An Easy Browned Butter Carrot Cake Recipe that’s moist and full of flavor and will make the perfect centerpiece for your Easter dinner table!
Browned butter and carrot cake make an unbelievable pair. What I love about this cake is that the ingredients are uncomplicated, no nuts or raisins to turn anyone against it, yet it packs so much flavor that it’s sure to impress the most die-hard carrot cake lover. In this recipe, the batter is made completely in one mixer bowl, no egg whites to fold in or ingredients that need beaten separately. Also, the carrot cake layers are sturdy yet oh so moist which is an absolute must. This is the perfect Easter Cake Recipe!
Any holiday cake should be quick and easy to throw together and should look clean, simple, and beautiful on your dinner table! When I’m decorating a cake for a special event such as Easter, I like to keep things simple. Nothing impresses guests more than a dessert that looks clean, crisp, and professional with a few tasteful decorations! Mini Cadbury eggs add the perfect Easter touch!
Using Browned Butter for your Carrot Cake
If you have never browned butter, consider this your call to action! It really is like a magic trick, you throw some butter in a pan, let it cook for a bit, and you end up with a kitchen that smells divine and an ingredient that can elevate just about any recipe. Sally’s Baking Addiction has a great tutorial if you’re new to the process or need a refresher. Your Browned Butter Carrot Cake will require 1 cup total for the cake and buttercream, which you can make with two sticks of butter. You’ll want to make it first thing then stick half in the refrigerator to chill and solidify for the buttercream. Add the browned butter to the cake batter while it’s still a liquid.
Making Sure your Cake Layers Don’t Stick!
You’ll notice when you make your browned butter carrot cake batter that it’s a very wet batter, which is what helps us get a nice and moist final cake. However, you definitely want to make sure that you’re preparing your cake pans properly so your layers don’t stick and fall apart when you take them out of the pans. The easiest and most effective way to prevent this is to first spray your cake pans with cooking spray. Next, cut out three parchment circles about 7 inches in diameter and set them in the pans. Then spray the parchment circles with more cooking spray.
When you go to take the cakes out of their pans, first run a butter knife along the edges of the cake to release the cake from the pan. Then gently flip the cakes onto your hand, peel away the parchment, and gently flip them back onto the cooling rack. Tada!
Decorating your Browned Butter Carrot Cake
Dollop about a cup of buttercream in between the layers of cake as you stack them. You can use an angled spatula or a butter knife to gently push the icing out from the center towards the edges of the cake. Get at eye level with your cake to see if you have an even layer of buttercream, then add the next layer.
I always crumb coat my cake before icing and decorating it. This simply means I put a very thin layer of icing on my cake and then pop it in the freezer for fifteen minutes. The crumb coat method traps crumbs so that they don’t show up in your final layer of icing. In addition, it firms up the cake making it easier to ice.
Apply the final coat of buttercream with either an angled spatula or a butterknife. I start by icing the top, making it nice and smooth, then begin adding icing to the sides. Use a bench scraper (I love this one because the handle is even with the blade and the edge is nice and sharp) or angled spatula to smooth out the sides, but leave the top rim of the cake jagged to create a “live edge” look!
To finish up, you can either leave the top smooth or pipe swirls along the outer rim. Add mini Cadbury eggs and your done!
Enjoy watching your family dig in and enjoy this beautiful dessert! I hope you’ll love it as much as we do!
Browned Butter Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 4 cups (480 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 3 1/2 cups (700 g) Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 4 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Zest of one Orange
- 2 cups Shredded Carrots
- 3 cups (720 grams) Warm Water
- 1 cup (240 grams) Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup (109 grams) Canola Oil
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) Browned Butter
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 6 eggs
- For the Buttercream:
- 2 cups (360 grams) Vegetable Shortening
- 1 stick (113 grams) Butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) Browned butter, chilled until solid
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 lbs Powdered Sugar
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 335 degrees and prepare three 8-inch cake pans by spraying them with cooking spray, lining the bottom with a parchment circle, and spraying the parchment with cooking spray.
- For both the cake and the buttercream, you will need two sticks, or one cup, of browned butter. Make the browned butter first and place 1/2 cup in the refrigerator to chill for the buttercream.
- Start by combining your dry ingredients. Add Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and orange zest to a large mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until they are well combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the warm water, shredded carrots, sour cream, oil, browned butter, vanilla and eggs. Allow to mix for a couple of minutes, until the eggs are broken and well incorporated with the other ingredients.
- Dump the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl all at once, and begin mixing on low speed for about 30 seconds. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, then continue mixing on medium speed for another 30 seconds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Each pan should be about 2/3rds full and you should use about 3-3.5 cups of batter per cake layer. You may have a little batter left over, do no overfill your cake pans.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake springs bake when you press it with your finger. To test with a Thermapen: The middle of the cake should read 200-210 degrees with an internal thermometer.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then flip them out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.
- For Buttercream: Place the butters, shortening, cream cheese, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium high speed for five minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the powdered sugar and beat for three more minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through. This recipe makes enough buttercream to fill, ice, and pipe the cake.
