Layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (easy!)

Carrot cake layered with cream cheese frosting

5 from 1 vote

Layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (easy!)

A moist, rich 4-layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Baked on sheet pans with minimal skill required.

Cook Time15

Making & assembly1 30

Total Time1 45

Servings:

Calories: 632kcal

Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (8.75 ounces)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt

WET INGREDIENTS

¾ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cup brown sugar (8.75 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups shredded carrots (10 ounces, about 4 medium)
¾ cup finely chopped dates optional, or swap in ½ cup raisins

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 cups butter room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar (12 ounces)
⅓ cup buttermilk powder usually found in baking aisle
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
12 ounces cream cheese (cold)

TOPPING

2 cups pecans

Instructions

PREPARE INGREDIENTS

Shred fresh carrots. Wash the carrots, but no need to peel them. Shred on a box grater, but do not wring out water. (store-bought pre-shredded carrots are dry and hard and not great for carrot cake).
Chop dates into pieces the size of raisins. Dates will stick to your knife and each other, clumping in the batter, which you do not want. To fix that, you'll toss them in flour as you cut them. Grab an extra ½ cup of flour and put it on a plate or bowl. As you cut the dates, put them in the flour and toss around. The extra flour in the batter won't be a problem.
Preheat oven to 350° with a rack set in the middle for baking.
Prepare your baking pan(s). Use a metal 18"x13" pans or rimmed baking sheet, or two metal 9x13 pans / rimmed baking sheets. See note for more options. Grease the baking pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. (The goal is to very easily release the cake from the pan and paper).
Note: I like 2 smaller pans so that they fit on my cooling racks easier. If you don't have an 18x13" cooling rack, consider using 9x13's to fit on regular sized racks.

MAKE THE CAKE

Get out two bowls: a medium one for dry ingredients and a large one for wet ingredients.
In the medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
In the large bowl, whisk together the first 4 wet ingredients: sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla (not the carrots or dates yet!). Stir until it's a smooth consistency.
Add the dry-ingredient bowl to the wet ingredients, and fold in with a spatula. Fold until just combined, avoiding overmixing which can cause the cake to be tough. Then add in shredded carrots and dates, folding them in just until they are evenly(ish) distributed.
Transfer the batter to the greased-parchment lined baking sheet(s). Spread until even and smooth on top.
Bake for about 15 minutes. The center should be firm. An instant read thermometer will read 210℉ when done.
Cool on a wire rack. When the cake is done, flip it upside down onto a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Then flip it again onto a second rack (it will be less fragile after a short cooling period) so it is right side up. Let cool completely (about 30 minutes.

MAKE THE FROSTING

Prepare ingredients:
- use room temperature butter: if you forgot to take it out of the fridge, cut it into ½" cubes and let rest for 30 minutes to soften. Do not microwave. I've found salted and unsalted butter to work.
- use cold cream cheese. Cut them into about 10 cubes, and return to fridge if not using right away.
- use buttermilk powder (not liquid buttermilk)
In a stand mixer, beat butter, sugar, buttermilk powder, vanilla and salt on low speed. Beat until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed, so the ingredients are well incorporated.
Add cream cheese, one cubed piece at a time, on medium-low speed (slightly faster than before). Adding in small amounts helps it incorporated more evenly. Mix until smooth, about 2 minutes.

TOAST PECANS

Finely chop the pecans, then toast in a pan until fragrant. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

ASSEMBLE THE CARROT CAKE

To build the cake, you want to assemble it on a surface that you can easily move it from when done. I like to make it on a fresh sheet of parchment paper on top of a rimless cookie sheet. When done, you'll slide it off onto your serving tray, cake stand, or container for travel.
Move the cooled cake to a cutting board, facing right side up, and cut into 4 even rectangles. Make sure you cut through the parchment paper too.
For the bottom layer, remove the parchment paper and place it on your cake-making surface right side up. Spread ½ - ⅔ cup of frosting over the top, depending on how thick you want the frosting.
Layer 2: pick up the next layer and flip it upside down on the previous layer, then remove the parchment paper. This helps even out the shape of the layers. Cover with another ½ - ⅔ cup of frosting.
Layer 3: remove the parchment paper and place right side up on the cake. Add more frosting.
Layer 4: flip the last layer upside down on the cake. This gives your top a nice, flat surface (since the bottom side is flat, and the frosting fills in any gaps between the layers).
Finish frosting: frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. You should have plenty. If cake crumbs start to get into the frosting, you have 2 options:
1. Ignore it, because you'll cover the sides and top with pecans anyway.
2. If not using pecans (or you want to be Pinterest worthy), spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake, then put it in the fridge. The frosting will harden up, then take it out and finish frosting with a thicker layer - the crumbs will stay put. This is called a crumb coat.
Add nuts: grab a handful of pecans and gently press into the side of the cake. The frosting needs to be soft (room temp-ish, not fresh from the fridge or they won't stick). Continue until the cake is covered.

STORE IN FRIDGE

Store the cake in the fridge until ready to serve (you can remove it 30 minutes early if you want). Cream cheese frosting is not shelf stable, so you want to keep leftovers refrigerated.

Notes

Baking pans & sizes:

Use metal baking pans. Glass and ceramic heat much slower and will also dry out the edges.
I use rimmed baking sheets, often two 9x13's. They can placed side by side in the oven and rotated half way through. If one is placed above the other, be sure to switch racks half way through.
You can also use three 8" square or 9" round pans. The batter might be thicker in the 9" round pans and take a little longer to cook.

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Nutrition