Easter is almost upon us, and that means it’s time to make Carrot Cake! I think the Easter Bunny herself/himself would enjoy this amazingly delicious Carrot Cake with Caramel Spiced Pecans…Santa gets cookies, so I’m thinking the Easter Bunny gets Carrot Cake, just sayin’. The spices in the cake and from the pecans are perfectly complimented by the cream cheese buttercream frosting, plus, you get the wonderful crunch from the pecans!
Truth be told, I have been a little busy lately and decided to make a Petite version of Carrot Cake (aka using one bowl to make the batter and only making one layer) and then after making the cake and frosting it, I looked over to see a bowl of Caramel Spiced Pecans that I had made and added them as a topping and this marvelously delicious take on Carrot Cake was born.
This may be my new favorite cake…yeah, that’s saying a lot! To make this cake you’ll need one batch of caramel spiced pecans from this post.
Ingredients
- -For the cake-
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 1/2 large carrots shredded
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- -For the Frosting-
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- -Topping-
- 1 Cup Caramel Spiced Pecans-
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. To make the cake simply put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then shred the carrots into the bowl, mix, then add the eggs and oil and stir. Spray a springform pan with cooking spray, spread the cake batter evenly and bake for 30 min. Remove from oven, allow to cool before frosting.
- For the frosting make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature (otherwise you'll get clumps in the frosting) then beat it with a hand mixer with the vanilla until smooth, then add in the confectioners' sugar and beat until everything is combined.
- Spread the frosting over the cake, then sprinkle with the pecans and enjoy!
Update: I made this cake again for Easter a year later and doubled the recipe to make it a two layer cake
And I took some pictures of a really cool way my mother cuts cake. She cuts a circle in the middle of the cake and then cuts little pieces around it. This method of cutting allows for uniform pieces of cake and allows one to get many more pieces of cake
huntfortheverybest says
it’s perfect for spring!
Sweetphi says
Thank you! It IS perfect for spring 🙂
Ashley says
So many good lookin’ carrot cake recipes lately! This sounds sooooo good – especially with those caramel spiced pecans!
Sweetphi says
Thanks for the comment Ashley, the spiced pecans really add a beautiful layer of flavor, and I completely agree-I have seen so many beautiful carrot cake recipes lately-perfect in time for Easter, right? 🙂
Megan | Country Cleaver says
Serve me up a slice of THATTTTTTT!!!!!!
Sweetphi says
THANKS for commenting Megan…that cake, boy-oh-boy, I would like a slice right about now 🙂
tea says
I had a piece of this and it was AMAZING! Then i went back and ate another lol. Thanks 🙂
Sweetphi says
YAY! So glad you liked it…and thanks for commenting!!!
cheri says
Another great recipe, always look forward to your post Sweetphi, Happy week-end!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Cheri!!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend as well 🙂
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
Carrot Cake makes me so happy this time of year, and I love that you dress it up with these tasty pecans. Since it’s petite, I can have two slices right?
Sweetphi says
haha, you can definitely two slices since it’s petite 🙂
Andrea Rentea says
I loved this delicious cake. All the pieces were very quickly gone. Especially the crispy crun
ch pecan on top with the very delicate carmel taste, plus the incredible icing. It will definitely be an Easter favorite of ours.
Sweetphi says
Yay! Thank you for the compliments and comment, totally made my day!!