Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is one of my favorite ways to welcome in spring…and these cute little Candy Carrot Toppers are a fun and easy way to dress up your Easter dessert table.  They’re so easy to make, you’re going to wonder why you haven’t been making them all along!

Let’s get started with the cake!

Cake Batter

Start by grating 2 cups of fresh carrot and draining the juice out of 1 cup of canned, crushed pineapple.  I got a little distracted during this step and shredded the carrots on the large side of the box grater.  Normally I would shred the carrots on the fine side of the grater, but I didn’t want to throw them out – and this still worked great!  But if I could turn back time on this photo shoot, I would have used the fine side of my grater – haha!

Also keep a close eye on the crushed pineapple and chop any large pieces with a chef knife before baking.  Normally there’s no problem, just check to make sure no big pieces sneak through.

In a large bowl, mix the sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

Mix until well combined and add the shredded carrots and crushed pineapple.

Mix well and add the dry ingredients, stirring until no dry flour of lumps remain.

Place in a 9 x 13 pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through.

Meanwhile starting preparing the frosting…

The Frosting

Combine powdered sugar, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl.  Mix until well combined and fluffy, this will take several minutes.  Add up to 1 tablespoon of milk to thin the frosting out, if necessary.

After the cake is completely cooled, it’s time to frost the cake.  If a cake is frosted too soon, it will melt the frosting and turn it into a buttery mess on your cake – learn from my mistakes!

I find it easiest to frost a cake by spreading the frosting in spoonfuls across the top of the cake, and then spreading the frosting from edge to edge.  This recipe makes a lot of frosting!  Feel free to leave a little off if you’re not a big fan of frosting.

Candy Carrot Toppers

These candy toppers are so easy and fun to make!  Just grab a few bags of candy melts (I know that most stores are closed right now, but I was able to order these online at Michael’s craft store and pick them up curbside about an hour later.)

Place the candy melts in microwave safe bowls and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted.

Place the melted candy in a pastry bag, fitted with a #5 Wilton attachment (or a freezer ziplock baggie with a very small hole cut out of the corner).

Pipe an orange zigzag line as the base of the carrot, and a green W (with a few extra peaks and valleys) as the stem on top.

Pipe the carrots onto parchment paper for easy removal.  The candies are set up after about 10 minutes and just slide right off.  Store in a plastic baggie, or in a covered bowl, for several days.

 

And if you have a little extra melted candy, you can follow my daughter’s lead – haha!

I think this cake tastes even better the next day after sitting in the refrigerator overnight,  so be sure to plan ahead!

Cut into slices and garnish each with a candy carrot topper.  Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Topping and Candy Carrot Toppers

Cake:

1 1/4 cups canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups, finely grated carrot (about 2 carrots)
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained of juice
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Frosting:

8 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Candy Carrot Toppers:

1 bag orange candy melts
1 bag green candy melts (I like the Wilton brand)

Directions

Cake:

Place oil, eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add grated carrot and drained pineapple, and stir until combined. Ad flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and kosher salt. Whisk until just combined.

Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13″ cake pan and bake on the middle rack at 350 F for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  This recipe can also be halved and baked in an 8 x 8″ pan, for 2030 minutes, just be sure to half the frosting recipe as well.

Frosting:

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined, adding up to 1 tablespoon of milk if needed to reach desired consistency.

Candy Carrot Toppers:

Place candy melts in microwave safe bowls and heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #5 tip, or into a Ziplock freezer bag with a very small hole cut out of one of the corners. Pipe carrot shapes onto parchment paper and let sit until hardened. Keeps covered for several days at room temperature.

Optional Garnishes:

You can also garnish the frosting with shredded coconut or chopped pecans for even more flavor!

**Store the cake, covered in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Serve chilled. Add the candy toppers to each slice, just before serving. Enjoy!**