Miso Carrot Cake
+ cream cheese frosting & a simple decorating tutorial
I am the designated birthday cake baker for each birthday celebrated in my family, and I take the job seriously. Each year, I strive to make an even better cake than the last year, always based on the birthday person’s requests. The most recent birthday was for my boyfriend Anthony, who LOVES a good carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
Over the year, I have made him some pretty great carrot cakes, but this year’s creation definitely took the cake 😉 (I love a pun).) I wanted to spice things up, and I have been LOVING adding white miso paste—a Japanese fermented soybean paste—to different dishes lately. Miso paste has a salty, savory flavor that is PACKED with umami flavor. When paired with sweet flavors, miso paste balances the sweetness and adds an incredible dimension of flavor (miso chocolate chip cookies are also INSANE.) The result of the cake was INSANE…It was such a perfect balance of flavors, and paired with my classic cream cheese frosting, it brought it to the next level.
This miso carrot cake is a simple recipe that yields a SUPER moist and flavorful cake. It comes together in one bowl without any special equipment and uses mainly pantry staples (if you’re like me and have miso paste on hand at all times.) We love a crunchy element in cake, so we added pecans (which can be subbed for walnuts or almonds), but the options are endless… Add shredded coconut, candied ginger, or raisins, or keep it simple with just the carrot. Either way, this cake is DELICIOUS, and I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do.
Without further to do, let’s get into the recipe….. Full PDF printout at the bottom.
Miso Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp white miso paste
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 stick (4oz) salted butter, melted
1 cup olive oil
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups carrot, freshly grated
1 cup pecan, roughly chopped
Frosting Ingredients:
1 stick (4oz) salted butter, softened at room temp
2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened at room temp
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you want it :)
Steps:
Baking the Cake
Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare two 8-inch pans **(see note for using different-sized pans) by spraying them with nonstick spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper rounds.
In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, white and brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Add the melted butter and olive oil and stir well. (The batter will be pretty stiff and thick at this point, but just add some extra elbow grease to combine it nicely.)
Add the miso paste and vanilla extract, then the four eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
Stir in carrots and pecans until ingredients are well combined.
Evenly divide the carrot cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake at 350F for 30- 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with only a few moist crumbs.
Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
Allow the cake to cool completely before covering it in frosting and decorating.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Combine butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl using an electric mixer to beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.
With the mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until the ingredients are thoroughly combined (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula). Adjust more sugar to your sweetness preference.
Decorating
To decorate the cake as I did, begin by adding a small amount of frosting on the bottom of the plate. Add the first cake, then add a layer of frosting. Place the second cake on top and apply a thin layer of frosting along the top and sides of the cake. Then, place the cake in the fridge for 15-30 minutes (this is known as a crumb coat, which helps seal the cake's crumbs and keep a clean outer layer of frosting).
While the cake chills, take two small bowls and put 2 tbsp of frosting in one and 1/4 cup in another. Color the smaller one with green food dye and the other with orange food dye. Stir well to combine. Transfer the orange frosting into a small piping bag or zip-lock bag, cutting a small edge of the corner.
Add the second and final layer of frosting onto the cake in an even layer.
Pipe on small lines using the orange frosting in the piping bag to form small “carrots” scattered across the top of the cake. Use any small spoon (I used a caviar spoon here), to carefully add two short lines off the top of the carrot to draw the “carrot tops.”
ENJOY!!!!
**NOTE: Cake pan options
Two 9″ pans: bake for approximately 30-33 minutes.
9×13″ pan: bake for approximately 45-50 minutes
Bundt pan: bake for approximately 55 minutes.
Four 6″ pans: bake for approximately 40 minutes
Here is a PDF printout version for you:
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! And if you recreate this beauty, please take pictures and share them with me!!! I LOVE to see your recreations ❤️