After a fabulous workshop in Paris with Joann, Elise and Eva, and our amazing guests, I was happy to come home to super hot summer weather in Sweden (still going strong!). I decided to make one of my favorite cakes for the workshop, my carrot cake.
I know, I’ve posted it before but it’s just so insanely good so no harm in posting it again. This time with the addition of lime in the cream cheese frosting and a salted caramel sauce. Let me tell you, it’s so so good!? I love this combination so much.
You wanna know a little secret? The cakes came with me to Paris all the way from Sweden, in my checked bag by the way. Obviously not the assembled cake with frosting, that would be a very bad idea. But still! It’s the second time I try it and it works like a charm. I know it sounds crazy to do this as I had access to a fabulous kitchen in Paris, but I just like to be prepared and I find it difficult to bake in a new kitchen. Perhaps that should be my next blogpost, how to bring cake on a flight? 😉
CARROT CAKE WITH LIME CREAM CHEESE FROSTING & SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE
Yields one cake, serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
CAKE
- 150 g (1 1/4 stick) salted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 135 g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 110 g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 180 g (1 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
- 250 g (about 1 3/4 cups grated) carrots, finely grated
- 150 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp.) apple sauce
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 150 g (1 1/4 stick) softened unsalted butter
- 110-150 g (3/4 – 1 cup) powdered sugar
- 200 g cream cheese
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla bean powder
- zest from 1 organic lime
CARAMEL
- 110 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 50 g (3 tbsp.) salted butter, in small cubes
- 75 ml (1/3 cup) heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
INSTRUCTIONS
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour two 6-inch (15 cm) cake pans.
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
- Beat eggs and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the melted butter and stir until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then gently stir dry mixture into the batter until just smooth. Add grated carrots and apple sauce and stir until combined. Divide batter between the two cake pans.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. Bake in the lower part of the oven for about 40-43 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
FROSTING
- Beat butter and powdered sugar (start with the smaller amount and add more if needed) until pale and fluffy. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat until just smooth. Stir in the grated lime zest.
- If the frosting seems soft, place the bowl in the fridge while you prepare the next steps.
CARAMEL
- Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium to high heat until the sugar starts melting around the edges. Turn the heat down to low and stir gently with a wooden spoon until sugar is completely melted and golden brown. Be careful not to burn the sugar! Stir in the butter, piece by piece, stirring between each addition.
- Little by little and very slowly pour the cream into the saucepan with the melted sugar and butter (it will bubble up so make sure to be careful as this stuff is hot!). Add the salt and stir until smooth. Pour the caramel into a heat proof bowl and let cool completely.
ASSEMBLY
- Cut both cake layers in half with a serrated knife so you get four cake layers.
- Put the first cake layer on a cake board or directly onto a plate or cake stand. Spread a layer of frosting on the first layer. Repeat this until you’ve used up all layers.
- Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. Place the cake in the fridge for a while if it seems unstable.
- Pour the caramel sauce over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Top with fresh berries if desired.
when do you add the flaky salt to the caramel sauce?
Thanks for the heads up! The salt is added at the very end 🙂
What size cake pans are you using here? Thank you.
Hi Heidi! SOrry for my late reply! The pan is 30 cm long, 11 wide at the top and 7 cm tall 🙂
This is an absolutely delicious cake and was a big hit with all my friend. Very moist and the caramel was a wonderful addition to it. I love your website and all your cakes. I have made many of them and everyone raves how great “my cakes”are. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for leaving a comment Nina! It totally made my day 🙂
“How to bring cake on a flight?” I do want to know it! Please share that soon 😉
and you are absolutely right, your carrot cake is insanely good, simply perfect! Now I need to try the lime cream cheese frosting
Haha, maybe I’ll write a post about that one day 😉 Lime cream cheese frosting is like the best thing ever!
Hi!
How big were the cake pans you used? I have to try this gorgeous cake!
Hi!
Which size were the cake pans you used? Have to try this! ?
The pans are 15cm in diameter 🙂 The edge is perhaps 7 cm tall!
This looks gorgeous! Can’t wait to try it! I amnot a very experienced baker and found this cake recipe that I am determined to make for a party. I just wanted to ask, can I top the frosted cake with the caramel sauce ahead of time (couple of hours)? Or should the caramel be drizzled at the last minute?
I just want to know if the caramel effects the cream cheese frosting? Thank you so much!
Hi Bell! Thank you so much 🙂 As long as the caramel isn’t hot when you pour it onto the cake, it shouldn’t affect the frosting. It might harden a little bit though but it’ll still taste great!!
Hi Bell I like to ask if the cake can be made a day in advance? If so do I need to store it in the fridge before bringing it to the celebration location? Apoligies i am still new to baking. Thanks.
Hi Dorothy! I’d recommend storing the cake in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting 🙂 Buttercream is a little bit more forgiving!
Hi after i stired in apple juice and carrot the batter coagulated. I made two batches and happened in both:/ what made it wrong?
Thanks:)
Hi Maja!
Did you use apple juice, or apple sauce as stated in the recipe? 🙂 If you used apple juice, that could be the problem. It can also happen if you stir in for example apple sauce that is very cold into the batter. All ingredients should be about the same temperature, so bringing ingredients to room temp before baking is a good idea! With that said, sometimes it still bakes up beautifully! Hope that helps!
Hi!
This cake sounds absolutely lovely! I’m making it for my husbands birthday this weekend. Just one question, is light brown sugar the same as light muscovado sugar or is it “farinsocker”?
Thanks for all your amazing recepies! You’re my number one go-to blog when it comes to cake. I’ve been making them for years and they always turn out sooo good and beautiful!
Hii Lotta! You could use either, but I tend to prefer light muscovado sugar 🙂
Also thank you sooo much for your kind words! <3