Carrot Cake with Walnuts & Vanilla SMBC
Carrot cake is one of those flavors with a raving fan base. But that fandom can become divided over the frosting and makeup of said cake. I recently made a classic carrot cake, but covered it in vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Now, that’s not traditional, but stay with me. It was amazing!
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Maryland Cottage Laws
Let’s address the elephant in the room. This carrot cake recipe does not include cream cheese frosting. What?! I know, I know. If you absolutely must have cream cheese frosting, use the recipe from my Kryptonite Cake because it is the bomb diggity.
This cake was for a customer here in Maryland. Maryland food laws (aka Cottage Laws) prohibit me from selling certain items that spoil easily without refrigeration. Based on my interpretation of these laws, I do not sell several items, including cream cheese frosting. If you’re interested in Maryland Cottage Laws, I find this break down from Forrager to be easy to follow.
Not So Traditional Classic Carrot Cake
Besides the frosting, I stuck to a very classic carrot cake recipe from Preppy Kitchen. Normally, I suggest reading the original recipe as well, but it was a bit of a mess. I’m a huge fan, but this recipe is not a great representation of his site. My cake is a three layer six inch cake, but you could also bake it as a sheet cake or a two layer eight or nine inch cake.
Tell me, do you add pineapple or raisins to your carrot cake? I’ve had these varieties before and I wasn’t perfectly clear on what a “classic” carrot cake was. This recipe makes a deliciously spiced cake loaded with carrots and toasted walnuts. It’s absolute perfection. But if a “classic carrot cake” means something else to you, leave me a comment and tell me about it!
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Nuts About Carrot Cake
Gosh, my puns are awful. Anyways, nuts are totally optional in this recipe. If there’s an allergy or taste issue, just nix ‘em. I love the flavor and crunch they add, but you are going to love this carrot cake either way.
Heck! You could always swap out the walnuts for a different nut. The next natural choice is toasted pecans, but this is your cake. Use any nut you’d like. Personally, I think cashews might be an interesting choice. Let me know if you try a non-traditional nut!
Making the Cake
I was all prepared to lug out my giant stand mixer and whip this up like any other cake. Guys. This is sooo not necessary. I used my hand mixer a bit, but you could even make this with just some bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. Who doesn’t love a recipe as easy as that?!
Since I was adapting this recipe to 6 inch cake pans, I wasn’t sure how much batter would be leftover. So, I measured out a scant 2 cups of batter to fill the pans just above halfway. Any more batter and these things would have overflowed. It left us with enough cake batter to make a mini 4 inch cake that we got to snack on!
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Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
A day before I made this carrot cake, I made the Chocolate Coffee Pie. That yummy recipe left me with 4 egg whites and I wanted to use them to make a tasty Swiss meringue buttercream for this cake. Now, you definitely do need a stand mixer to make this frosting.
I actually loved this frosting on the carrot cake. It was light, fluffy, and not too sweet. I know cream cheese frosting is traditional, but this just felt like the right match. Never be afraid to break the rules! You know what though? I just thought that my ginger buttercream frosting would also be pretty delicious on this carrot cake. How’s that for breaking tradition?
SMBC Tips & Tricks
While I love the texture and taste of meringue based buttercream, it truly is a pain in the rear end to make. My arm just about fell off from stirring the egg whites over a double boiler. Turns out, I bumped the heat down too low and nothing was happening under there! It’s hard to get egg whites to 140℉ without heat. Now that’s a pro-tip right there.
When you’re beating the cooked egg whites, it will take forever to cool down. After 10 minutes of whipping, I placed my bowl in the fridge (whisk and all) for 2 minutes, just to help it along. Then I whipped for another 5 minutes before it was cool enough to add the butter. But after the first stick, I popped it in the fridge for 2 more minutes one last time. Don’t be afraid to do this if your meringue is too hot.
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Sugar Lace & Carrots
I see you checkin’ out my cake. Do you like that sugar lace detail? What if I told you that I made that lace 100% from scratch? I won’t say that it was easy, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult as you’d think! Check out my sugar lace tutorial for more information. That recipe is even vegan!
Is it possible to decorate a carrot cake without adding carrots? I really don’t think so. To make these carrots, I just used a medium round tip and made a wedge/ carrot shape. Start with a good amount of pressure, maybe wiggle it a bit to get a wide base, then lessen up on the pressure as you work your way to the tip. Add green leaves with the leaf tip. I piped these onto wax paper, froze them, and then plopped them on top, though you could pipe directly onto the cake.
Enjoy!
Who’da thunk that carrot cake and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream could be such a perfect pair? I know it’s not what you’d expect, but the spiced, moist cake tastes delicious with the silky, less sweet buttercream. Try it out and let me know what you think. And if you are feeling bold, check out that sugar lace tutorial. You’ve got this. And while I’ve got you, check me out on Instagram!
Carrot Cake with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
Carrot Cake with Walnuts
- 335 g sugar
- ¾ cup canola oil
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tsps vanilla
- 300 g all- purpose flour
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp ginger
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 2 tsps baking soda
- 1 ½ tsps kosher salt
- 1 cup toasted walnuts chopped
- 1 lb shredded carrots (about 8 carrots)
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 5 egg whites
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 lb unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Carrot Cake with Walnuts
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare three 6 inch cake pans. Spray them with baking spray, add a parchment round, and fit with baking strips (if you have them).
- In a large bowl, beat sugar, canola oil, eggs, sour cream, applesauce, and vanilla until well combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the salt. Whisk to combine. Remove 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss with the toasted walnuts in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Some specks of flour are fine. Add the carrots and walnuts. Gently fold until combined.
- Place a scant 2 cups of cake batter in each pan. You will have nearly a cup of batter leftover. Bake for 38- 42 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when poked and are just starting to pull away from the edge of the pan.
- Cool in the pans for 10- 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Place the egg whites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Whisk to combine and place the bowl over a pot with an inch or two of simmering water. Do not let the water touch the bowl.
- Heat the egg whites to 140°F- 160°F, whisking regularly. Once warm enough, the mixture will be thick and white. Scrape it into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Whip on high until the bowl is room temperature, about 15 minutes. You can pack the bowl with frozen veggies or ice to help it cool down.
- Drop the speed to medium- high and switch to a paddle attachment. Slowly add butter one tablespoon (roughly) at a time. If the mixture is too warm and begins melting the butter, pop the bowl in the fridge to chill for about 5 minutes, then try again.
- Once the butter is fully combined, add the vanilla and salt. Beat to combine.
Notes
- To toast walnuts, bake at 350℉ for 5- 8 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Feel free to omit the walnuts or swap them out for pecans or another nut.
My Favorite Products for this Recipe
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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