aka Carrot Cake with Rum Soaked Raisins and Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
1/2 Cup Raisins
3 Tbsp Rum
1 Cup Walnuts (chopped)
1 lb Carrots (peeled and shredded)
1 Cup Buttermilk (room temp)
2 1/2 Cups All purpose flour
2 tsp Ground cinnamon
2 tsp Ground ginger
1/2 tsp Grated nutmeg
Cardamom
2 tsp Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking soda
4 Eggs (room temp)
1 Cup White sugar
3/4 Cup Brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 Cup Vegetable oil
Frosting
8 oz Cream cheese (room temp)
1 Stick Butter
1/2 lb Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Milk
Instructions
Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 and line two 9-in round cake pans with cooking spray and parchment paper.
Heat the raisins and rum together in a small pan on the stove until warm. Remove from heat and allow to sit until the rum is absorbed. Toast your walnuts in the oven until fragrant but not burned and set aside to cool. Combine the butter milk and shredded carrots in a bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugars, and vanilla on high speed. Beat until light in color and thick. Reduce the speed and slowly drizzle in the oil.
Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the carrot mixture (beginning and ending with the dry). Be sure to reduce the speed each time you add the dry ingredients. After each addition mix until combined. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.
Pour equal amounts and batter into both cake pans. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes (rotating half way through) or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
Set the pans on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pans and then tips the cakes out onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
Frosting
Brown the butter and allow to cook until opaque and room temp.
Beat together the browned butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Pour in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Then mix on high until fluffy.
Add vanilla and milk if needed. Beat on high until incorporated.
Keep the frosting cold in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Assembly
Once the cakes are completely cool, place one cake on the serving platter or a cake stand. Top the cake round with about two thirds of the frosting. Set the next layer of cake on top of the frosting and make sure the sides are even. Place another third of the frosting on top of the cake and spread until even. Optionally, reserve some frosting for decorative piping.
Store the cake in the fridge.
Notes
Original cake recipe can be found here. I changed a few things and you can change the spices as you see fit.
Original frosting recipe is from Claire Saffitz book Dessert Person but I don't have the book so I stole it from her video about carrot cake. I made a half batch of the frosting and went light on the powdered sugar.
According the the recipe this cake serves 12, I served roughly 20 people with it.
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