Carrot Cake with Pecan Sorghum Icing

Basic buttercream icing is a wonderful medium for swirling in other flavors and we love to test different jams and flavorings to go with our favorite basic cake. When we stirred in our Blackberry Farm Pecan Sorghum Butter we were blown away and knew it would be the perfect frosting for carrot cake. We also love mixing in our Peanut Butter or Black Walnut butter for variation.

Carrot Cake
Makes 2, 9-inch round cake layers

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 6 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 ¼ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts if using the Black Walnut Butter)

Frosting

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup Blackberry Farm Pecan Sorghum Butter or Black Walnut Butter
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• 1-4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F

Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the light brown sugar with the sugar and vegetable oil and mix together until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the flour to the sugar mixture in 2 or 3 batches, mixing only until just incorporated. Gently stir in the carrots and nuts until incorporated but being careful not to over-mix.

Pour the batter evenly into both pans and bake for about 35 minutes until the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool the cakes in the pans for 5-10 minutes and then carefully flip out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and half of the sugar and mix until incorporated. Slowly add the rest of the sugar until incorporated. Add the vanilla, the Pecan Sorghum Butter and the salt and mix together. If the frosting seems very stiff and hard to drag a knife through easily, begin adding milk, one tablespoon at a time. Mix in between each addition of milk to see if you like the texture. It needs to be creamy but not so loose that it will drip off of the cake.

To frost the cake:
Place one layer of the cake (flat side down) onto a cake plate. Put a ½-inch layer of frosting on top of the layer and then add the other cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the sides and then the top of the cake with a thin layer of the frosting, paying no mind to any crumbs that are pulled into the frosting. Place the cake, uncovered in the freezer for about 10 minutes to set. Immediately take out of the freezer and put a second layer of frosting on top making any swirls or decorative texture you like. Garnish with pecans or walnuts.