Danielle's Best Carrot Cake
- Level: Easy
- Total: 1 hr 50 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 40 min
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 10 servings
- Calories
- 885
- Total Fat
- 49 g
- Saturated Fat
- 15 g
- Carbohydrates
- 107 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 82 g
- Protein
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 104 mg
- Sodium
- 583 mg
- Level: Easy
- Total: 1 hr 50 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 40 min
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 10 servings
- Calories
- 885
- Total Fat
- 49 g
- Saturated Fat
- 15 g
- Carbohydrates
- 107 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 82 g
- Protein
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 104 mg
- Sodium
- 583 mg
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
“Cream Cheese” Buttercream Frosting:
Directions
- For the carrot cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two or three 8-inch round cake pans, depending on if you want a 2- or 3-layer cake, with cooking spray or vegetable oil. (You can also use this recipe to make cupcakes or a rectangular cake! Baking times will vary though.)
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also do this by hand with a whisk), use the paddle attachment to mix together the eggs, granulated sugar, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract until well mixed. Add the grated carrots, coconut, pecans, and crushed pineapple in juice and mix until fully combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and blend on low speed just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again just to ensure everything is blended evenly and just combined. You don’t want to overmix or it can affect the texture of your cake. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for 30 to 40 minutes (mine usually take 36 minutes) until a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the cake slightly springs back when you press it with your finger. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, then invert them onto the wire rack and let them cool completely. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting.
- For the “cream cheese” buttercream frosting: In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or with electric hand beaters or a whisk by hand), beat together the butter, cream cheese, and mascarpone until nice and fluffy. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar little by little until it is fully combined. Keep beating on medium speed until the frosting is fluffy and creamy. If it is too thick for your liking, add a tablespoon of milk or cream at a time until it reaches your desired texture.
- Once your cakes are fully cooled, frost them! For a layer cake, frost the top of one cake, then top it with the other cake layer, then frost the entire cake! I like to decorate mine with more shredded coconut and/or chopped nuts!
Cook’s Note
For the grated carrots, I do this in a food processor with the standard blade until they are finely ground and moist but not pureed but be sure to peel them and cut them into chunks and cut the ends off first! I also suggest using regular carrots instead of peeled baby carrots as the big carrots have more flavor. If you can’t find mascarpone, just use more cream cheese. Mascarpone is an Italian-style cream cheese that is lighter and has a beautiful rich flavor.
