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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Servings: 1 loaf
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 8x4 inch loaf pan with baking spray and parchment paper (you can use a 9x4 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.