Spring is here, it is carrot season, and what is the better way to celebrate than with moist fault line carrot cake & cream cheese buttercream. This recipe is very moist and full of carrot, chunks of pineapple, and walnut for crunch.
The carrot cake uses only two steps, making it easy to mix and bake. After perfecting my recipe, I needed to come up with a design for the cake. Even though there are a lot of carrot cake designs online, I realized there was not fresh carrot Faultline cake. Therefore, I decide to change that by making fault line carrot cake. It was fun coming up with the type of carrot flowers to use for the cake and the best way to make it stick to the cake. Impress your family and friends with this simple but gorgeous and delicious fault line carrot cake and cream cheese buttercream.
Preparation before baking the cake
The prep work that needs to be done before baking the cake include the following:
- Reading through the recipe thoroughly to familiarize yourself with ingredients, tools and processes stated in the recipe.
- Grate the carrot and measure the quantity needed.
- Bake the walnut in the preheated oven for about 7-10 minute and allow to cool before chopping.
- Measure all other ingredients and set them aside.
- Bring eggs to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C
- Prepare two 6 inches and one 4 inches round cake baking pan with non-stick spray or homemade pan release.
How to Make the Carrot Cake
As I said earlier that the cake uses two main steps, so they come together quickly. The first step is measure and sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, powdered ginger, and nutmeg into a large bowl, then add the chopped walnut and mix and set aside. The next step is to measure the vegetable oil, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, vanilla extract, and the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together, then add the shredded carrot to egg mixture and mix well. Now create a hole in the center of the flour mixture and pour the carrot mixture into the flour mixture and mix until well combined.
Divide the batter among the cake pans, bake the cakes in preheated oven until a toothpick is inserted into it and comes out dry and clean. Bring the baked cakes out of the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the baking pans for about 5-10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
How to Make the Cream Cheese Buttercream
While the cake is baking, bring the butter and cream cheese out from the refrigerator to come to room temperature. For this recipe, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add salt and extract to taste and mix everything together.
How to Make the Fault line Carrot Cake
Fault line cakes are a very trendy dessert and there are different designs with different fillings. The fault line space can be filled with any edible thing ranging from sprinkles to fruits. For this carrot cake with a carrot flower fault line design, I decided to use a raw carrot to make flowers. The cake uses the same technique as the other fault line cakes. I used two layers of 6 x2 inches round carrot cakes and one layer of 4×2 inches cake. These cakes were frozen and then slide into two layers each giving me a total of six layers of cakes. The cakes need to be frozen to cut them into slices, otherwise, it becomes impossible to cut because the cake is very moist and loaded with a lot of fruits and nuts.
Stacking the Cakes
You first Stack two 6 inches cakes with buttercream frosting in between the layers, then add the two 4 inches cake. Crumb coat the four layers before adding the last two 6 inches layers and crumb coat all the stacked cake, then chill for about 30 minutes. Color a small part of the frosting orange and apple to the 4 inches cake before attaching the carrot flowers. Add the final coat of frosting to the top 6 inches layers and the bottom 6 inches layers, which is a thicker coat and smooth with a bench scraper. Refrigerate the final cake for another 30 minutes, add edible gold paint to the edges and add some of the carrot flowers to the top with mints leaves.
How to Make Carrot Flowers
For the carrot flowers, you will need two large carrots and a vegetable peeler or mandolin. Peel the carrot into thin slices and soak them in salted cooled water until ready to use. When ready to use, take them out of the water and pat dry them with a paper towel. Roll the thin slices of carrot into a spiral, when the carrot ribbons are wider than half an inch, then cut the spiral into two and use it to create the fault line.
Tips for Making the Best Carrot Cake
- Always use fresh carrots for the carrot cake for a better tasting cake.
- When using canned crushed pineapple, strain some of the juice from the pineapple before using.
- This recipe can be baked in a Bundt pan, 9 x 13 baking pan, or cupcake pans. The baking time will be less for the cupcakes (13 – 17 minutes).
Other Recipes
- Maple Pear Upside Down Cake (with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting)
- Moist Ghana Layered Cake & Buttercream
- Citrus Curd Layered Cake & Cream Cheese Buttercream
If you have any questions about this recipe, I will love to hear about them in the comment section below. Did you make this recipe, snap a photo, and tag me #theduchezkitchen- I love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook? Find me @theduchezkitchen.
Thanks for reading. As always, know that God loves you and stay blessed!
Happy baking and decorating!!
Linda.
Faultline Carrot Cake
Equipment
- Baking pans
- Vegetable peeler
- Cake scraper
- Off set spatula
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon powdered ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped and toasted walnut
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup crushed pineapple (strained)
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups shredded carrot
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 1½ cups butter at room temperature
- ½ cup cream cheese at room temperature
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large carrot thinly sliced for decorating
- 4 mint leaves for decorating
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 °F or 180 °C. Prepare two six inches and a 4 inches round cake pan with nonstick spray or homemade pan release. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, chopped walnut, and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, eggs, vanilla extract, shredded carrots, and mix well until combined. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a spatula until combined.
- Divide the cake batter among the three prepared cake pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick/skewer is inserted in the center comes out clean and dry. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes before turning unto cooling rack to cool completely. Slice the cakes into two layers each.
For the Cream Cheese
- In a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed, cream butter, and cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt and continue creaming at a low speed until well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and cream for 3 more minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- In a small bowl, color a small part of the frosting orange and set aside.
For the Faultline Decoration
- To assemble the cake, place a nonslip mat on a turntable and then tape a 6 inches cake cardboard circle to an 8 inches cardboard circle (the 8 inches cardboard helps to transport the cake to the fridge and back easily) and place the cake board on the turntable. Apply a small amount of buttercream to the center of the 6 inches cake board.
- Place the first two 6 inches of cake on the board with buttercream filling in between the cake layers. Add the two 4 inches cake layers with filling (at this point, crumb coat the four cake layers before adding the last two layers) followed by the last two 6 inches cake layers with cream cheese buttercream. The last cake layer should be placed flat side up that is the bottom should face up. Press down on the stacked cakes lightly to help the cakes stick to the icing.
- Crumb coat the whole cake and chill for 30 minutes. Add the orange frosting to the middle cake layers, then add the carrot flowers. Add the final thick layer of buttercream frosting to the top and bottom cake layers. Decorate the top of the cake with carrot flowers and mint leaves, serve and enjoy.
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