrots on the top of the cake in a round pattern. Add the small carrots to the sides of the cake.
- Cover and store the cake in the refrigerator.