A Deliciously Decadent Toffee Carrot Cake Recipe | Layered Spice Cake & Toffee Cream Cheese Frosting
Have you ever had a dessert that was sweet, warm, and comforting; it felt like an indulgent hug? That's the experience I get every time I bite into my signature Toffee Carrot Cake recipe. Three soft sponge layers of spice-filled carrot cake sandwich a creamy layer of toffee cream cheese frosting with an apricot jam center, all topped with more frosting and cake crumbs for added sweetness and crunch. The scent alone is enough to make your mouth water! Every forkful exudes flavor from nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, all blended together to create what many have called the most delicious carrot cake they've ever tasted. If you've been searching for an irresistible treat that will please any crowd at any special gathering, this divine recipe should do the trick. Read on for my special recipe so you can make this delicious confection yourself tonight!
With many variations, carrot cake has been beloved for generations. We now know this delectable, moist dessert as one that is filled with flavor and spice and can be found in all sorts of creative forms- from a classic recipe to my modern rendition. I’ve come to the conclusion that this centuries-old tradition is one of those unique desserts that will never go out of style! Whether you enjoy traditional recipes passed down by family or prefer some new twists, there’s certainly something here for everyone. So go ahead and give my carrot cake recipe a try, I promise you won’t be disappointed! Though its origins are mysterious, this delicious dish will always remain an integral part of our culinary history. Who knows? Maybe you’ll become the next in line of people discovering their own favorite ways to enjoy carrot cake.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The flavors are spicy and classic.
You can quickly adapt the recipe by adding raisins or reducing the spice level to your liking.
The toffee cream cheese buttercream is the perfect pairing for the carrot cake sponge layers, and I could eat the frosting on everything.
A Deliciously Decadent Toffee Carrot Cake Recipe | Layered Spice Cake & Toffee Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Spray and line three 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.
- Grate 1 cup of carrots, which is about two carrots, and add it into a bowl with the shredded coconut and raisins, if using. If using raisins, let them steep in hot water for 10 minutes to get plump, then drain.
- Put the egg yolks, light brown sugar, cane sugar, vanilla bean seeds, avocado oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and applesauce into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and blend on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, add all the dry ingredients, including the ground shortbread cookies, blend to combine, and then add to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix to combine.
- Take the egg whites, place them into a mixing bowl, and whip them with a hand whisk until soft peaks form. Set aside.
- Add the grated carrots, coconut, and optional raisins to the bowl of your stand mixer and fold in.
- Thoroughly but gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter and divide the batter among the three prepared cake tins using a standard-size ice cream scoop.
- Bake the cakes on the middle rack of your oven for 30 minutes or until the center of each cake sponge springs back when gently pressed.
- Once baked, immediately transfer each cake upside down onto some plastic wrap and wrap each one up tightly while maintaining the round shape of the cakes. Do this with oven gloves and flip the pans upside down onto the plastic wrap. If you prepared your pans correctly, the cakes should release quickly.
- Place the cake sponges onto a couple of sheet pans and freeze for at least one hour, ideally overnight, two days before serving the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Break up the shortbread cookies and set them aside. You will mix these into the cake crumbs after they have cooked.
- Add all the cake crumb ingredients to a bowl and combine.
- Add more oil as needed until the cake crumbs hold their shape when you squish some between the palms of your hands.
- Create different-sized crumbs by squishing and stirring the mixture and then placing it onto a sheet pan. There will be some tiny pieces as well. This is normal.
- Bake it in the oven for exactly 12 minutes. It will still be soft and look undercooked when it comes out of the oven, but let it sit until cooled, and it will harden perfectly.
- Once completely cooled, mix the broken pieces of shortbread cookies and set the mixture aside.
- Place the butter into a pot and bring it to a gentle boil. Turn the heat down to medium and continue whisking until tiny bubble form all over the top of the butter. Keep the heat steady; eventually, the butter will foam and return to those tiny transparent bubbles. At that point, the butter should be browned and smell nutty. If it smells burnt, it was browned for too long. Take it off the heat and place it into a heat-safe bowl as soon as possible. Do not forget to scrape out the delicious bits from the bottom of the pot from the browned butter. Cover and refrigerate until soft, like at room temperature.
- Place the butter into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and turn on medium speed. Next, add the room-temperature cream cheese, followed by the powdered sugar. If you prefer a thicker frosting, now is the time to add more powdered sugar, but I find four cups sufficient.
- Place the buttercream into a piping bag and begin assembling the cake.
- Day One: Place a small amount of the buttercream onto the middle of a cake plate and place the first frozen cake layer down. The cake will adhere to the frosting and not move.
- Place an adjustable cake ring over the first cake layer and wrap a piece of baker's acetate sheet between the cake ring and the outside of the cake. As you build the cake, this will form your cake into a nice tall and neatly layered one.
- Tighten the cake ring, so it forms flush with the first layer of cake, and start building the rest.
- Pipe a ring of buttercream against the outside of the top layer of cake, followed by half of the apricot jam in the center, and then sprinkle on 1/3 of the cake crumbs.
- Place another cake layer on top and repeat step 4 one last time.
- Place some of the leftover buttercream frosting over the very top of the cake and sprinkle on some more cake crumbs as decoration.
- Refrigerate overnight with the cake acetate and ring still attached. The cake will defrost ideally overnight, and you can remove the acetate the next day before serving.
- Day Two: Remove the cake ring and acetate from the cake.
- Dip the back of a spoon in some hot water and wipe dry.
- Use the back of the spoon to smooth the frosting around the cake anywhere where the acetate might have pulled it up a bit.
- You can serve the cake immediately or place it back in the fridge until you eat it.
Notes
Butter: Salted European butter is always a superior variety. I never use unsalted butter, even in desserts.
Frozen Cake Layers: I always work with frozen cake layers and build my cake the day before planning to eat it. Working with frozen cake layers makes the process ten times easier and eliminates most, if not all, cake crumbs.
Spices: This is a spice cake, and if you prefer subtler spices in your cakes, add half the amount listed in the ingredients.
Measurements: This cake will eventually be converted to grams.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
700.39Fat
37.38 gSat. Fat
18.16 gCarbs
87.41 gFiber
2.59 gNet carbs
84.79 gSugar
53.49 gProtein
7.11 gSodium
554.81 mgCholesterol
78.37 mgPlease note that the nutritional information on this website is calculated using online tools and may need to be more accurate. Use it as a rough guide only. We cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by relying solely on this data. You are responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information you use is accurate and useful. For more information, click here.
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