Carrot cake has to be the number one answer to the question, What is your favorite cake flavor?! And this recipe for a Naked Carrot Cake will leave you with all of the tools to make the perfect version. Layers of moist carrot cake dotted with walnuts and covered in a layer of delicious cream cheese frosting.
This is the perfect recipe for a birthday cake or any other special occasion. You can choose to decorate it with flowers, like I have, or cover it in white chocolate truffles or edible carrot decorations.
If you love layered cake recipes, you have to try this recipe for a Lotus Biscoff Cake, this recipe for a Churro Cake, or this recipe for Naked Chocolate Cake.
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Ingredients
To make this Naked Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Make sure you are always using fresh, room-temperature ingredients when baking.
- Muscovado sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Sunflower oil
- Extra-large eggs
- Self-raising flour
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Walnuts
- Dried cranberries
- Carrots
- Vanilla extract
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Cream
- White chocolate
- Food coloring
Muscovado sugar - for this recipe, I used a combination of muscovado and light brown sugar. I love the deep caramel flavor of the muscovado and the color it adds to the cake layers. You can choose to use brown sugar instead of the combination.
Sunflower oil - use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil to make this recipe, such as sunflower oil or canola oil.
Extra-large eggs - I use extra-large eggs when baking; the weight of my eggs out of their shell is about 56 grams, so you can work out how many eggs you will need based on this.
Self-raising flour - Use self-raising flour or cake flour combined with baking powder to make this recipe.
Ground spices - I love the combination of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for carrot cakes. Feel free to use the same or your own combination of spices.
Cream - Use heavy cream or whipping cream for the white chocolate drip.
White chocolate - For this recipe, I used Milkybar. You will need plain, good-tasting white chocolate without a creamy center.
Food coloring - You can choose to use a combination of pink and white food coloring as I did, or pick your own combination. It's up to you! You can also skip the food colouring and leave the drip its natural cream colour.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Naked Carrot Cake
To make this naked carrot cake recipe, follow the instructions below. First, you will be making the cake layers, then the cream cheese icing, and then decorating the cake.
Instructions for cake layers
STEP 1: Heat oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 3 x 15cm (6-inch) cake tins with oil and parchment paper.
STEP 2: Beat oil, eggs, and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the oil, eggs, and both sugars. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined, for about 3 minutes.
STEP 3: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix at medium-low speed until just combined.
STEP 4: Add shredded carrots, vanilla, cranberries, and nuts. Add the grated carrots, vanilla, and chopped walnuts to the cake batter. Mix at low speed until combined, be sure the ingredients have mixed through, but do not over-mix the batter.
STEP 5: Bake. Pour the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans and bake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
STEP 6: Cool. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 30 minutes, then remove them and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge overnight. Make the frosting the next day.
Instructions for cream cheese frosting
STEP 1: Beat butter and sugar. Add the butter and icing sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
STEP 2: Add the cream cheese and vanilla. Add the room temperature cream cheese and vanilla to the frosting mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again until light and fluffy. This can take about 5 - 7 minutes.
STEP 3: Fill a piping bag. Add the just-mixed frosting to a piping bag. Now you are ready to decorate.
Instructions for decorating
STEP 1: Level cakes. Remove the cake layers from the fridge and discard the plastic wrap. Use a bread knife to cut the tops off the cake layers so they are straight.
STEP 2: Layer cakes. Secure one cake layer on a cake plate with a little frosting, smooth a layer of frosting over the surface of the cake layer, and place the second layer on top. Continue with the final layer of cake.
STEP 3: Frost the sides. Pipe a thin layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake, and use a cake scraper to smooth out the sides of the cake. Scraping off the excess frosting to reveal the cake underneath, creating a naked carrot cake effect. Place the cake in the fridge for one hour.
STEP 4: Make the drip. Add the chopped chocolate and cream to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds at a time until the chocolate has just melted. Be sure to stir the mixture between each interval.
STEP 5: Pour the drip. Once melted, stir thoroughly and allow the melted chocolate mixture to cool and thicken slightly if needed. Add the food coloring and stir to combine. Use a jug or teaspoon to help create the drips down the sides of the cake.
STEP 5: Decorate. Allow the chocolate drip to set before adding flowers or candies to the top of the cake. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: For lump-free frosting, always use room temperature butter and cream cheese.
Variations
If you don't feel ready to make your own chocolate drip, you can either leave this step out, decorate the top of the cake with flowers, or opt for a plain finish. And if you are feeling brave and would like to learn how to frost the sides and top perfectly, then read this post on How to Make a Baby Shower Cake for Boys.
Equipment
To make this cake, you will need an electric stand mixer or hand mixer, 3 round cake pans, a cooling rack, a disposable piping bag, and a cake scraper.
Storage
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Make sure this is out of direct sunlight. If it is particularly hot, choose to store the cake in the fridge rather.
To freeze this cake, cut it into individual slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the fridge overnight, then bring the slices to room temperature before consuming.
Top tips
Making the chocolate drip can be tricky, so follow the helpful tips below for the best results.
- Heat the mixture slowly, at 15 to 30-second intervals, and stir between each one.
- Make sure the cake is chilled before adding the drip; if the cake is warm, the drip might run too far down.
- Check the consistency of the drip before pouring it onto the cake; be sure it isn't too warm and isn't going to just run down the sides of the cake too quickly.
- Make each drip vary in length for the perfect-looking naked carrot cake.
- Add small quantities of food coloring until you have achieved your desired color.
FAQ
My best advice is to make sure you don't have crumbs all over your workbench. Keep your counter clean and use a pastry brush to dust off excess crumbs where you have leveled the cakes.
Yes, the eggs I have used weigh about 56 grams out of their shell. Weigh the eggs you have and adjust accordingly.
Yes, you can use what you have and even bake this as a larger two-layer cake. Depending on the size of the cake pans you have, you will need to adjust the baking time. Just remember, large cake tins need less baking time.
I hope you give this Naked Carrot Cake a try! It's a beautiful (and delicious) cake perfect for celebrations like birthdays, baby showers, bachelorettes, or even a wedding!
If you're after more carrot cake recipes, try out these Mini Carrot Cake Loaves or this delicious Spice Carrot & Pumpkin Cake.
If you make this delicious carrot cake, please don't forget to leave a comment and a star review below! I would love to see photos of your bakes, so please send me some cake pics on Instagram @with_love_kitty
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Naked Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 3x 15cm (6-inch) round cake pans
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 300 g muscovado sugar
- 300 g light brown sugar
- 600 ml sunflower oil
- 6 eggs extra large
- 600 g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 1 teaspoon ginger ground
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg ground
- 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 600 g carrots
- 200 g walnuts chopped
- 80 g dried cranberries
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 500 g powdered sugar
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 250 g cream cheese
White Chocoalte Drip
- 80 g chocolate white
- 20 ml cream whipping
- food coloring optional
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 3 x 15cm (6-inch) cake tins with oil and parchment paper.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the oil, eggs, and sugar. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined, for about 3 minutes.
- Sift together the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix at medium-low speed until just combined.
- Add the grated carrots, vanilla, cranberries, and chopped walnuts to the cake batter. Mix at low speed until combined, be sure the ingredients have mixed through but do not over-mix the batter.
- Pour the batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans and bake in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 30 minutes, then remove them and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge overnight. Make the frosting the next day.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter and icing sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the room temperature cream cheese and vanilla to the frosting mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again until light and fluffy. This can take about 5 - 7 minutes.
- Fill a piping bag. Add the just-mixed frosting to a piping bag, now you are ready to decorate.
Decoration
- Remove the cake layers from the fridge and discard the plastic wrap. Use a bread knife to cut the tops off the cake layers so they are straight.
- Secure one cake layer on a cake plate with a little frosting, smooth a layer of frosting over the surface of the cake layer, and place the second layer on top. Continue with the final layer of cake.
- Pipe a thin layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake, and use a cake scraper to smooth out the sides of the cake. Scraping off the excess frosting to reveal the cake underneath for a naked carrot cake effect. Place the cake in the fridge for one hour.
- Add the chopped chocolate and cream to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second intervals until the chocolate has just melted. Be sure to stir the mixture between each interval. Do not overheat.
- Once melted stir thoroughly and allow the melted chocolate mixture to cool and thicken slightly if needed. Add the food coloring and stir to combine. Use a jug or teaspoon to help create the drips down the sides of the cake.
- Allow the chocolate drip to set before adding flowers or candies to the top of the cake. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Use a pastry brush to dust off any loose crumbs from the cake layers before frosting.
- Heat the cream and chopped chocolate gently, otherwise the mixture could seize and you will have to stat again with fresh ingredients.
Robyn says
This recipe is delicious. I did a trial run for my wedding cake. I’d like to make it in advance . Can I bake & keep it in the fridge for a week prior to icing ?
Thanks
Cat Spiller says
Hi Robin! Oh my goodness how exciting, and I am so glad you loved this recipe! Ideally 3 days before the wedding, but a week is fine as this is an oil baed recipe. Just be sure to wrap the layers tightly in clingflim so that they don't absorb any odours from the fridge! Best of luck and let me know how it goes, I would love to see some photos 🙂
Mel says
This cake was delicious! And I learnt so much about how to decorate a naked cake, thank you!