Super moist carrot snack cake made with browned butter and silky cream cheese frosting. This recipe is free of peanuts and tree nuts to accommodate those with allergies.
Browned Butter Carrot Snack Cake is a soft cake made with grated carrots, browned butter and plenty of warm spices. This snack cake is baked in a 9×9 pan and topped with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. I also piped some cute little carrots on top to give it an extra special touch!
This recipe is perfect for Easter and couldn’t be easier to make! As stated above, this recipe is made without peanuts or tree nuts, but feel free to add half a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter.
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Equipment you need
As far as equipment goes, you will need a 9×9 pan, cheese grater to grate the carrots, parchment paper, piping bag or Ziploc bag, mixing bowls and electric mixer. I’ve linked some of the equipment here.
Ingredient breakdown
For the cake you will need salted butter, brown sugar, cane sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, Greek yogurt, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, buttermilk, carrots, and hot water.
All refrigerated ingredients (buttermilk, eggs and yogurt) should be room temperature before making the cake.
For the frosting you will need, softened cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. If piping carrots on top of the cake, you will need orange food coloring as well as fresh rosemary sprigs.
How to make Browned Butter Carrot Snack Cake
Start by browning the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s melted, stir constantly. The butter will become really foamy. Once most of the foam has subsided and you can see the butter has turned a deep dark brown (about 7 minutes), pour the browned butter into a heat-safe bowl and let cool.
If you are unsure of browned butter and would like to skip the extra step, melted butter will work just fine.
Add the browned butter, sugars, vanilla, eggs and Greek yogurt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk or beat the ingredients together until well combined. In a separate medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture along with the buttermilk, grated carrots and hot water.
Whisk everything together just until combined. Pour the batter into a 9×9 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
It is crucial that the cake is completely cooled off before you frost it, take it from someone who has no patience and has ended up with a melty cake mess lol.
To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat again until well combined. If piping carrots on top, set aside a spoonful or two of the icing and color it orange. Pile the remaining frosting on top of the cake and spread it out evenly.
How to pipe carrots
Fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the orange frosting. Cut the tip or corner off to get a tiny opening, you don’t want it too big. Pipe carrots onto the cake by starting at the top, squeezing a little frosting out and dragging the frosting down and away. Press rosemary sprigs into the top of the carrots.
Once your cake looks how you want it to, cut into 9-12 squares and serve.
Browned Butter Carrot Snack Cake is heavenly and sure to impress whoever you make it for! If you make this recipe please be sure to rate and comment, I love to hear your feedback.
Browned Butter Carrot Snack Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup cane or granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour spoon into the measuring cup and level off
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp cloves
- 1 heaping cup of grated carrots
- ½ cup buttermilk room temperature
- ¼ cup hot water
For the frosting
- 5 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup salted butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- orange food coloring and rosemary sprigs for the carrot decorations
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Grease and line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. Set aside. To make the browned butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, stir constantly until the butter turns dark brown. Pour into a heat safe bowl to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, vanilla, eggs and Greek yogurt, In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices, Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture along with the buttermilk, carrots and hot water. Mix until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat again until smooth. Set aside one or two spoonfuls into a separate bowl and color it orange. Spread the remaining frosting onto the cake (see the post caption above for detailed instructions on how I piped the carrots)
- Cut the cake into 9-12 slices and enjoy!
