Dulce de Leche Carrot Cake Recipe

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Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

Historically, carrot cake hasn’t been my favorite. I’ve found a few carrot cake recipes that I really like (scones, poke cake, pancakes, and crinkle cookies) using a cake mix, but I’ve never found a from-scratch recipe that worked for me.

It’s a texture thing. I just don’t love chunks of carrots in my cake (and NEVER raisins, bleh!). So when I saw this video on Facebook with a recipe for a Brazilian Carrot Cake that blends the carrots into the batter instead of shredding them, I KNEW this was something I had to try!

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

adore carrot cake and caramel together with the more traditional cream cheese frosting and pecans, so I decided to get a little crazy with this cake and add a thick schmear of dulce de leche in the center of this cake alongside a creamy, decadent layer of cream cheese frosting.

Ah-mazing.

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

So here’s how you’ll make this non-traditional carrot cake:

Get out your blender and toss in the carrots, the eggs and the oil. Blend it all up until it’s a smooth puree. It won’t take very long at all, so be careful not to overdo it!

Then you mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (the flour, sugar, and baking powder). Add the wet to the dry, splash in a little vanilla, and mix it all up to make the batter.

I baked two 9-inch rounds. But you could do this as a sheet cake or cupcakes, whatever you want. Just be sure to adjust the baking time if you change it up.

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

Whip up a batch of homemade cream cheese frosting and open a can of dulce de leche. Spread everything on the cooled cake generously and ENJOY!

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

Dulce de Leche Carrot Cake

Yield: 16 Servings

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium carrots (or 250g of baby carrots)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Caramel and Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 can dulce de leche (I used 13.4 oz Nestle La Lechera)
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1-3 tablespoons milk
  • Crushed pecans, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Place the carrots, eggs, and oil in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the blended ingredients and the vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until batter forms.

Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans. Even divide the batter between to two cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Make the frosting:

Whisk together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Whisk in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing in between each addition. Whisk in the vanilla and add the milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach a good, spreadable consistency.

Let cake cool COMPLETELY.

Spread about 3/4 of the dulce de leche over a layer of the cake. Spread a portion of the cream cheese frosting over the dulce de leche. Place the second layer of cake over the frosting. Spread the rest of the cream cheese frosting over the cake.

Heat and drizzle the remaining dulce de leche over the cake. Garnish with pecans and cake crumble (if you leveled the cake and have scraps to use).

Store covered in the refrigerator.

Not your typical carrot cake! Carrots are blended smoothly into the cake batter creating a smooth and fluffy spiced cake topped with rich dulce de leche, cream cheese frosting, and pecans.
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