Carrot cake with apple layer
Made with fresh carrots, this incredible layered carrot cake recipe is a true showstopper. Carrot cakes have always been a personal favorite of mine, but this gourmet version is truly exceptional. The fresh carrots bring an unbelievable texture and moisture to the crumb, while a rich “cold cheesecake” layer adds a creamy surprise inside. To make this cake absolutely perfect, we also mix in a spiced, caramelized apple layer. It’s a unique recipe bursting with flavor thanks to a wonderful blend of spices, baking up into an incredibly moist cake with a perfectly tender texture.
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake Layers
- 240 gr flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp soda
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 156 gr vegetable oil
- 300 gr sugar
- 2 eggs + 1 yolk
- vanilla
- 300 gr carrots (peeled)
- 100 gr chopped nuts
For the Caramel Sauce
- 90 gr sugar
- 90 gr cream 33%
- 27 gr butter
- A pinch of salt
For the “Cold Cheesecake” Layer (No-Bake)
- 24 gr yolk
- 12 grams of sugar
- 3.5 gr cornstarch
- 54 gr cream
- 2 gr gelatin + 12 g water
- 5 gr butter
- 12 gr white chocolate
- 5 gr cocoa butter
- 100 gr cream cheese
- vanilla
For the Cream Cheese Filling (for assembly)
- 250 gr cream cheese
- 50 gr powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the Smoothing Cream (Frosting)
- 180 gr butter
- 180 gr cream cheese
- 55 gr powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
For the Caramelized Apple Layer
- 300 gr peeled apples (about 2.5 pcs)
- 20 gr cinnamon sugar
- 20 gr butter
- 2 gr gelatin + 12 gr water
- 1/4 Bob Tonka
- 60 gr caramel
For the Whipped Ganache Layer with Caramel
- 16 gr milk chocolate
- 16 gr white chocolate
- 64 gr hot cream
- 64 gr cold cream
- 1.6 gr of gelatin + 10 gr of water (or about 12 gr of gelatin mass)
- 60 gr caramel
Instructions
1. Prepare the Moist Carrot Cake Layers
- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- In a bowl, combine the flour with salt, soda, and baking powder. Sift them together to remove lumps.
- Peel the carrots and grate them finely. In a separate large bowl, add the spices, half the sugar (150g), and vegetable oil to the grated carrots and mix well.
- In another bowl, beat the eggs and yolk with the remaining half of the sugar (150g) for about 7 minutes until fluffy.
- Gently fold the carrot mixture into the beaten eggs until just combined.
- Add the sifted flour mixture and the chopped nuts, mixing gently to keep the air in the batter.
- Divide the dough evenly into three 16 cm molds.
- Bake at 180°C for about 45 minutes. You’ll know they are done when a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
2. Craft the Homemade Caramel Sauce
- Melt the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Do not add any liquid; just let it melt until it caramelizes nicely.
- In a separate pot, heat the cream until it’s almost boiling. Carefully pour the hot cream into the hot caramel (be careful, it will bubble up).
- Once the mixture cools down to about 40°C, add the butter. Use an immersion blender to emulsify it until it’s perfectly smooth.
- Transfer the sauce to a piping bag (cornet) and seal it to keep air out. You will need about 120g of this caramel for the cake assembly.
3. Prepare the Exquisite Layer Cake Fillings
For the No-Bake “Cold Cheesecake” Layer
- Soak the gelatin in cold water to bloom.
- Prepare a 13 cm mold.
- Mix the yolks with sugar, starch, and vanilla. Heat the cream until almost boiling, then pour it over the yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the heat and cook (brew) until it reaches 80°C.
- Pour this hot custard over the white chocolate and butter.
- Heat the cocoa butter until liquid and pour it over the chocolate and custard mixture. Stir everything until smooth.
- Add the bloomed gelatin to the warm mixture and stir to dissolve.
- Soften the cream cheese with a whisk, then fold the chocolate butter custard into it.
- Pour the mixture into the 13 cm mold and let it cool in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the cake.
For the Spiced Caramelized Apple Layer
- Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes (approx. 1 cm x 1 cm).
- Place the apples in a saucepan along with the tonka bean, cinnamon sugar, and butter. Simmer gently until the apples soften.
- Add the caramel sauce and simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Once the temperature drops to 60°C, add the bloomed and melted gelatin.
- Pour the mixture into a 13 cm diameter mold and refrigerate until assembly.
For the Whipped Caramel Ganache Layer
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate.
- Melt the bloomed gelatin and add it to the mixture.
- Once the chocolate mixture has cooled to 30°C, add the cold cream. Use an immersion blender to emulsify everything together.
- Let it stabilize in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours before whipping.
4. Prepare the Cream Cheese Frostings and Assemble Your Layered Carrot Cake
For the Cream Cheese Filling and Smooth Frosting
- Cream cheese for assembly: Whip all the listed ingredients together until smooth.
- Smooth frosting: Simply whip all the ingredients together. Set this aside for the final exterior frosting.
Final Layered Carrot Cake Assembly
- Spread the first carrot cake layer with the cream cheese filling prepared for assembly.
- Place the cold cheesecake layer on top of the cream.
- Add a little more of the assembly filling, then place the apple layer on top.
- Add another thin layer of filling, then place the second carrot cake layer.
- Spread with more filling, then add the whipped ganache and drizzle with caramel.
- Place the final carrot cake layer on top to seal the cake.
- Frost the entire cake with the smooth cream cheese frosting, decorating it to your taste.
5. A Baker’s Secret for Precision: How to Weigh Small Amounts of Gelatin for Your Layered Cake
How exactly do you weigh 1.6 grams of gelatin? Here is a trick: take 2 grams of gelatin (or 5 or 10—whatever the minimum amount your scale registers accurately). Soak the gelatin in water at a ratio of 1 to 6 (1g of gelatin to 6g of water). For example, mix 5 grams of gelatin with 30 grams of water. Once the gelatin swells, simply weigh out 12 grams of this mass. In 12 grams of this hydrated mixture, there will be approximately 1.7 grams of gelatin and 10.3 grams of water. It’s almost perfect, and exactly what you need for a perfectly set layered cake.
Trust me, a variance of 0.1 g of gelatin won’t turn your filling into iron or rubber. If you don’t own jewelry scales (which are actually quite cheap to order online), this weighing method works incredibly well.
Any remaining gelatin mass can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week for your next baking project.
