The Budget Diet

A diet for your wallet...not your waistline!

carrot cake

Today is my birthday, and each year my husband bakes the best carrot cake ever!  It’s better than any bakery cake I’ve ever had!

He doesn’t mess with a fancy presentation, but you can easily add the frosting swirls like in the picture – no cake decorating skills required!  The trick?  After you’re done frosting the cake, save about 1/2 cup of frosting and put it in a zip top bag.  Cut a tiny hole in the corner and have fun squeezing the frosting into a swirly pattern on the top!

My Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe
4.7 from 3 reviews

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Recipe type: Cake
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
The glaze is what sets this cake apart…it’s almost like a thin caramel that soaks right in! Yummy!
Ingredients
  • Cake Ingredients:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 1, 8 oz. can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, drained
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
  • Glaze Ingredients:
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 T. light corn syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
  • 1½ sticks butter, room temperature
  • 11 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 box powdered sugar
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 1½ tsp. vanilla
Instructions
  1. Cake Instructions:
  2. Line the bottom of 3, 9″ round cake pans with parchment paper. Grease & flour the parchment paper & sides of pans.
  3. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl; beat eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla for 3 minutes on high.
  5. Add flour mixture and beat on low until combined.
  6. Fold in carrots, pineapple, coconut and walnuts.
  7. Pour batter into cake pans.
  8. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, prepare the glaze.
  10. Glaze Instructions:
  11. Bring sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, butter and light corn syrup to a boil over medium heat. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes.
  12. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
  13. Pour onto hot carrot cakes and let soak in for 10 minutes.
  14. Remove cakes from pan and cool completely on wire racks.
  15. Prepare cream cheese frosting.
  16. Frosting Instructions:
  17. Beat together butter, cream cheese,powdered sugar, orange zest & vanilla until smooth.
  18. Spread cream cheese frosting between layers and on the top and sides of the cake. Reserve ¼ cup of the frosting, and put it in a zip loc bag. Once the cake is frosted, cut a small hole in the corner of the zip loc bag and decorate the top of the cake with swirly designs…this will give your cake the professional bakery look!
Notes
recipe adapted from Southern Living.

When it comes to birthday cakes, The Budget Diet girls says, bake it…don’t buy it! Even better…ask your husband to make a homemade birthday cake every year! I promise, my husband is not a baker! In fact, he only works in the kitchen once a year…on my birthday!

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17 Comments

  • [...] My Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe | The Budget Diet [...]

  • Wrote on 14th Aug, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    [...] Carrot Cake [...]

  • Wrote on 14th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Happy Birthday!….and may I say….Yummy. I love carrot cake especially with pineapple and walnuts.

  • Kristl
    Wrote on 14th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    I you get a chance to bake it, please come back and rate it! I have a little side business baking carrot cakes for folks!

  • Wrote on 14th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Happy, Happy Birthday!!! This cake sounds incredible!!

  • Kristl
    Wrote on 14th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    I’ve experimented with a lot of carrot cake recipes over the years, and this one is THE BEST!

  • Wrote on 14th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Carrot cake is probably in my top 3 of favorite cakes. That recipe looks delicious!

  • Kristl
    Wrote on 15th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    I’ve entered this carrot cake in local bake-offs, and it’s always the winner!

  • Wrote on 15th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Yum, I love carrot cake!

  • Kristl
    Wrote on 16th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Most people have a carrot cake recipe that they love, but this one will be your new fav! It’s so worth the extra step of making that caramel like glaze!

  • Wrote on 30th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    [...] My Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe: 4909 [...]

  • Wrote on 30th Sep, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    [...] My Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe: 4909 [...]

  • Wrote on 10th Oct, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Yay! Thank you for linking this up! I’ve pinned it. On my way to stumble! xo Not Your Ordinary Recipes

  • Wrote on 17th Oct, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Great one, and I stumbled it from the hop!;)

  • Kristl
    Wrote on 17th Oct, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Thanks! If you get a chance to make it, please come back and rate. I promise, it’s the best carrot cake ever!!!!

  • Wrote on 20th Oct, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Everytime I see this photo, my stomach growls! Come by and pick up your award. http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/2011/10/blogger-award-thank-you.html

  • Kristl
    Wrote on 21st Oct, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    satisfy that craving…make My Birthday Carrot Cake now!

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