3-Layer Carrot Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

⏱ 120 mins 🍽 ['16', '1 9-inch layer cake'] 🏷 Dessert

This impressive dessert features three moist layers of carrot cake, made easily in a food processor with ingredients like cooked carrots, pineapple, and walnuts. The cake is assembled and covered with a smooth, zesty frosting made from cream cheese, butter, and lemon juice. It yields one 9-inch layer cake, ideal for serving a crowd.

3-Layer Carrot Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1 pound cooked carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2.5 cups white sugar
  • 1.5 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
  • 1 (8 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple, drained
  • 1 cup corn oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1.25 cups butter, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 5.6666665077209 cups confectioners' sugar

Method

  1. Set your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans by buttering them, then lining the bottoms with wax paper and greasing the paper.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the cooked carrots, all-purpose flour, white sugar, chopped walnuts, drained pineapple, corn oil, eggs, ground cinnamon, baking soda, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and salt.
  3. Transfer the carrot mixture to a food processor and blend until you achieve a smooth consistency, processing in batches if needed. Evenly portion the batter into the three prepared pans.
  4. Bake the cakes in your preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool fully for about 1 hour.
  5. For the frosting, use a large bowl to beat the cream cheese, 1.25 cups butter, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract together until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar while beating, continuing until the frosting is creamy.
  6. Position one cooled cake layer on your serving plate and cover it with a quarter of the frosting. Add the second layer and spread another quarter of the frosting on top. Finish with the third layer, then use the remaining half of the frosting to cover the top and sides of the entire cake.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories844 kcal
Fat48 g
Sugars78 g
Protein8 g
Sodium492 mg

Recipe details

CategoryDessert
AuthorRoland G Mandish