Carrot Cake with Orange Grand Marnier Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Equipment Needed
- 3 (9-inch) round cake pans
- Electric Stand mixer 5 Qt
- Pastry bag with round tip, (optional)
For the Cake
- Non stick cooking spray
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 1/2` cups brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 6 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon grand marnier liquor
- 4 cups grated carrot
- 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed from its juice
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For the Orange Grand Marnier Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 cups powder sugar
- 2 tablespoons grand marnier liquor
- Zest of 1 orange plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Spray 3 (9-inch) round baking pans with non stick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.
- In another bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and oil just until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla and Grand Marnier until combined.
- Add in the flour mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the carrots, crushed pineapple and chopped pecans until well blended. Don't over mix the batter.
- Distribute the batter evenly into 3 (9-inch) round baking pans. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 40-50 minutes or until the cake is fully set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool cakes in the pans for about 1 hour.
For the Grand Marnier Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and powder sugar. Add the Grand Marnier and orange zest and mix for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Assemble the Cake
- When completely cool, remove the cake layers from the pans. Place one layer on a cake plate. Using an offset spatula, spread a quarter of the frosting over the top of the layer, taking care to spread it all the way to the edges. Top with a cake layer and repeat with the frosting. Add the remaining cake layer and smooth the remaining frosting neatly over the top. Garnish the top with orange zest.
Notes
- Use parchment paper to line the cake pans, then grease the pan including the parchment paper bottoms with cooking spray.
- Use freshly grated carrots for best texture and to keep the cake moist.
- Use walnuts instead of pecans, if preferred.
- This cake can be made ahead of time. It usually tastes better the second day in my opinion.
- For the frosting, replace Grand Marnier with orange juice, if preferred.
- If you want to omit the Grand Marnier in the cake batter, simply skip it.
Nutrition
Calories: 785 kcal, Carbohydrates: 97 g, Protein: 10 g, Fat: 40 g, Saturated Fat: 20 g, Cholesterol: 175 mg, Sodium: 518 mg, Potassium: 460 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 69 g, Vitamin A: 8250 IU, Vitamin C: 2.6 mg, Calcium: 165 mg, Iron: 2.9 mg
