Never-Dry Brown Butter Carrot Cake

https://ninth.recipes/recipes/never-dry-brown-butter-carrot-cake

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup, packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 / 2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 / 2 teaspoons salt

1 1 / 4 cups canola oil

4 large eggs

3 cups, minced carrots

1 / 2 cups, minced pineapples

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter

16 ounces cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

Steps

Step 1

Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Melt it, then continue cooking until it foams and you see brown bits at the bottom. It will smell nutty. Immediately pour it into a bowl and let it solidify in the fridge until it's the texture of soft room-temperature butter.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour your cake pans. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. In another bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the carrots and drained pineapple. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Don't overmix! Pour into pans and bake for 35–40 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Step 3

Beat the "solidified" brown butter and softened cream cheese together until very pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, followed by vanilla and salt. Whip on high for another minute until it looks like a cloud.

Step 4

Place one layer on a plate, spread a thick layer of frosting, and top with the second layer. Coat the top and sides. For a rustic look, leave the sides "naked" so the beautiful orange cake peeks through.

Footnote

Do not buy the pre-shredded bags! They are too dry. Use the fine holes on a box grater for the softest texture. You won't taste the pineapple; it purely acts as a natural tenderizer to break down the flour’s gluten, making the cake "melt-in-your-mouth." If the cake is even slightly warm, the cream cheese frosting will melt into a glaze. Wait at least 2 hours.

What makes this dish special?

What makes this recipe special is the "Hydration Method" and the Brown Butter Frosting. Instead of using just oil, we include finely grated carrots and crushed pineapple, which release moisture slowly during baking to ensure the cake never gets dry or crumbly. To take it to the next level, we ditch the standard "sugar-heavy" frosting for a Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Toasting the butter before whipping it into the cream cheese adds a nutty, toasted-marshmallow depth that perfectly complements the warm spices of the cake.