Layered Carrot Cake Recipe | Dairy Farmers of Manitoba

Carrot Cake

Prep Time

25 min.

Cook Time

20 min.

Serving Size

12 servings

This is everything you expect out of carrot cake – moist, dense, infused with a warm spice flavour, and layered with a classic whipped cream cheese frosting!

Ingredients

CAKE

½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (125 mL) Canola oil
1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
¾ cup (175 mL) granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla extract
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1 ½ tsp (7 mL) cinnamon
½ tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
½ tsp (2 mL) baking soda
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
2 ¼ cups (560 mL) all purpose flour fluffed and levelled
3 cups (750 mL) grated carrots
1 cup (250 mL) chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 ¾ cups (425 mL) powdered sugar
¾ cup (175 mL) 30-35% whipping cream, cold
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

Directions

Cake

1.	Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Lightly butter three 8″ round cake pans and dust with flour, tapping pan so that all excess flour is removed.
2.	In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and beat until completely combined. Add vanilla and buttermilk and beat on low speed until smooth.
3.	Continue by adding baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed until smooth. Add flour and stir just until no visible streaks of flour remain. Stir in carrots and nuts (optional).
4.	Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes before removing from the pans. Once 10 minutes pass, transfer the cake layers to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1.	In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add cream and vanilla and beat on low speed until incorporated. Turn the mixer to high and beat until light and fluffy and thickened (it should be spreadable). Adjust sweetness to taste.
2.	Divide cream cheese frosting between cooled cake layers to assemble. Top cake with frosting and additional chopped nuts or decorate as desired.

Tips

Use freshly shredded carrots.
Freshly shredded carrots have more moisture and better flavour than pre-shredded.
The extra moisture makes for a better texture!
Grease and dust the pans.
A light layer of oil and a dusting of flour makes it so much easier to remove the layers from the baking pans.
Cool the cake completely.
Make sure the cake is completely cool before you frost it.
A warm cake will just melt the frosting!