Carrot Cake Loaf With Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

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Perfectly spiced carrot cake with toasted pecans and swirls of rich, brown butter cream cheese frosting—it’s so light and moist, the ultimate spring or fall dessert!

‘Tis the season for all things carrot cake! Whether it’s spring or fall, carrot cake is one of those warm and comforting desserts that’s perfect for any time of year. My ideal carrot cake is moist, tender, and light, with a perfect balance of spices, carrots, and pecans. No need for pineapple or coconut—we’re keeping things simple!

I’ve been on a bit of a journey with this recipe—I swear I’ve tested it no less than five times to find that perfect cake texture (I think my family is sick of carrot cake at this point, tbh). The method for this recipe is very similar to my zucchini bread, since it requires no mixer, but the recipe includes sour cream in addition to shredded carrots for a balanced and tender crumb that’s perfectly moist.

What You’ll Need

  • Vegetable oil. No need for butter—the carrots and spices will carry the flavor on this one. Vegetable oil contributes a wonderful moist texture.
  • Granulated sugar.
  • Dark brown sugar. You can substitute dark brown sugar with light brown sugar and a bit of molasses. If you don’t have molasses, no worries—just use an equal amount of light brown sugar for dark.
  • Eggs. To bind ingredients together.
  • Sour cream. This is the biggie—sour cream adds such a tender texture to the final baked loaf. If you need to, you can substitute with Greek yogurt (make sure it’s plain)!
  • Vanilla extract.
  • All-purpose flour. For structure.
  • Baking soda and baking powder. To leaven the cake.
  • Kosher salt.
  • Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. These spices will really enhance the warm flavors of the cake and carrots.
  • Grated carrots. You’ll need around half a pound before peeling and grating.
  • Pecans. Optional, but highly recommended (pro tip: toast the pecans before using in the recipe)!
  • Unsalted butter. For the frosting.
  • Cream cheese.
  • Vanilla and salt. To balance and enhance flavors.
  • Powdered sugar. To thicken and sweeten the frosting.

How to Make Carrot Cake

  • Grate the carrots and toast the pecans. Freshly grated carrots are key here—pre-shredded carrots will have the opposite effect than fresh and will make your cake dry.
  • Make the batter. First, you’ll whisk together the eggs, sugars, oil, and vanilla until well combined, then you’ll add the sour cream and carrots. Dry ingredients and pecans are mixed in last to make a relatively thin batter, then you’ll bake!
  • Make the frosting. After making the brown butter, let it solidify in the fridge (this step can be done in advance). Once that’s done, whisk it with the softened cream cheese, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar to make your frosting!
  • Decorate and serve. Simply swirl as much frosting you want on top of the cooled cake and enjoy.

How to Make Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

First off, what is brown butter? Well, it’s basically just butter that’s been toasted—when you cook butter past its melting point, water evaporates and allows the milk solids to toast (these are the dark brown spots you see after browning it), which gives it its distinct smell and flavor. For this recipe, we’ll make the brown butter and put it in the fridge to solidify before using it in the frosting. It sounds more difficult than it is, I promise! Here are few tips:

  1. Use a light-colored pan. This way, you’ll be able to tell when your butter is done cooking.
  2. Cook on medium-low heat. A steady and low heat will let your butter cook evenly and prevents it from burning.
  3. Have an extra bowl on hand. Once the butter is done cooking, you’ll want to pour it into a bowl immediately—if you leave it in the hot pan, it will continue to cook and will burn!

Carrot Cake FAQ

  1. How to store leftovers? Since this carrot cake has cream cheese frosting, you’ll need to keep it in the fridge. To store, place the cake in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.
  2. Can I bake it in a 9×5 loaf pan? You can, but the resulting loaf will be flatter, and you’ll need to bake the cake less.
  3. Can I omit or substitute the pecans? If you don’t like pecans, feel free to omit them! I know a lot of people like to add coconut or pineapple to carrot cake, but I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe—I haven’t tested it, but the extra liquid from the pineapple would make the cake too dense and stodgy.

Leave any questions or comments down below—happy carrot cake baking!

xoxo

Carrot Cake Loaf With Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Perfectly spiced carrot cake with toasted pecans and swirls of rich, brown butter cream cheese frosting—it's so light and moist, the ultimate spring or fall dessert!
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Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf
Author: Mae Martin

Ingredients

For the cake

  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar*
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or ¼ teaspoon Morton's
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1¼ cups freshly grated carrots, not packed
  • ½ cup toasted pecans

For the frosting

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • To brown the butter, add the unsalted butter to a small nonstick pan and melt over medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture foams and begins to toast. Once the butter begins to smell nutty and turn golden-brown, immediately scrape it into a separate bowl. Set in the fridge to cool and solidify as you make the cake.
  • Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line an 8×4 inch loaf pan with baking spray and parchment paper (you can use a 9×4 loaf tin, but the resulting cake will be flatter). Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until evenly combined. Set aside.
  • Place the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. With a hand mixer or whisk, vigorously whisk the ingredients until well combined and smooth, around 2 minutes.
  • Add the sour cream and grated carrots to the whisked sugar mixture and mix. Fold in the dry ingredients and toasted pecans until combined, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Bake the carrot cake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
  • In the meantime, make the frosting. Once the brown butter has solidified to a malleable texture, place it into a bowl with the cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar, then mix until a thick frosting forms. If it is too stiff, add milk to thin. If too thick, add more powdered sugar.
  • Once the cake is completely cool, remove it from the tin and swirl the cream cheese frosting on top before slicing.

Notes

*Can substitute dark brown sugar with ¼ cup light brown sugar mixed with ½ tablespoon molasses. If you don’t have molasses, regular brown sugar will do.