Hello Folks! How is it going for everyone?
We have kind of settled down in our new home. Almost every weekend goes in assembling furniture, picking up stuff or attending get together's with Rakesh's friends or relatives. I promised a birthday cake for two of his(now mine too)lovely friends. And since not many had tried carrot cake before, i decided to bake it.
So apparently, there are two types of people in this world. One who love carrot cake and then the haters. I belong to the former category. How can anyone not like carrot cake is beyond me.
Grate around 1.5 cups carrot (3 large ones). Dice 1 cup of pineapple. Chop around 2 cups of walnut(1 cup for batter and cup for garnishing).
Start by preheating your oven at 350 F.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 3/4th cup of vegetable oil,1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1.5 cups of brown sugar, 3/4th cup of buttermilk. Wondering how the cake becomes so moist?? It's buttermilk guys!! It can make almost any cake so moist. I make the perfect chocolate cake using buttermilk, recipe of which shall be posted soon. I whisked with hand whisk. They work fine for me. If you wish to use electric mixer or stand mixer, feel free to use them, but don't over mix.
Into the batter sift together 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp nutmeg powder, 1 tsp cinnamon powder and a pinch of salt. Gently mix together.
Add the grated carrots, pineapples and walnuts and fold together. Divide it evenly between greased 9-inch round cake tins. Bake for around 30-35 minutes.
Once the cake is baked and cooled some what, start preparing the caramel sauce. This step is different right??? Well, this is how they do it in bakeries. A secret am letting out!!!
In a sauce pan, simmer 3 oz unsalted butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and 3/4th cup of buttermilk. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract once the flame is turned off.
Gently spread the sauce over the cake and allow it to absorb it.(Just 5 minutes).
Now for the cream cheese spread, this is also the best cream cheese frosting. Cream together 8 oz cream cheese, 3 oz unsalted butter, 1.5 cups confectionery sugar and 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice(or vanilla extract). Cream cheese and butter should be at room temperature. I kept them out for 4 hours.
Once the cake is completely cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting and garnish with chopped walnuts. I made the cake a day before, kept it outside overnight and right before i left for work, refrigerated it by sealing the round cake tin with foil. Took the cake out from refrigerator the next day while frosting was getting ready. This cake was refrigerated by the birthday girl and she said, "It tastes even better the next day".
Do try this and am sure, this is going to be your go to carrot cake recipe going forward.
Hi there. It looks like you are baking layers - did you use both of them? I just wondered if there was enough frosting for between layers and top/sides. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Mary. Yes, the frosting was enough for 2 layered cake. Hope you bake it and share your results with me..:)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Remya. I will definitely let you know how it turns out. It looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteHello Remya,
ReplyDeletelooks delicious! Was wondering if you used fresh pineapple?
Thank you
Sara
Yes Sara, I did. Canned one works too.
DeleteCan the pineapple be eliminated and get the same results?
ReplyDeleteDoes the Carmel sauce go on each cake layer and then the cream cheese frosting on top?
ReplyDeleteyes, the caramel sauce spread on the layers, wait like 5 minutes for it to absorb into cake somewhat.
DeleteYes, spread the caramel sauce on, it will soak in some. let set like 5 minutes to allow the soaking, then ice if the cake is cool
Deleteok so my caramel sauce is not absorbing in and there seems to be so much of it that I didn't put it all on and it's still pooled on top. I cooked it until it looked like your picture but is sitting on top :-( this is for a Birthday tomorrow HELP....
ReplyDeleteI believe you have cooked the sauce longer than needed, which is why it became thick and didn't soak well. Nevertheless, after the final frosting it should be fine.
DeleteOh my gosh, Remya...this recipe is pure heaven! Just to try something new today, I came upon your recipe and tried it out. My partner said this is by far THE BEST carrot cake she has ever eaten. I agree with her...and not because of my skills, from your recipe! Thank you so much! Wishing you all the best! A
ReplyDeleteYayyy!! Thanks a lot for the feedback!
DeleteHow long do you recommend simmering the sauce?
ReplyDelete- Jayne
Till it is of pouring consistency.
DeleteThanks! I'm making it for my mom's birthday tomorrow! Looks really yummy!
DeleteThis was very good. Thank you for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteMost welcome...:)
DeleteCan you bake the cake in a bundt pan?
ReplyDeleteSure. The Baking time will increase though, say about 40 - 50 minutes. Keep doing the toothpick test.
DeleteHi I too was wondering if you can leave the pineapple out, mine I make calls for crushed pineapple but I daughter hates pineapple and if I put diced pineapple in she would see and taste it , she doesn't with the crushed, so can I leave it out or used crush . THANK YOU DOROTHY
ReplyDeleteYes Dorothy, you can leave the pineapple out.
DeleteIs it alright to leave the walnuts out? I'm trying to make this for a group, but I know one person has a nut allergy. Still, it was the birthday girl's request!
ReplyDeleteI doubt there's anything I could substitute for them, right?
Totally you can.
DeleteHello Remya, I am going to try this recipe but my only complaint is it isn't printer friendly!!!!! i hope that you can change this on your Blog! love it otherwise.
ReplyDeleteHey Marsha, this is kind of an older recipe, offlate i have been using a printer friendly one,will update this one soon. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI'm making this today! Only thing I'd like to suggest is creating a picture/file where the recipe looks like a normal recipe. Only reason I say is because I was making grocery list and was getting confused as to what I needed because it wasn't in a list form like a typical recipe. Regardless this looks great!
Totally jinny. This one is an old recipe, offlate i have been adding printer friendly ones. Will update this soon.
DeleteHi remya. Im a bit confused. Which layer do you put the caramel sauce?
ReplyDeleteOn both layers before stacking them.
DeleteMy daughter turned 16 today, and she requested carrot cake. I have never attempted to make one-so searched for a recipe. This cake did the job! I was sooooo happy it turned out beautiful, delicious and super moist. I questioned the caramel glaze, partly because mine was a little runny and did not look like the picture, but it soaked in fine and gave a good flavor. My Mom is a baker and she could not stop raving on how moist it was. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteCrystal
Yayyy!! Thanks a bunch Crystal for the feedback. Belated birthday wishes to your daughter..:)
DeleteIf you refrigerate the cake over night, do you add the caramel sauce the night before or before you ice the cake the next day? Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThe night before.
DeleteI was reading through the comments hoping to find some info on soaking overnight AND low n behold there it was! Asked earlier today by someone else! Thank u! Making this for tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHave you done this as cupcakes?
ReplyDeleteHi Remya
ReplyDeleteHow long do you cook the Carmel sauce for? I'm planning on making this for my sisters birthday in a few day.
Till it is of pour able consistency, say about 10-12 minutes.
DeleteHi Remya
ReplyDeleteHow long do you let cakes cook before adding caramel sauce? You allow to absorb just 5 minutes then frost after those five minutes?
Thanks, Norma C.
Say about 30 minutes Norma.
DeleteCan I do this with cupcake So? How long do I need to cook them for?
ReplyDeleteI would say around 20 minutes and check with a toothpick to ensure its done.
DeleteI made this cake and it came out perfect. Thanks for the wonderful recipe
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome..:)
DeleteHi Remya
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a mad carrot cake fan am looking to make this for his 50th birthday celebration this weekend. My question is can I double the recipe to make a larger cake, am looking to make a 23 x 23cm square cake? Thanks Donna
Sure Donna. That should work. Do try and let me know about it.
DeleteI love this recipe, but disappointed that you don't have a print button. I have to print 16 pages to get this recipe and then write it down.
ReplyDeleteIs it okay to combine all the ingredients for the caramel sauce at once or should you cream the butter and sugar together than add the buttermilk??
ReplyDeleteYou put them all in a pan and cook them as shown in the pictures.
DeleteThank you for this recipe. Mine tasted delicious, but the cake was very flat and dense.. What could be the problem ? Also my frosting was too runny :(
ReplyDeleteThis cake is delicious! I used can crushed pineapple in mine. I also cooked the caramel sauce too long and it was super thick and didn't soak in. But it was still perfect! I used the caramel sauce as the middle layer and it was so yummy! It was like a caramel candy layer, not hard but creamy and sticky!
ReplyDeleteI made this a second time - the first time tasted great, looked like a disaster. The second time, I wrote down the ingredients/measurements and prepped before starting. The cake was a masterpiece and was the MOST delicious cake ever. Everyone raved about it! It was work, but well worth it.
ReplyDelete