gluten free, browned butter, carrot cake + vanilla cream cheese icing
with easter just around the corner i thought it was about time that i shared a layered carrot cake. i know nothing more cliche than a carrot cake at easter but every good food blog has to have their own version of a carrot cake at easter right?! this cake has actually been through a couple of different styles, from bundt, to cupcakes to this final version (that i love the most) a layered cake.
this carrot cake is nicely spiced and the addition of the browned butter gives the cake the most lovely nutty flavour along with all of the spices. if you are not a fan of cloves, they can be over powering to some you can leave them out. i have used both pecans and walnuts in this cake and both are yummy, you could also add raisins if you like i prefer my carrot cake without them.
there is something so visually stunning about all kinds of baking styles but my heart always beams the most when you put that final finishing touch on a beautiful layer cake. as you can probably see from the cakes on my journal here my most favourite type of decoration is flowers. they have such a delicate natural beauty about them which I believe shines even more when placed on top of a gorgeous cake.
right now spring is just finally starting to bloom here on the west coast. filled with fragrant cherry blossoms and all the magnolias, from shades of pretty ombre pinks to full bodied whites. the streets and park ponds are littered will all the falling petals, it is really quite dreamy. i know i talk of my love for winter all of the time, the grey clouds and stormy rainy days but i do have quite the fondness for spring as well. the air just feels so fresh and clean and earthy and full of new possibilities.
paul and i will be having a quiet easter weekend. i will be out at the quail (aka charlotte & the quail) for a couple of days and sunday i think i will make us a roast dinner. easter weekend to me always feels like the one long weekend of the year to kinda putz around, spend some time in nature, roaming beaches and mountain side hikes, eating meals filled with all the glorious sprouting greens that so magically appear this time of year and just taking some time to be thankful for the abundance of beauty nature so elegantly bestows upon us.
i hope you all have the most lovely of easter weekends, do try and get outside, take some deep breaths, show your gratitude and just simply take in the moment xx
gluten free, browned butter, carrot cake + vanilla cream cheese icing
ingredients
3 cups all purpose *gluten free flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/2 cups maple syrup
3/4 cup browned butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
vanilla cream cheese icing
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 cups cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp vanilla
directions
preheat the oven to 350. grease and flour 3 - 9 inch cake pans.
grate the carrots and chop the walnuts or pecans, set aside.
in a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together, mix and add in the grated carrots and chopped nuts, mix throughly. set aside
in a sauce pan on medium heat add the butter and simmer until browned.
in a medium size bowl add the eggs and whisk, then add in the maple syrup, buttermilk and vanilla, whisking until incorporated. slowly whisk in the slightly cooled browned butter. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients mixing completely.
pour the batter into the three cake pans and bake for 22-27 minutes. or until a toothpick comes out clean.
icing
to make the icing cream the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer. once creamed add in the vanilla and icing sugar, mix until incorporated. adding more icing sugar if you would like the icing thicker. keep the icing in the fridge until it is time to ice the cake.
let the cake cool completely before icing each layer and the top and sides.
notes:
i used a premixed gluten free flour (from charlotte & the quail and nourish, which you can actually buy online here). it is a tested blend of sorghum flour, oat flour and tapioca flour and it is the best gluten free flour i have ever used. so if you are looking for something similar i would source out one with those ingredients or just buy it online!