Ingredients
Scale
For the Carrot Cake:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (313 g)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened (140 g))
- 1 cup granulated white sugar (200 g)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (110 g)
- 3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk (at room temperature (180 ml))
- 2 cups finely grated carrots (at room temperature (220 g))
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened (224 g))
- 8 oz cream cheese (cold (226 g))
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar (325 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Orange and green food coloring
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture, mixing until smooth. Fold in grated carrots.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-54 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Whip butter until pale and fluffy. Add cream cheese and mix until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing until light and fluffy.
- Divide frosting into two bowls and color one orange and the other green.
Assembling the Cake:
- Frost the cooled cake with cream cheese frosting.
- Pipe mini carrots onto the cake with orange frosting, adding green stems with the green frosting. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and serve!