Carrot Cake with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream & Candied Pecans with coconut, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans makes a combo that will swoon.

slice of carrot cake on plate with candied pecans


I was never a huge carrot cake fan until I made my German Chocolate Carrot Cake, and now, honestly, I canโ€™t get enough. I have made one every week since.

Seriously, I have. And thank goodness my kids love carrot cakeโ€”who knew?!

slice of carrot cake on a plate

I am still shocked they fight over who has the biggest piece. I mean after all it is made with carrots โ€“ a vegetable and known to make little kids gag. But none the less they love it and this Carrot Cake Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream & Candied Pecans was no exception.

There was one thing they couldnโ€™t get enough of: the buttercream. OH. MY. WORD. This buttercream is to die for. It bodes well with the candied pecans. I thought at first I would get bothered by the texture of the brown sugar in the buttercream, but with the pecans and carrot cake, it just all comes together.

TwitterCarrot Cake with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream & Candied Pecans with coconut, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans make a combo that will have you swooning.

I called my friend after making this and told her we needed to form a 12-step program for food bloggers on how not to eat the entire thing when they make something they love. Seriously, I couldnโ€™t stop. And that is all I ate all day. I’m not kidding. But like my dad said, at least I got some protein with the pecans. I guess thatโ€™s true.

How to layer a carrot cake

  • Make your buttercream! This recipe is made with a brown sugar buttercream.
  • Once cakes are completely cool, remove from pans. Place one cake on cake stand or serving plate.
  • Top with 1/3 of the maple brown sugar buttercream frosting.
  • Add the second cake on top of the buttercream and frost the entire cake with the remaining maple brown sugar buttercream.
  • Ensure the top is completely covered, and you cannot see the cake. The sides will be okay if covered in frosting, but you may still see the cake in some areas.
  • Once frosted, immediately add the candied pecans to the side. Gently press them into the frosting to make sure they stick. Donโ€™t press too hard; you donโ€™t want them pushed into the cake, just on the frosting.
  • Serve immediately or save for later.
carrot cake on two forks

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collage image of carrot cake with pecans and recipe title

Carrot Cake with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream & Candied Pecans

Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 698 kcal
Carrot Cake with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream & Candied Pecans with coconut, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans make a combo that will have you swooning.
piece of carrot cake

Ingredients
 

Carrot Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 cups grated carrots about 4 large
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Candied Pecans

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup pecan halves

Maple Buttercream

  • 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups butter
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions
 

Carrot Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Spray two 9-inch cake pans* with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, gently spray 2 โ€“ 9 inch round baking pans with cooking oil and set aside.
  • Mix together brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla together until smooth and there are no lumps. . In separate large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until combined. Gently fold in coconut and carrots. Pour batter into the prepared pan, making sure to divide evenly.
  • Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack until completely cooled.
  • While cake is cooling prepare candied pecans and frosting.

Candied Pecans

  • Coarsely chopped the 1 cup of pecan halves and place in a medium sautรฉ pan over medium-high heat. Toast pecans for 3 minutes, give or take, occasionally stirring making sure not to burn. Toast until you start to smell the nutty aroma, once toasted gently stir over brown sugar mixture and constantly stir for 15-20 seconds, allowing the sugar to caramelize over the pecans.
  • Quickly spread out pecan pieces over parchment paper and cool. Set aside until ready to use.

Maple Pecan Brown Sugar Buttercream

  • In a large bowl, I use my Kitchen Aid mixer cream together butter, brown sugar and maple syrup. Slowly blend in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk and continue mixing until light and fluffy. You may need to add more sugar or milk until you find the right consistency, this varies every time I do the recipe.
  • Prepare to assemble carrot cake.
  • Once cakes are completely cool, remove from pans. Place on cake on cake stand or serving plate.
  • Top with 1/3 of the maple brown sugar buttercream cheese frosting.
  • Add the second cake on top of the buttercream and frost the entire cake with the remaining maple brown sugar buttercream. Make sure the top is completely covered and you cannot see the cake, the sides will be okay if they are covered in frosting but you may still see the cake in some areas. Once frosted immediately add the candied pecans to the side. Gently press them into the frosting to make sure they stick. Donโ€™t press to hard you donโ€™t want them pressed into the cake just on the frosting.
  • Serve immediately or save for later.
  • If we are eating this later, I will set in the fridge, but my kids like it warm or at room temp, so pull cake about 30 to an hour before serving. My son, Madden loves to heat it up to the frosting melts.

Notes

Carrot Cake recipe from Sallyโ€™s Baking Addiction Candied Pecan recipe from Two Healthy Kitchens
Calories: 698kcalCarbohydrates: 89gProtein: 5gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 326mgPotassium: 264mgFiber: 3gSugar: 69gVitamin A: 3186IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 81mgIron: 2mg
piece of carrot cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!
Carrot Cake with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream & Candied Pecans with coconut, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans make a combo that will have you swooning.

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7 Comments

  1. Iโ€™d like to make this recipe as individual muffin style (no tin papers) cakes. Do I need to make any changes to oven temp. And baking time? Thank you! BmcD

    1. I would say it needs about 20 minutes, but you can check to see if a toothpick comes out clean starting around 15. Enjoy!

    1. Hi, I recalculated the nutrition for 16 servings, and it is about 698 calories per serving. It is a very dense, decadent cake so a little slice definitely goes a long way, and it’s more of a once-in-a-while treat! Enjoy!

  2. This frosting sounds beyond delish! Gonna put it on spice cake, which I guess is basically carrot cake w/o the carrots.