Have you ever seen something so delightful?!
It seemed like everyone was making carrot cake this year for Easter. Maybe it’s like the unofficial dessert of spring…or Easter? IDK…I actually used to stay away from carrot cake when I was younger because they typically have nuts in them and I was note terribly fond of nuts in my baked goods. I have since realized that nuts are almost always optional, haha. I have also realized that nuts don’t always bother me. The kind of and the size tend to be the biggest factor in whether or not I will enjoy it. Like pralines which area basically only nuts and sugar are so delicious but please do not give a piece of banana bread with huge chunks of walnuts in it. Actually, maybe I hate walnuts?? Ah well, something to explore some other time.
True story. I didn’t actually embrace carrot cake until I went to taste cakes for my wedding. The bakery we worked with made a carrot cake and I was hooked, like seriously I didn’t understand why I hadn’t tried it before hooked. We ended up using it as one of the three (yes, three!!) cakes that went into our wedding cake that was shaped like the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, it was pretty epic. So anyway let this be your sign, if you haven’t been sure about carrot cake go and try it. You might love it.
You’ve probably noticed that this cake is much lighter than the versions you have seen out there. This really is an easy cake and it doesn’t have anything but the carrot going on. You could certainly add in other ingredients (nuts, raisins, pineapple) but I wanted to make it the way it was shared with me. The embellishment I made was adding in the yummy butterscotch drizzle on top. A cream cheese icing is a must with carrot cake and sure I could have stopped there but I honestly had this itch to add something even more decadent, butterscotch was the perfect match.
If you are looking for something this spring or whenever (who says carrot cake is a spring thing anyway?) this is definitely one you should put on your list. Also, I rarely make cakes cause they legit stress me out but I am starting to dig this whole homey and rustic cake making biz. Hopefully you enjoy it as well!
Easy Carrot Cake with Butterscotch Drizzle
Ingredients
- Cake
- 2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Cups sugar
- 1 Tsp. baking powder
- 1 Tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tsp. salt
- 1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp. ground ginger
- 3 Cups shredded carrots
- 1 Cup oil
- 4 Eggs
- Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 Oz. Cream cheese softened
- 1/2 Cup unsalted butter at room temp
- 3 Cups confectioner sugar
- 1 Tsp. vanilla
- Dash of salt
- Butterscotch (from Just a Taste)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon large-flake salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
- In a medium bowl mix together sugar, oil, and egg. Fold in the carrot until mixed in.
- Add carrot mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined and no flour pieces are visible.
- Divide batter between two cake pans and bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
- Allow cakes to cool in the fridge for an hour or overnight.
To making icing
- Combine cream cheese and butter in mixer and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add in confectioner sugar and mix until you reach the right consistency, if needed add in more sugar.
- Mix in vanilla and salt and set aside.
Butterscotch Icing
- Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat.
- Add the brown sugar, salt and heavy cream and stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until it’s well blended. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping down the sides occasionally, and boil it for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the butterscotch sauce to a container to cool.
Assembly
- Once cakes are cooled even out layers by trimming off any cake on the top that will make it level.
- Spread cream cheese icing on top of one of the cakes, top with the second cake.
- Spread cakes with the cream cheese icing so that you do not see cake through the icing. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to let cakes set.
- Using a squeeze bottle or spoon, drizzle the warm butterscotch over the cake to create a drip effect.
- Decorate with any other details you’d like!
