This is the shot of ingredients for the cake itself. Including the glaze and frosting ingredients in one shot would have been too many so we split it up :-). If you need to leave out the coconut or pecans or pineapple due to allergies or taste preferences, it will be fine. Using all three is better, but any two of them will work out well.
These are the glaze ingredients. Yes, there are three distinct components of this recipe, but the extra effort is work the effort and the glaze makes the cake super moist and adds a shot of flavor.
The frosting includes cinnamon in the frosting and it contributes to the rich overall flavor of this carrot cake recipe.
Carrot cake is my favorite kind of cake, I actually had it at my wedding ages ago when it was not at all typical for weddings. Although it was good, it was not as fabulous as this one. I discovered this one in Bon Appetit many years ago and haven’t made a different one since. Every single bite is full of flavor and sweetness. With the glaze, it’s always moist, never dry.
Looking for a cake recipe, but not quite this one? How about one of these?
- Chocolate Espresso Cake
- Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Gingerbread Cake with Warm Lemon Sauce
- Olive Oil Cake
- Rum Cake
Carrot Cake with Buttermilk Glaze and Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 3 8" or 9" cake pans
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp cinnamon ground
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2¾ cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1â…› cup buttermilk
- 1â…› cup vegetable oil
- 1½ tsp vanilla
- 3 cups carrots peeled and grated
- 2¼ cups coconut flaked
- 12 oz crushed pineapple in juice
- 1½ cup pecans coarsely chopped
Glaze
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons vanilla
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup pecans coarsely chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour 3 round cake pans.
- Cake: Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat sugar, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Beat in dry ingredients. Fold in carrots, coconut, pineapple with juice and pecans. Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake 20-25 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven. Let cakes sit for 5 minutes or so before removing from pans. Using a bamboo skewer, poke deep holes all over cake rounds.
- Glaze: While cake is cooking, bring first 5 glaze ingredients to boil in large saucepan. Boil until glaze is a light amber color. Glaze will thin out when almost done. Remove from heat; mix in vanilla. Spoon hot glaze evenly over warm cake. Cool cake rounds completely.
- Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon; beat until blended. Frost cake and decorate as desired.