Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 55

Servings: servings

Calories: 459kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Adorable one-layer carrot cake with nutty, cozy, fruity flavors and covered in cream cheese frosting

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Equipment

1 9 x 13-inch cake pan
1 small skillet or saucepan
1 stand mixer or hand mixer
2 mixing bowl
1 whisk
1 silicone spatula or kitchen spoon
1 offset spatula optional
2 piping bag or ziploc bags

Ingredients

For the Cake

½ cup raisins
½ cup water
3 large carrots
½ cup unsalted butter
5 eggs at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup crushed pineapple drained
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup walnut pieces

For the Frosting and Decoration

2 cups powdered sugar sifted
6 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter melted
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup walnuts chopped
orange food coloring optional
green food coloring optional

Instructions

Prep the Ingredients: Add raisins and water to airtight container, seal, and set aside to rehydrate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour your cake pan, and set it aside.
Use a box grater or food processor fitted with the shredding disc to grate the carrots, then spread them out onto a paper towel to soak up excess moisture.
½ cup raisins, ½ cup water, 3 large carrots
Brown the Butter: Add butter to a small skillet or saucepan (preferably with a light colored bottom) over medium heat, and allow it to melt. Cook the butter until it is golden brown with a toasted, nutty aroma (about 4-5 minutes), gently stirring every minute or so. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
½ cup unsalted butter
Make the Batter: Use stand mixer or hand mixer to beat together the eggs and sugars until uniform. Add in browned butter, vanilla paste, and crushed pineapple, and stir until combined.
5 eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, ¾ cup crushed pineapple
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Add in the walnuts, grated carrots, and drained raisins, and stir until they are coated in the flour mixture.
*Coating the mix-ins in the flour mixture helps them distribute evenly through the cake batter.
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 cup walnut pieces
Bake the Cake: Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined with no dry pockets remaining. Do not overmix the batter.
Spread it into the prepared baking pan and transfer the pan to the upper rack of the preheated oven to bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Make the Frosting: While the cake cools, use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth and fluffy (about five minutes). Chop the walnuts and set aside.
Optional: Divide about ⅓ cup of the frosting into two smaller bowls and mix a few drops of green food coloring into one and orange food coloring into the other to achieve your desired shades.
2 cups powdered sugar, 6 ounces cream cheese, ¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, orange food coloring, green food coloring, 1 cup walnuts
Decorate the Cake: Once fully cooled, turn the cake out of the pan, and spread the uncolored frosting all over the cake in an even, smooth layer. Gently press the chopped walnuts into the sides of the cake.
Use piping bags or ziploc bags with the corners snipped off to little carrots on the top of the cake, then serve.

Notes

Modifications

Instead of walnuts, you can use pecans. Sliced almonds will also work well for the decoration step, but I don't recommend adding them to the cake batter.

You can use these same ingredient proportions to make 24 cupcakes or 12 jumbo muffins.

Storage

Store the cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it moist and soft. Keeps for up to five days.

To freeze the unfrosted cake, cool it to room temperature, then wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and transfer to the freezer. To freeze the frosted cake, first refrigerate it overnight to let the frosting firm, then wrap it with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and transfer it to the freezer. With either option, the cake keeps for up to three months.

Nutrition