Video
Praline Crunch Carrot Cake Layer Cake
This show-stopping Carrot Cake Layer Cake features four layers of tender, moist and flavorful carrot cake with tangy cream cheese frosting and crunchy praline pecans on top. This will be the star dessert wherever you bring it, and no one will know how easy it is to make!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Batter:
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (180ml) neutral oil (sunflower, canola, grapeseed oil)
- ⅓ cup (80ml) plain full fat yogurt
- 2 cups (240g) finely grated carrots (from 2-3 medium carrots)
- 1 ⅔ cups (235g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (55g) chopped pecans, toasted if possible
- ¼ cup (22g) unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted if possible
Pecan Praline:
- ⅔ cup (80g) pecan halves
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
1 x Recipe for Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x18-inch half sheet pan or 12x17-inch cookie sheet with cooking spray or lightly grease it with butter and then line it with parchment paper. It is very important spray the pan laying down the parchment paper so it sticks.
- Make the cake batter. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
- Combine eggs, sugars, oil and yogurt in a large bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add finely grated carrots and stir them through so they are evenly combined.
- Add the flour mixture and fold it in evenly with a spatula until mostly combined. Before all of the flour is incorporated and a few streaks remain, add chopped pecans and coconut and finish fold them through so they are evenly distributed. Do not over-mix.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. If you press the cake, it should spring back. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the praline. Add pecans to a 1-quart stainless steel saucepan or shallow frying pan. Sprinkle in powdered sugar and cook over medium high heat stirring frequently until it smells fragrant nutty, the sugar melts, caramelizes and turns dark brown. At first it will look like the nuts are covered in snow, and as it heats up the sugar melts and begins to caramelize. You’ll notice it turn into a golden syrup at the bottom of the pan. Keep moving the nuts and sugar from the center of the pan to the edges and vise versa. Eventually the caramel will cling to the nuts. Scrape it out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with salt. Set it aside to cool and set for 20 minutes until hardened, then coarsely chop it up using a sharp knife.
- Make the frosting. Prepare the frosting as directed in this recipe here.
- Assemble the cake. Slice the cake into quarters to make 4 equal rectangles. Place one layer of cake onto a serving plate. Use a large offset spatula to spread one quarter of the frosting over top and right to the edges. Place the second layer on top and spread one third of the remaining frosting over this layer. Repeat this process two more times, using half the remaining frosting over each layer. Sprinkle chopped praline over top and serve immediately. If not serving right away, cover the cake well until ready to serve. Since it is a naked style cake, I like to just press some plastic wrap against the exposed edges to keep it from drying out.
