Easter is fast approaching, and if you bake nothign else this year, then bake this delicious carrot cake!
This carrot cake is packed with delicious ingredients, and has a super moist crumb. Not to mention the mega easy, silky smooth cream cheese frosting on top!
The frosting is made with condensed milk instead of powdered sugar, and is my favorite frosting by far!
Carrot Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This carrot cake is very delicious and super rich. It has crushed pineapples in the batter of the cake sponge, which make sit extra fluffy and moist.
I got the carrot sponge cake recipe online here, and baked it in three six-inch cake pans top create my layered carrot cake.
I also used my go-to condensed milk frosting, candied orange peel (inspired by Paul Hollywood) and crushed pecans for the décor of the layer cake.
I don't like super sweet frosting, so the condensed milk frosting is now my all-time favorite frosting recipe for all my cakes. You can see a previous example of this silky smooth condensed milk frosting recipe here.
For this frosting recipe, the cream cheese is a must. It helps to balance out the richness and sweetness of the cake sponge beautifully!
Although the basic recipe for the condensed milk frosting is easy enough, I did find that when using cream cheese, the temperature of the ingredients played a major part in the success of the frosting.
If your cream cheese is too watery, the cream cheese won't combine very readily with the cold butter, and your frosting may split, and end up looking like scrambled eggs. It's not pretty, and at this stage you may think it's all ruined...But don't freak out! It's all fixable.
TIP: To fix this issue, I placed the frosting bowl over another bowl containing some boiling water (from a kettle) and kept whisking for about 5 minutes until the frosting was silky smooth. No biggie! 😉
Apart from that, the recipe makes for a LOT of cake! So I baked one three 6-inch layer cake, and the remaining batter, I baked in a Pyrex dish measuring 20 x 30 cm (12 x 9 inch).
The cake can be made weeks in advance, and frozen until ready to use. To freeze it, simply wrap the can pan in plastic wrap and place in the freezer.
When ready to frost the cake, take your cake out of the freezer a few hours prior.
The frosting can also be made a about three days ahead, and kept in a sealed container in the fridge. When you come to frost your cake, take the frosting out of the fridge and whip it again.
TIP: Use the bowl of hot water technique mentioned above, if you get any issues with consistency.
So, if you decide to make this cake recipe, you have the possibility of baking it as one large sheet cake and add a simple layer of frosting on top, or make it look fancy by creating a layered cake like I did. Totally up to you!
Carrot Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 12+
Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 25 Mininactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 H & 55 M
Carrot Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - a delicious, moist cake with a condensed milk, cream cheese smooth frosting, perfect for Easter!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- from https://www.browneyedbaker.com/carrot-cake-recipe/
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 eggs
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled grated carrots (approximately 3 large carrots)
- 8 ounce (226g) can crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
Condensed Milk Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz. (500g) Soft, but still cold, salted butter
- 4oz. (125g) Cream Cheese
- 14 oz. (300-400g) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk Chilled
- 2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Candied Orange Peel
- 2 oranges, peeled into thin strips
- 3 fl. oz. (100ml) water
- 3 oz. (100g) caster sugar
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 6-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with a round of parchment. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps of brown sugar.
- Add the flour mixture and, with large metal spoon, gently stir until mostly combined.
- Add the carrots, pineapple, pecans, raisins and coconut and fold together until thoroughly combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans (approximately 430g or 15 oz. in each), and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Condensed Milk Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream butter with whisk until light an fluffy.
- Add cream cheese and whisk until combined for about 1 minute.
- Add condensed milk and vanilla and whisk until combined and smooth.
Candied Orange Peel
- Put all ingredients in a pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from the heat, and let the zest sit in the sugar syrup until it has completely cooled.
Decorating The Cake
- Place a layer of cake on to a serving cake platter, and add a cup of frosting on top. Smooth it out.
- Add a second layer on top and repeat the frosting process.
- Finish with the third cake layer, flat side up.
- Frost side of the cake.
- Add crushed pecans to the bottom half of the cake.
- Place candied orange peel on top to decorate.
Check out the video to see how I frosted and decorated my layer carrot cake!
Hope you like the idea and feel inspired to have a go! If you do, tag me on social media @BirdsParty so I can see and share your creativity! 😍
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