Spiced carrot cake layers infused with maple syrup and topped with maple caramel & cream cheese frosting.
We’re most of the way through August now, which means we’re that much closer to Fall (my fave season), and I really could not be happier.
We’re still in summer mode, so I’m not going to bust out the pumpkin recipes just yet. But I thought it would be a great time to do a seasonal transition cake of sorts, using those fresh carrots from your garden or local farmers market and pairing them with the comforting Fall flavors of maple to make this delicious Maple Caramel Carrot Cake.
I had so many challenges with this cake that at one point I considered the possibility that the universe didn’t want me to make this recipe.
There are too many carrot cake recipes out there already (it said), why does the world need another one?! Nevertheless, I’m glad I persevered, because this Maple Caramel Carrot Cake is truly like no other.
How to Make this Maple Caramel Carrot Cake
Little known fact (at least to me): purple carrots turn dark green when baked in a cake. True story.
My original vision for this cake involved the pretty rainbow carrots that you can see all around farmers market stalls this time of year. I LOVE them. I thought they would be so pretty in a cake — the contrasts of the orange, yellow, and purple… SO pretty right? Right. Much to my dismay when the cake layers came out of the oven, I knew my perfect rainbow vision was not going to happen.
At any rate, cake #1 was scrapped due to dark green worm-like specks through the layers (not pretty). It actually would have been scrapped anyway though, because the layers didn’t bake up as tall or pretty as I wanted, so I needed to tweak the recipe. Just as well, but I was sad to give up my dream of the rainbow carrots!
Maple Caramel
The next issue was with the maple caramel. I don’t know why, but I always have issues with caramel. It’s easy enough to make (or should be), but it always gives me problems.
Caramel and I are not BFF’s and likely never will be. It’s just one of those things. My first attempt seemed like it was going okay, but something was off and I ended up with a thick, crystallized mess. Attempt # 2 was much better.
Assembling the cake was no picnic either.
Somehow I was low on powdered sugar. How this could happen still boggles my mind. I am usually so diligent about noting ingredients I am running short on so that I’m never in this situation. I searched and searched for another bag of powdered sugar, but no luck.
So my frosting was 1/2 cup short on powdered sugar (recipe adjusted for correct amounts), which meant that the frosting was softer than I wanted it to be. Normally it wouldn’t be a huge problem, but assembling a cake with soft frosting and soft caramel in 30+°C (85+°F) temps with no A/C posed a bit of a challenge, to say the least.
In the end, it all worked out and OMG is this cake good. Maybe my favorite cake ever. EVER!
Carrot cake is delicious as it is, but something about the combination of the maple and the caramel with the cream cheese frosting is just pure heaven. It’s so good that Ryan won’t even let me give any slices away, so they’re squirreled away in our freezer.
If you’re looking for something a little different, a twist on something traditional, then this is the cake for you! The cake layers are incredibly moist and the maple caramel has a delicious and unique flavor. It really is my new favorite cake recipe. I hope you like it as much as I do. Oh and if you’re into all things maple, be sure to give my Maple Cake a try too!
