Wow Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
After years of trial and error, this cake is finally perfect!
I have been developing this Carrot Cake for nearly 40 years by using my family as Guinea Pigs and my trusty Presto Salad Shooter. The Salad Shooter was given to me in 1983 by the best cook ever – my maternal grandmother. I now only use it to grate the carrots for this special cake a couple of times per year.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a salad shooter from the 80’s
A food processor or grater will work just fine for your carrots. Click this link to see the food processor I just love and use every single day:
A few unexpected ingredients elevate this from just a typical carrot cake
My husband always says the one thing he would never like to be in my kitchen is a citrus fruit. That’s because I grate the heck out of citrus in almost everything I cook, and this cake is no exception. A hint of orange adds a flavor depth and just elevates this from a typical carrot cake.
And the icing is a Nothing Bundt Cake Hack. Here is how to get the effect:
This decadent frosting has brown sugar in it to take it to the next level. Put frosting in a piping bag with a large 1/2 inch opening tip. Frost the cake by starting near the bottom of the cake and making tubes from the outside into the center hole of the cake. This will allow the tubes at the bottom of the cake to be bulbous.
Extreme Carrot Cake
Equipment
- Pastry Bag
- Mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Tbs[ Orange Zest
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 8oz Can Crushed Pineapple in Juice
- 3 cups Shredded Carrots
- 8 ounces Cream cheese At room Temperature
- 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter Room Temperature
- 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar Make sure it's very fresh
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Agave Syrup
- 1 cup Pecan Pieces toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare bundt pan with Baker's Secret Spray
- Mix all dry ingredients and orange zest in large mixing bowl.
- Add oil, eggs and mix until blended either with stand mixer or hand mixer. Once mixed, add the pineapple and carrots and mix for 2 more minutes.
- Poor mixture into bundt pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cooking times will vary depending on your pan and oven. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, syrup and brown sugar until very smooth. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes so that the brown sugar won't be gritty.
- Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time until all is fully integrated and smooth.
- Put icing in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip. Ice cake forming tubes from the outside of the cake towards the center. Sprinkle generously with toasted pecans
Notes
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I thought it was “Nothing but Bundt” cake, so beautifully presented! I can’t wait to make it!
I love the look of their cakes, but like my recipes better. lol. I hope you try it and post me one of your beautiful photos!
Mmmm. Will have to play. Have to use gf. Love you!!!