Carrot Cake with Chai-Flavored Cream Cheese Frosting

  5.0 – 1 reviews  • Carrot Cake Recipes

My neighbors served as my test subjects as I tried out several different marinades for chicken, and this one was unanimously hailed as just delicious, hence the moniker.

Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Additional Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs
Servings: 20
Yield: 1 9-inch layer cake

Ingredients

  1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
  2. 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  3. 2 teaspoons baking soda
  4. ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  5. ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  6. ½ teaspoon salt
  7. 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
  8. ¾ cup olive oil
  9. ½ cup applesauce
  10. ½ cup white sugar
  11. 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  12. 4 large eggs
  13. 3 cups grated carrots
  14. 1 cup raisins
  15. ½ cup unsalted butter
  16. 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  17. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  18. ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  19. ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  20. ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  21. ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  22. ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  23. 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
  24. 2 tablespoons toasted chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
  2. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, and salt together in a medium bowl.
  3. Whisk brown sugar, oil, applesauce, white sugar, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Switch to a large rubber spatula and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, gently stirring until incorporated and batter is smooth. Stir in carrots and raisins. Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes. If you find that a cake layer is stuck to the bottom of the pan, leave the cake pan upside down and allow gravity to do its thing.
  5. While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
  6. Transfer browned butter to a bowl. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until desired taste and consistency.
  7. Frost cooled cake with cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 398 kcal
Carbohydrate 56 g
Cholesterol 62 mg
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Protein 4 g
Saturated Fat 7 g
Sodium 248 mg
Sugars 43 g
Fat 18 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Kim Taylor
Absolutely love this recipe combo and it’s very easy to make. At first I thought the cake and frosting might compete for flavor but they blended beautifully, definitely a recipe I’ll make again and again. The only change I made is instead of olive oil I used Smart Balance cooking oil. As a first timer I was afraid to go with the olive oil but next time I will make sure to use it. Definitely a recipe well worth giving a try. NOTE: In the step by step directions I noticed the vanilla extract was not mentioned, just remember to add it in when mixing together the wet ingredients.

 

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