Carrot Cake Recipe

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 4 (9 inch) cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 2

Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl and whisk together.

Step 3

In another mixing bowl combine butter, sugars, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla and whisk together.

Step 4

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, in thirds, stirring together after each addition.

Step 5

Continue to stir batter until completely combined and no dry spots remain. Fold in carrots and currants.

Step 6

Fill each prepared cake pan evenly with batter.

Step 7

Bake cake rounds in center rack of oven for 24 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs on it, when inserted into the center of each round.

Step 8

Cool cake rounds for 15 minutes. Then remove each cake from cake pans, peel away parchment and transfer to cooling racks. Cool completely. Refrigerate cake layers for at least 2 hours.

Step 9

With a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Step 10

Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time and continue to beat together.

Step 11

Add vanilla and salt and scrape down sides of the bowl and continue to beat together until light and fluffy. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of frosting.

Step 12

Slice off rounded cake tops to level them. (Discard cake scraps or keep for snacking)

Step 13

Spread a thin layer of frosting onto the top of one cake round and top with another cake round. Repeat until all cake rounds are stacked into 4 layers with frosting between each layer.

Step 14

Frost the sides and top with a very thin layer of frosting and refrigerate cake for an hour.

Step 15

While crumb coated cake chills, divide remaining cup frosting in 1/In one bowl add 2 drops violet food coloring, 3 drops lemon yellow, and 1 to 2 drops leaf green. Stir together until completely combined and you produce a moss green color.

Step 16

In the other bowl of frosting add 3 drops of sunset orange food coloring and 1 to 2 drops buckeye brown. Stir together until completely combined and you produce a moss green color.

Step 17

Fill orange frosting in piping bag with round tip and fill green frosting in piping bag with star tip.

Step 18

Remove chilled cake from the refrigerator and add another layer of frosting. Sprinkle crushed walnuts bits over the sides and top of cake. Refrigerate cake again for 30 minutes.

Step 19

Using the orange frosting, pipe small (3/4 inch) carrots all over cake. Using the green frosting, pipe stems on top of each carrot.