Sourdough Carrot Cake

5 from 1 vote

This sourdough carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is such a beautiful and delicious dessert. Loaded with carrots, warm spices, and pecans, this moist sourdough discard cake is full of flavor!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Dessert, Sourdough

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 742kcal

Author: Joy Kincaid

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake-

340 grams all purpose flour (1 cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
250 grams light brown sugar (1 1/4 cups)
150 grams granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
125 grams sourdough discard (1/2 cup)
220 grams vegetable oil (1 cup + 3 Tbsp)
4 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200 grams grated carrots (1 1/4 cups)
112 grams unsalted pecans, toasted and chopped (1 cup)

Frosting-

2- 8 ounce packages full fat cream cheese softened
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter softened (113 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
660 grams powdered sugar (5 1/2 cups)

Garnish-

Chopped pecans optional

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line the bottoms of three 8” cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the measured flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together both sugars, sourdough discard, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Make sure that all the ingredients are well mixed and there are no lumps.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until there is no remaining flour showing.
Gently fold in the shredded carrots and pecans until fully combined. Do not overmix.
Evenly distribute the cake batter into the three 8” cake pans and smooth to make sure that the batter is evenly spread throughout the pan.
Bake on the center rack in your preheated oven for 20 minutes and then rotate your pans. Bake for another 15 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool for 30 minutes in their pans on a wire cooling rack. After 30 minutes remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely on the cooling rack.
To make the frosting, place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together the cream cheese and butter until there are no lumps and the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and mix until it is incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a half cup at a time until you have reached your desired consistency. You want the frosting to be able to hold its shape when you lift the paddle out of the bowl. If your frosting is too thin it will be hard to decorate your layered cake.
When your cake layers are completely cooled, place one of the cake layers on top of a 10” or 12” cardboard cake round. I use a tiny dollop of frosting on the bottom of the cake to hold it in place on the cake round. The cardboard cake round allows you to frost your cake without getting your cake stand messy but is optional.
Place half cup plus one tablespoon of frosting on top of the cake round and spread it around with an offset spatula so that it is even. Place the next cake layer on top making sure that it is sitting on top evenly. Put another half cup plus one tablespoon of frosting on top of the cake round and spread evenly. Now place your last cake layer on top making sure that it is even and all the layers are straight.
Using your offset spatula spread any icing that has squeezed out from between the layers on the outside of the cake. Add more to the outside of the cake to fill in the gaps between the layers as well as the top and spread in a thin layer. You will be able to see your cake through the icing. This is your crumb coat and will help keep the cake crumbs from breaking off the cake when doing the outer icing layers. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to set the icing.
Once the crumb coat is set you are ready to frost your entire cake. Using your offset spatula, completely cover all of the sides and top of your cake with frosting. Use the side of your spatula or a cake scraper to even out the frosting on the sides and then put into the freezer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the cake from the freezer and add your final layer of frosting. Using your offset spatula, cover the cake with frosting so that none of the cake shows through. If you would like a more naked/rustic looking cake, only use a small amount of frosting and spread so that some of the cake peeks through the frosting. Garnish the top of your cake with chopped pecans.
Using a spatula or cake lifter, gently slide under your cake to remove it from the cardboard cake round. Gently set your cake on your cake stand. Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Notes

Store cake in an airtight container or wrapped securely in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze individual cake slices wrapped in plastic wrap in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

You can make this cake even faster by simply putting the layers on a plate or cake stand and frosting it using a dinner knife. No additional cake decorating equipment required! You could also skip the crumb coat and simply frost the cake without the time in the freezer to set the frosting. This is just an additional step to make your cake extra beautiful, but it's not required.

How to Long-Ferment This Recipe:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, oil, and sourdough starter. Cover the mixing bowl and allow to ferment overnight, or for up to 12 hours. The next day, add the rest of the ingredients and bake according to the instructions in the recipe.

Or, you can also mix up the whole recipe (minus the baking soda, baking powder, and pecans) and put the cake batter in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, allow it to come to room temperature while you preheat the oven and prepare your pans, add the baking powder and baking soda, fold in the pecans, put in pans, and then bake.

Nutrition