Ultimate Carrot Cake Recipe With Buttermilk Glaze & Orange Cream Cheese Frosting by Donna John

The sweet buttermilk glaze drenches every inch of this carrot cake and makes it incredibly moist. The creamy orange cream cheese frosting is really the icing on the cake. Delish! It is my all-time favorite carrot cake recipe. This incredible carrot cake recipe does take a little time to prep, but the end result is worth every minute. Wow your friends and family by serving this classic cake on Easter.

The cake batter is a combination of flour (all-purpose or gluten-free), baking soda, cinnamon, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, canola oil, sugar, crushed pineapple, flaked coconut, grated carrots and chopped walnuts. The batter is baked in the oven in two round cake pans. When the cakes come out of the oven, immediately pour the buttermilk glaze over them so it can soak in the hot cake. The glaze is made with sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, butter, light corn syrup and vanilla. If you don't have buttermilk, here's how to make homemade buttermilk in five minutes. Grate the carrots on a box grater or use a cheese grater.

The icing on the cake is a creamy combination of butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, grated orange rind and orange juice. Frost in between the layers and on the outside of the moist, glazed-soaked cake. Incredible. 

Serve this ultra-moist carrot cake for dessert with a cup of coffee or glass of milk. This is one carrot cake recipe you will not soon forget.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 20 ounces (1 can) crushed pineapple, drained
• 7 ounces (1 small bag) flaked coconut
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Buttermilk Glaze

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 teaspoon orange juice

Here's how to make it:

1. For the glaze, combine all the ingredients except vanilla in a pot. Bring to a boil and cook about 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Set aside.
   
2. For the icing, beat all the ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. If you like a lot of icing on your cakes, double the frosting ingredients.
   
3. For the cake, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. For a gluten-free cake, use gluten-free flour.
   
4. In another bowl, combine the eggs, oil, buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
   
5. Stir in the pineapple, coconut, carrots and nuts.
   
6. Pour into two greased and floured round cake pans. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes. To ensure the cake releases from the pan, line them with parchment paper.
   
7. Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately pour the buttermilk glaze over the layers. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely. You could cut the cake layers in half and make a four-layer cake. Be sure to wait until the layers are completely cool so they don't fall apart when you cut them with a serrated knife.
   
   
8. Frost between the layers and then the entire cake. Sprinkle with additional chopped walnuts, if desired. Store the cake in an airtight cake holder to keep it fresh.
   

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