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moist brown butter carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
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Brown Butter Carrot Cake With Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache

This brown butter carrot cake is incredibly moist, lightly spiced & topped with a whipped cream cheese vanilla frosting. It's easy to make & perfect for all occasions.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time45 minutes
Assembly1 hour
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Baking, Dessert
Cuisine: American, European
Servings: 12 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • 2 8" Round Baking Tins
  • Stand Mixer
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Box Grater
  • Microplane/Grater
  • Sieve
  • Wire Cooling Racks
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Palette Knife
  • Cake Stand

Ingredients

Soaked Raisins (For The Carrot Sponge)

  • 200 g Raisins
  • 60 ml Rum (Or Boiling Water - See Notes)

Carrot Cake

  • 125 g Unsalted Butter
  • 325 g Grated Carrots (Grated Weight - Roughly 4 Big Carrots)
  • 200 g Dark Brown Sugar
  • 150 g Caster Sugar
  • Zest Of 1 Orange
  • 70 g Vegetable Oil
  • 200 g Sour Cream (Room Temperature)
  • 3 Large Eggs (50g Each Out Of The Shell)
  • 325 g Plain Flour
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
  • 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Ground Ginger
  • ¼ tsp Ground Allspice
  • ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg (Freshly Grated Is Best!)
  • 1 tsp Table Salt

Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache

  • 2 Gelatine Sheets
  • 800 g Double Cream
  • 150 g Unsalted Butter
  • 80 g Golden Syrup (Or Light Corn Syrup)
  • 1 Vanilla Pod (Or 2 tsp Of Vanilla Paste)
  • A Pinch Of Sea Salt
  • 300 g White Chocolate
  • 450 g Cream Cheese (Full Fat)

Crystallised Walnuts (Optional - For Topping)

  • 75 g Walnut Halves
  • 50 g Caster Sugar
  • 1½ tbsp Water

Cinnamon Sugar Carrots (Optional - For Topping)

  • 2 Large Carrots
  • 1 tbsp Caster Sugar
  • ¼ tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

Soaked Raisins

  • Add the raisins into a bowl then pour over the rum. Give the raisins a stir so that they're all covered then cover with clingfilm & leave to soak overnight. Drain the raisins the next day, just before making the cake batter.

Carrot Cake

  • The next day, brown the butter. To do this, chop the butter into evenly sized pieces then place into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat & allow to melt, stirring regularly with a spatula. Keep cooking, until the butter starts to foam, smells nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown.
  • Once cooked, transfer the brown butter to a bowl then set aside, to cool.
  • Next, peel the carrots, trim the ends off then grate using the fine side of a box grater. Weigh out 325 grams of grated carrot then spread out onto a baking tray lined with kitchen paper. Leave to drain for 30 minutes, whilst the butter cools.
  • In the meantime, preheat an oven to 175°c/155°c fan (347°f/311°f). Grease 2, 8 inch round cake tins with butter then line just the bases with a disc of baking parchment. Set aside for now.
    Make sure to give your oven plenty of time to preheat. The cake batter is quick to make!
  • Next, add the brown sugar & caster sugar into a large mixing bowl then grate the orange zest in. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
    This step releases the oil from the zest into the sugar, adding more flavour!
  • Add the cooled brown butter into the sugar, along with the vegetable oil then whisk by hand, to combine. Add in the sour cream & eggs then whisk again, until smooth & incorporated.
  • Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and the spices into a separate bowl then add in the salt. Whisk by hand (with a clean whisk!) to distribute the raising agents & spices evenly through the flour.
  • Add the dry ingredients into the batter then whisk gently by hand, until mostly combined. Some streaks of flour are fine at this point, they'll be mixed in when we add in the carrots & raisins.
    Make sure not to over mix the batter, as this will make the cake tough!
  • Add the grated carrot & drained raisins into the batter then use a spatula to gently fold in. Any streaks of flour should be mixed in now as well.
  • As soon as the batter is mixed, equally divide it between the lined tins then bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
    The bicarb will start to react as soon as the batter is mixed, so the cakes need to go into the oven straight away! If you'd like to weigh the batter into the tins, each one should have around 850g in.
  • Once the cakes are baked, let them cool in the tins for 20 minutes. Then run a small, sharp knife around the edge of each tin before turning each cake out onto a wire cooling rack. Carefully remove the parchment then leave to cool until just slightly warm.
    Place the cakes top side down onto the cooling racks. This will give the cakes a flatter top!
  • Once cooled, wrap the cakes in clingfilm then chill in the fridge overnight.
    Wrapping the cakes up when they're still slightly keeps them moist. Chilling them makes it easier to cut them in half when we assemble the cake.

Crystallised Walnuts

  • If you're making the walnuts to go on top of your cake, it's best to do them straight after making your cake, whilst your oven is still on. To do this, place the walnuts onto a baking tray then bake at 175°c/347°f for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.
  • Once toasted, set the walnuts to one side. Line another baking tray with baking parchment then set aside as well.
  • Next, place the sugar into a medium sized frying pan then drizzle over the water. Set the pan over a medium heat, cook until the sugar has dissolved then add in the toasted walnuts.
    Try not to stir the sugar too often, as it dissolves.
  • Cook the walnuts, stirring frequently until the sugar has crystallised. This will take around 3-4 minutes & the nuts will have a snowy white coating when ready.
  • Once cooked, tip the crystallised almonds onto the lined baking tray then leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container until you assemble the carrot cake.

Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache

  • Fill a bowl up with cold water then add in the gelatine leaves, one at a time. Leave to soak whilst you warm up the cream.
  • Add the cream, butter, golden syrup, vanilla pod & salt into a large saucepan then set over a low heat & warm, stirring frequently until the butter has melted & the cream is steaming hot. But not boiling! If you take the temperature of the cream, it will be around 80°c/176°f when ready.
    If using a pod, scrape the seeds out then add both the pod & seeds into the cream.
  • Whilst the cream is warming, chop the white chocolate into small pieces (no bigger than 1cm) then place into a heatproof bowl.
  • Once the cream is hot, take the pan off the heat. Squeeze as much water as possible from the soaked gelatine sheets then add into the cream & stir to dissolve. Remove the vanilla pod now as well (if using).
  • Next, pour the cream over the chocolate, let it stand for 2 minutes then use a spatula to gently stir the cream & chocolate together until melted & smooth, starting from the middle, working outwards.
  • Once the chocolate has melted, add in the cream cheese then use a stick blender to blend it into the ganache. The mix may look split at first but keep blending & it will come together, to make a smooth, shiny ganache.
  • Transfer the ganache to a shallow dish, cover the surface with a piece of clingfilm then chill in the fridge until set. This will take at least 8 hours but overnight is best!
  • Just before assembling the carrot cake, transfer the ganache into the bowl of a stand mixer then use the whisk attachment to mix on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes until it's light & fluffy and has reached medium peaks.
    The whipped ganache should have the texture of softly whipped cream. Be careful not to over whip it! It might look runny at first but keep whisking & it will turn into a fluffy frosting.

Assembly - Layers & Crumb Coat

  • Unwrap the cakes then use a sharp serrated knife to cut each sponge in half, so that you end up with 4 layers. Or if you'd prefer, use a cake leveller cutter tool. Stack the layers up separated between parchment paper as you cut them.
    Once cut it's best to flip the top layers of cake upside down, as this will give us a flatter surface for the frosting.
  • Next, spread a small amount of ganache onto the middle of a serving plate/cake board then place a layer of cake on top. The ganache stops the cake from sliding around. If you've got one, place the plate onto a turn table with a non slip mat underneath.
  • Add 2 generous spoonfuls of whipped ganache on top of the cake layer then use a palette knife to spread it out into an even layer that reaches the edge of the sponge.
  • Place another cake layer on top of the whipped ganache then repeat the cake & ganache layers twice more. You'll end up with 4 cake layers & 3 frosting layers.
    Make sure to stack the sponges up straight otherwise you'll have a wonky cake!
  • Next, spread a thin layer of ganache onto the outside & top of the cake, to make a crumb coat. This doesn't have to be neat, it's just gives us an even surface to spread on the rest of the frosting. At this point, it's best to chill the cake in the fridge for 1 hour, to let the ganache firm up slightly.
    Pop the remaining whipped ganache in the fridge whilst the cake chills. Let it sit out for 15 minutes before using for the final layer.

Cinnamon Sugar Carrots

  • If you're making the cinnamon sugar carrots, make them whilst your cake chills. To do this, first peel the carrots then trim the tops off. Run your peeler down the length of each carrot, to make thin ribbons. Turn your carrot a quarter turn every 2-3 ribbons so that they're all roughly the same width. Stop peeling once you reach the core.
  • Place the carrots onto a tray lined with kitchen paper then set to one side. Line another tray with kitchen paper then set aside as well.
  • Next, preheat a deep fat fryer to 180°c/356°f. Whilst the oil's heating up add the sugar & cinnamon into a small mixing bowl then stir to combine.
    If you haven't got a deep fryer, carefully warm a pan of oil up on the stove.
  • Once the oil is hot, carefully add the carrots in then fry for 1-2 minutes until crisp & golden. Once cooked, let any excess oil drain off the carrots then transfer to the kitchen paper lined tray.
    To avoid over crowding the fryer, you'll need to cook the carrots in batches. Use a pair of tongs to separate the carrots as they cook, to stop them sticking together. Be careful not to over cook the carrots as they'll turn bitter.
  • Transfer the carrots to a mixing bowl then sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar, tossing to evenly coat. Leave to cool completely before using.

Assembly - Coating & Decorating

  • Spoon the remaining whipped ganache on top of the cake then use a palette knife to spread it all over the sides & top, in an even layer. I like to use a palette knife to make some decorative swoops on the outside of the frosting.
  • Now you can decorate your carrot however you like! The way I like to do it is by placing the walnuts around the edge of the top of the cake then pile the carrots in the middle.
  • Once assembled, serve the carrot cake straight away or store in the fridge for up to 3 days. It's best to serve the cake at room temperature. If it's been in the fridge, cut a slice then leave to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
  • For the cleanest slices, the best way to cut the cake is to use a large knife that's been dipped in warm water & dried between cuts.

Notes

1. To Cook In An Aga - Bake the carrot sponges on a grid shelf placed onto the floor of the baking oven, with a cold plain shelf slid 2 sets of runners above. Use the simmering plate to warm the cream for the ganache.
2. Soaked Raisins - I like to soak my raisins in a spiced rum but you could use whiskey or brandy instead. For an alcohol free option, use boiling water or black tea instead.
3. Carrots - The amount of carrot in the sponge is the weight once they have been grated. You'll around 4 large carrots for the cake batter but make sure to weigh them out!
4. Room Temp Ingredients - When you make a cake batter, it's best to use room temperature eggs & sour cream, as they'll mix into the batter more evenly. I'd recommend letting the sour cream sit out for 30 minutes before using. If your eggs have been in the fridge, do the same.
5. Decorations - You can decorate your carrot cake however you like! The cinnamon carrot crisps will start to go soft after a day or so. If you're planning on assembling the cake ahead of time, it's best to cook the crisps just before serving or make them then store in an airtight container.
6. Storage & Serving - As this cake is coated in cream cheese, it needs to be stored in the fridge. However, carrot cake is best served at room temperature, so make sure to let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. If you're not serving the whole cake, cut slices off, let them sit out but put the rest of the cake back in the fridge.