I love carrot cake, I love the taste of the flavor packed cinnamon carrot cake paired with the cream cheese frosting. This cake has a buttermilk glaze that makes the carrot cake extra moist. If you’ve never had cake with buttermilk glaze, you’re in for a treat. Its thicker than a sugar syrup but not thick like a caramel sauce. It is thin enough to soak into the carrot cake when its piping hot.
When making the glaze, add in all ingredients at once. It will bubble up and then settle. This carrot cake recipe can be made without the glaze but the buttermilk glaze add a moisture and sweetness you don’t want to miss out on. This carrot cake recipe does not have nuts or raisins but feel free to add some of each if you’d like. My family doesn’t care for them in their carrot cake so I never add them in.
I added coconut chips to decorate the top of the carrot cake, I also added two buttercream carrots to the top.
Wait until the carrot cake cake with buttermilk glaze has cooled completely before adding the cream cheese frosting or it will melt.
Watch this video below to help you successfully execute this recipe. You can see the way the glaze should look, it might be a little darker but not much thicker. If making two 8 inch round carrot cakes, you may want to double the glaze recipe. Too much buttermilk glaze can also make a soggy carrot cake so be careful.
Carrot cake with buttermilk glaze
Ingredients
Carrot cake
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups shredded carrots
buttermilk glaze
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp butter unsalted
- 1/2 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
cream cheese frosting
- 8 oz Cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted softened
- 4 cups Confectioners powdered sugar
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together eggs and both sugars in a large mixing bowl with a whisk.
- Add vanilla extract and cinnamon and mix again until combined together.
- Next, add in sour cream, buttermilk and oil. Mix together until completely combined.
- In a seperate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add flour mix into large bowl with wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- With a spatula, mix in grated carrots. Make sure to peel carrots before they are grated.
- Place parchment into a 9 X 13 baking pan. Pour in carrot cake batter. Bake on middle rack for 35- 45 minutes. If you test the cake, a toothpick may have some small crumbs but the cake should not cave in when you touch the center.
- Remove carrot cake from oven to await the buttermilk glaze.
Buttermilk Glaze
- Immediately after cake is baked, cook the buttermilk glaze.
- On the stovetop, in a medium pot, add in all ingredients, sugar, buttermilk, butter, baking soda, corn syrup and vanilla. turn heat on to medium. bring to a low boil for 3 to 4 minutes stirring occasionally. The glaze will bubble up with the heat, soda and buttermilk activating. The glaze will turn a light amber color, remove from heat. the bubbling will subside and leave a syrupy glaze.
- Pour directly over the hot cake. don't pour it all in the center of the carrot cake, distribute evenly over the entire top and use a rubber spatula to spread it out if needed.
- Allow glazed cake to cool completely before icing with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mix softened butter in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed.
- Add in cream cheese and mix until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. scrape down sides and mix one more time to ensure no butter clumps.
- Add in powdered sugar and cover mixer tightly with a kitchen towel. once powdered sugar is completely mixed in, turn up mixer to medium high for two minutes. Spread on cooled carrot cake.
- Store cake, covered in refrigerator for a week or on counter for two to three days covered.