Carrot cake with cream cheese and salted caramel. A cake that signals the arrival of autumn as it makes the most of the carrots and the last zucchini of the season. Moist, full of taste surprises and contrasts. No one can resist it.
I don’t really know how to describe this recipe. Is it just another carrot cake? Yes it’s another carrot cake. But it is so unique, with a rich cream cheese filling, and surrounded by salted caramel. It’s a cake worth making to celebrate the coming of autumn.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RECIPE
If you ask me if it is an easy recipe I will tell you without a second thought that yes it is an easy recipe. It may seem like a hassle, but it really isn’t. But let’s take things in order. We have three things to make. The cake, the buttercream and the salted caramel.
THE CAKE
The truth is that the cake needs quite a few ingredients, thirteen to be exact. But what can I skip? The cornflour makes it fluffier. The cinnamon gives it an incredible aroma. The carrots, together with the zucchini, give it a moisture that almost makes it syrupy. And the raisins together with the walnuts are wonderful crunchy surprises in every bite. So if you put all these ingredients on your counter, weighed and as they should be, then making the cake is a piece of cake. Just remember that after you bake the cake you should let it cool well (it will take about two hours) and then cut it horizontally.
THE BUTTER CREAM
After we’ve let our cake cool down, it’s time for the buttercream. The preparation of which is very simple. You will only need three ingredients; butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. If you want to avoid powdered sugar, you can reduce it by 2-3 tbsp. and add an equal amount of cornflour.
THE SALTED CARAMEL
Leave the salted caramel for the end. Making salted caramel takes a little care when adding the ingredients to the pot. The large temperature difference will create an explosive situation, so be careful!
THE INGREDIENTS OF THE RECIPE
So if I’ve convinced you, you’re one step away from the ultimate cream cheese and salted caramel carrot cake then grab paper and pencil for the supermarket list:
- all purpose flour, cornflour
- baking powder, baking soda & salt
- granulated sugar and powdered sugar
- cinnamon
- carrots and zucchini
- walnuts and raisins
- sunflower oil
- eggs
- butter, cream and cream cheese
Seemed like a lot, huh? Yes they are, but the result will reward you!
Why do we add zucchini?
As you will see in the list above, I have also written zucchini. And that’s because zucchini give a cake incredible moisture without altering the taste. If for any reason you don’t want to add it then you can replace it with an equal amount of carrot.
Carrot cake with cream cheese and salted caramel
Equipment
- 2 23 cm round cake pans
Ingredients
- 300 gr all-purpose flour
- 50 gr corn flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 380 gr carrots, grated in the blender
- 130 gr zucchini, grated in the blender
- 85 gr walnuts, finely chopped
- 70 gr raisins, soaked in water
- 400 gr granulated sugar
- 190 gr sunflower oil
- 4 eggs
For the frosting
- 350 gr cream cheese
- 150 gr butter
- 200 gr powdered sugar
For the salted caramel
- 100 gr granulated sugar
- 45 gr butter, room temperature
- 60 gr heavy cream, room temperature
- ½ tsp thick salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease two 23 cm round cake pans.
- Add hot water and raisins to a mug. Soak them for ten minutes and then drain them.70 gr raisins, soaked in water
- In a bowl, add together the flour, cornmeal, cinnamon, baking powder, soda and salt and set aside.300 gr all-purpose flour, 50 gr corn flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp salt
- In a second bowl, add the carrot, zucchini, chopped nuts and raisins. Mix well.380 gr carrots, grated in the blender, 130 gr zucchini, grated in the blender, 85 gr walnuts, finely chopped, 70 gr raisins, soaked in water
- In the bowl of the mixer, add the sugar together with the sunflower oil and beat until they are homogenized. Add the eggs one by one and continue beating until the mixture becomes even smoother.400 gr granulated sugar, 190 gr sunflower oil, 4 eggs
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl of the mixer and mix gently with a spatula. Once the mixture is homogenized, add the carrot mixture. Mix gently until well combined.
- Divide the mixture equally into the pans and bake for 40-50 minutes. To check if it is baked, pierce the cake with a knife until the knife comes out clean.
- Let them cool for 15 minutes and then take them out of the pans and leave them on a wire rack to cool. It will take about 2 hours.
For the frosting
- Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue beating until the frosting becomes velvety.350 gr cream cheese, 150 gr butter, 200 gr powdered sugar
For the salted caramel
- Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown liquid as you continue to stir.100 gr granulated sugar
- Once sugar is completely melted, add the butter. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.45 gr butter, room temperature
- Stir the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted, it will take from 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then, very slowly, add the heavy cream and keep stirring. Be careful once again while adding the heavy cream since the heavy cream is colder than the caramel and this will have as a result a bubble mixture. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute.60 gr heavy cream, room temperature
- Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 teaspoon of thick salt. Allow to cool down before using.½ tsp thick salt
For the cake
- Cut the two cakes in half, horizontally. On the plate where we are going to serve our cake, place a spoonful of the buttercream and spread it so that the cake sticks and does not slide. Place the first cake layer and spread about 1/4 of the buttercream. We continue with the rest. Reserve about 1/4 of the buttercream and spread it on top and around the cake. Pour the salted caramel over the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator and let it cool well for at least 1 hour.
So this is my salted caramel cream cheese carrot cake. Rich taste, moist texture and playful contrasts. These characterize every bite of the ultimate carrot cake of the season.
I would be thrilled to hear from you. Even more, if you make my recipe and post a photo of it. Just don’t forget to share your photo under the hashtag #tetisflakes. Please do not hesitate to comment below or contact me on Instagram, or Facebook or Twitter!
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