My Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe

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!

4.5 from 2 votes

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My Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe

The glaze is what sets this cake apart...it's almost like a thin caramel that soaks right in! Yummy! One bite and you'll agree that this is the best carrot cake recipe.

Servings 12

Author Kristl Story, TheBudgetDiet.com

Ingredients

• Cake Ingredients:
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 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
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 stick butter
• 1 T. light corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 sticks butter room temperature
• 11 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1 box powdered sugar
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 1/2 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 1/4 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!

Recipe 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!