Name: Dramatic Burnt Honey Carrot Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 1 c mild and fruity extra virgin olive oil ((235ml)); 1 c brown sugar (firmly packed (225g) or 1½ cups coconut sugar); 3 eggs ((150g)); 1 tbs vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste ((13ml)); 1¼ c grated carrot (firmly packed, about 2 large (200g)); 1¼ c parsnip (firmly packed, grated, about 1 large (180g) ); 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; ½ tsp ground allspice; ¼ tsp ground cloves or cardamom; 2 cup unbleached ap flour ((250g)); 1 tsp baking powder ((4.8g)); ½ tsp baking soda ((4.2g)); 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice ((5ml)); ¾ c greek yogurt (5% fat unsweetened (180g)); ¾ c roasted walnuts – optional ((96g)); 1 c honey ((340g)); 1/4 c tap water ((118ml)); 1/4 tsp salt ((2.84g) or sub ¼ tsp orange blossom water); 16 oz cream cheese (at room temp (452g)); ¼ c salted burnt honey ( or burnt orange blossom honey.); 1 tbs vanilla bean paste ( or vanilla extract); ½ c powder sugar ((56g)); 1 lb carrots (5-6 large carrots, peeled (454g)); 1/8 c castor sugar ((30g)); 1 tsp ground ginger ((2g))

Everyone loves a good carrot cake! This dramatic burnt honey carrot cake will bring in the applause with the show stopping carrot crisps on top, drizzled in burnt honey. Ruggedly beautiful and delightful!

Jump to Recipe

Dramatic burnt honey carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Why you will love this recipe!

This burnt honey carrot cake is packed with spices, depth of flavor, and for fun, some parsnips that offer a gentle spice like flavor notes with a gently sweet, nutty taste. I love all the textures of the soft cake, creamy frosting, and airy light carrot crisps that are dried with a little sugar and ginger.

burnt honey carrot cake ingredients — ingredients for burnt honey carrot cake

Ingredients: Step by Step

The Burnt Honey Carrot Cake

1c mild and fruity extra virgin olive oil (235ml)
1 c firmly packed brown sugar (225g) or 1½ cups coconut sugar
3 eggs (150g)
1 tbs vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (13ml)
1¼ c firmly packed cup grated carrot (200g) about 2 large
1¼ c firmly packed cup grated parsnip (180g) about 1 large
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves or cardamom
2 c unbleached ap flour (250g)
1 teaspoon baking powder (4.8g)
½ teaspoon baking soda (4.2g)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice (5ml)
¾ c greek yogurt, 5% fat unsweetened (180g)
¾ c roasted walnuts – optional (96g) - I like to toast the walnuts in the oven and give them a rough chop. I often leave the walnuts out as well.

The Salted Burnt Honey

1 c honey (340g)
¼ c tap water (118ml)
¼ teaspoon salt (2.84g)
Instead of salt, substitute ¼ teaspoon orange blossom water by Nielsen-Massey

Burnt Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

16 oz cream cheese (452g) at room temp
¼ cup salted burnt honey or burnt orange blossom honey.
1 tbs vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
½ c powder sugar (56g)

The Carrot Chips: Add some dramatic playful carrot chips to your cake to create a beautiful rugged finale. See how to make carrot chips here. For your shopping list you will need:

1 lb carrots, 5-6 large carrots, peeled
⅛ c castor sugar (30g) like C&H Professional BAKER'S SUGAR Ultrafine 4lb
1 teaspoon ground ginger (2g)

light and airy carrot chips a.k.a. carrot crisps — light and airy carrots chips

Equipment

Stand mixer, such as a Artisan Series 5-Qt. Tilt-head Stand Mixers
Two 8" circle bake pans
Lightweight metal bowl for weighing ingredients
Scale for weighting ingredients
Spatula, my favorite rubber spatulas are by Thermoworks, I used them at home and at my bakery RubySnap.

History Fun Fact

Many historians believe carrot cake originated in the Middle Ages when sugar and other sweeteners were scarce. (Carrots were used as a substitute.) The earliest known recipe for carrot cake can be found in a French cookbook published in 1827. (courtesy of National Today) This burnt honey carrot cake is on the lighter side of sweet relying more heavily on the carrots and honey to sweeten the deal.

Burnt Honey Carrot layer Cake on a cake pedestal.

Print Pin

Dramatic Burnt Honey Carrot Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword burnt honey cream cheese, cake recipe, carrot cake, Carrot chips

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Cooling+Assembly 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings

Calories 511kcal

Author Bite Me Industries

Ingredients

The Cake

1 c mild and fruity extra virgin olive oil (235ml)
1 c brown sugar firmly packed (225g) or 1½ cups coconut sugar
3 eggs (150g)
1 tbs vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (13ml)
1¼ c grated carrot firmly packed, about 2 large (200g)
1¼ c parsnip firmly packed, grated, about 1 large (180g)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves or cardamom
2 cup unbleached ap flour (250g)
1 teaspoon baking powder (4.8g)
½ teaspoon baking soda (4.2g)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (5ml)
¾ c greek yogurt 5% fat unsweetened (180g)
¾ c roasted walnuts – optional (96g)

Salted Burnt Honey

1 c honey (340g)
¼ c tap water (118ml)
¼ teaspoon salt (2.84g) or sub ¼ teaspoon orange blossom water

Burnt Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

16 oz cream cheese at room temp (452g)
¼ c salted burnt honey or burnt orange blossom honey.
1 tbs vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
½ c powder sugar (56g)

Carrot Crisps

1 lb carrots 5-6 large carrots, peeled (454g)
⅛ c castor sugar (30g)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (2g)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

The Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C
Line two 8 inch/20cm round cake pans with parchment on the bottom and grease sides, set aside. For a single layer cake 1 large 10”/25cm round cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the olive oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, until smooth.
Add the grated carrot, parsnip, and spices, and mix well. Then add sour cream and vinegar, mix well.
Next, fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and walnuts.
Now pour the cake batter evenly into the two 8”/20cm round cake pans, about 24oz/680g each pan without walnut or 25oz/728g with walnuts. Or, divide among four 6” pans with 340g of cake batter each pan.
Bake at 350°F /180°C for 45 minutes for 8” pans. Bake 25 minutes for 6” pans, makes four small cakes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Salted Burnt Honey

Precaution! Please read before you start. You will need an oversized saucepan and a long wooden spoon or heat safe spatula. This is a wonderful dramatic event, be prepared to stand away from the saucepan.
Important! Do not taste this until at least 30 minutes after cooling. This is a very high temperature affair.
In an oversized heavy bottom saucepan add the honey on high heat for 5-6 minutes, without stirring, until bubbly, frothy and darkening, but not to a smoky point. Immediately turn off off heat!
Prepare to stand away: Add the salt to tap water. With your long spoon or spatula, add the water, and quickly stir your now little “volcano” of burnt honey (off heat) until all the froth settles and bubbles are gone.
Transfer to a heat safe vessel. I like a wide mouth mason jar for easy spooning later. Set aside to cool completely.

Burnt Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Mix the room temp cream cheese using a stand mixer or hand beaters until smooth.
Add the vanilla and ¼ cup of the completely cooled burnt honey (or ¼ cup honey), beat until smooth.
Add ½ c powder sugar, beat until smooth. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
Carrot Crisps (also try: parsnips, sweet potato, and beets)
Removing the outer skin of the carrots, peel carrots in long thin strips down to the root core, moving your vegetable peeler up and down in a continuous motion.
Arrange the carrots that have been peeled into long thin strips onto a paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the combined ginger and sugar, and gently toss, leaving little curly piles.
Bake for 2-3hrs hours on 200°F/150°C or until dry. Preferably with a fan if you have convection. Make sure to check your carrots every 40 minutes to lift and toss them gently into new piles to allow more wet carrots on the bottom to become exposed. Plan for it to take up to five hours if you do not have a fan. Carrots will be paper thin, and feather weight crispy. Set aside to cool until ready to use. This can be done a day ahead.

Assembly

Be sure the cakes are completely cool before frosting.
Place one of the cakes onto a serving plate and add half of the frosting to the top.
Smooth with an offset spatula or back of a spoon.
Add the second layer of cake and gently press down.
Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake.
Using a long offset spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and the top until smooth.
Decorate the top of the cake with the root crisps and drizzle with the remaining burnt honey just before serving.

Notes

To speed up the cooling process before frosting the cakes, place the cakes into the freezer to cool completely. This will reduce the cooling time by half.