I love carrot cake, I really do. But shredding all those carrots? That’s not really my idea of a fun and relaxing baking sesh. I imagine that’s why I’d make a really lousy line cook and why my future in the restaurant business looks bleak. I mean, I’m willing to knead dough for several minutes, or dice pungent onions, but please don’t make me peel and grate carrots. I love you, carrots, I do…but I just tend to love you more once you’re in a finished cake, you know? And for this reason, I don’t make carrot cake very often. I do, however, love all those wonderful spices that you find in carrot cake, as well as the surprise raisins and nuts you’ll often find in a traditional slice. That’s why I tend to make a lot of spiced cakes when this time of the year rolls around. With this spiced walnut cake, I get all of my favorite things about carrot cake sans the effort of peeling and grating those pesky carrots.
All those delicious fall spices are in a moist and tender cake made just for the kind of girl that can’t be bothered with tedious prep work. Clearly, I can be a lazy girl at times; I hope you can relate. Best of all, this spiced walnut cake is fabulous with cream cheese frosting. In fact, I demand you serve this cake with a cream cheese frosting. After all, isn’t that why we all love fall cakes anyways? I love the slight tang that cream cheese lends to sweet buttercream frosting.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves give this cake its distinct “spiced” flavor, while the raisins and chopped walnuts provide lovely texture against the tender crumb. I usually like to decorate cakes like this with a “naked” look, merely frosting the tops of the cake layers rather than the sides. I’d rather get thick frosting in between then a light smear all over; I’m sure you agree. This spiced walnut cake smells and tastes so incredible, I promise no one will be missing the carrots!
Spiced Walnut Cake
A moist and delicately spiced cake studded with walnuts and decorated in cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins plus 2 tbsp more for garnishing
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped, plus 2 tbsp more for garnishing
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 1/4 cup flour sifted
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
for the frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar or more/less to taste
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- splash of milk if needed to loosen up frosting
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Prepare two 6-inch cake pans by greasing them and dusting them with flour.
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In a medium bowl, combine the raisins and walnuts with the boiled water and baking soda. Give everything a stir and let this mixture rest while you prepare the batter.
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Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and mix again until combined. Add lemon juice and vanilla; then mix.
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Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt. Give everything a mix until it’s all blended in. Add the bowl full of water, raisins, and walnuts, then mix until it’s all combined.
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Distribute the batter among the two pans and bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before flipping them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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Meanwhile, create the cream cheese frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add a splash of milk if you feel like you need to loosen up the frosting.
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Once the cakes are completely cool, use an offset spatula to smooth the frosting over one layer of cake. Top with the second cake layer; smooth remaining frosting over the top of this layer. Center the extra raisins and chopped walnuts on top of the cake.
Recipe Notes
The baking soda (which is dissolved in the boiling water) helps soften and moisten the raisins and walnuts.
Hannah | The Swirling Spoon says
I love the frosting to cake ratio you have going on here!!! And I too haaaate the part about making carrot cake where you have to grate the carrots… even if you use a food processor or something to grate them in two seconds flat, you have to spend so much time cleaning the damn thing afterwards hah. You have captured Autumn so well in this cake Beeta especially with those toppings and the golden sprinkles! xx
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Hannah! I am all about that ratio too…the more frosting here, the better! And I completely agree – the food processor doesn’t necessarily make things easier, and I also don’t love the way it shreds the carrots…not the same as hand grating them. Thanks for your sweet words, deary <3
Kristina says
This cake sounds delicious, I love everything about this ensemble. I am in love with the spices in this cake, and the walnuts are perfect for this time of year. Oh and cream cheese frosting is of course everybody’s favourite.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Kristina! The spices just warm you up like a cozy blanket, and the cream cheese frosting is my favorite! <3
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect says
This looks amazing! Carrot cake is probably my favourite cake and so I know that I would love this cake, the walnuts and the frosting are my favourite parts of the carrot cake 🙂
This frosting looks perfect as well, I’m always looking for a good cream cheese frosting recipe, quite often they are too runny.
Lovely job Beeta. x
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you Angela! I’ve used this cream cheese frosting since I first started baking and it always holds up really well, so hopefully you enjoy it too! XO
Kristine | Kristine's Kitchen says
Grating carrots is definitely not my favorite job, either! But I do love spice cake and this one is just gorgeous! That frosting looks so light and creamy!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Kristine! The frosting is one of my favorite parts – it just compliments the lovely spices in the cake so well! 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Lol, Beeta! I completely understand! You know I worked in restaurants, so I have first hand experience doing LOTS of tedious crap in the kitchen. To be honest, some days I didn’t mind spending hours in the morning prepping for the day… sometimes it was very calming and therapeutic. Other days I wanted to bang my head against a brick wall, or hide in the walk in cooler (<– I did that quite often). Anyways, spiced cakes are totally what fall is about, and yours definitely doesn’t disappoint! I LOVE that you used a classic carrot cake as your guide but swapped out the carrots for walnuts!! Such a fantastic idea! This is not only beautiful, it also looks seriously delicious – Like hand me the whole cake because I don’t want to share, type of delicious! Pinned! Cheers, my dear! XO
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Oh no! Frozen Cheyanne hiding in a cooler! I’ve told you guys that I’ve taught in commercial kitchens, therefore I’ve been in those walk-in fridges, and one time I got stuck in one because I guess I wasn’t pulling hard enough on the handle. It was my first time in there and I almost had an anxiety attack lol. So I’m scared of those things now! :p Anyways, thanks so much for your sweet comments, lots of love sent your way, beautiful! XO
Marissa says
Oh my does this look wonderful, Beeta! I believe it is the perfect autumn dessert, taking full advantage of root vegetables, warming spices and comforting, creamy frosting. Just lovely!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thanks Marissa!! The frosting is awesome!!! <3
Jessica Holmes says
Oh my! Beeta, that cake looks exceptional! Like it stepped right out of a bakery. Well done! I love anything spiced so I know I would love this one. Very pretty presentation!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you so much, Jess! I so appreciate it <3
Harriet Emily (Harriet Smith) says
Grating carrots is definitely my least favourite thing about carrot cake! I love all of the spices, nuts and raisins in the cake too, they’re so delicious and perfect for Autumn! This is such a beautiful cake Beeta – and it’s such a great idea to leave out the carrot and create another amazing type of cake! Delicous! <3
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Harriet! My laziness took over! :p This spice cake is my favorite autumn cake 😀
Kelley @ Chef Savvy says
Oh my gosh I agree grating carrots is the absolute worst part of making a carrot cake. I love the idea of making a spiced cake without it and adding walnuts for crunch. Sounds fantastic Beeta!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thanks so much, Kelley! I love the walnuts too! 🙂
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Girrrl, I completely want to get in my kitchen and bake a cake posthaste! Forget carrot cake, who needs it when I have this staring me down?! All those spices, walnuts, raisins and that cream cheese frosting… And okay, I get the carrot thing, but Beeta, you are not lazy! Good Grief! The naked cake is stunning and so less tedious than crumb coating and icing an entire cake! I’ll do this when I’m feeling lazy! hehe… lets call this the lazy girl’s cake! Thank you for this my dear! Just gorgeous!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Lol thanks Traci! I feel ridiculous saying I hate to grate carrots, but I can’t lie! They’re just not firm and easy to peel like an apple, for example. They’re all thin and flimsy, weirdly shaped…makes it difficult to peel and grate them. And I love the title for this cake that you came up with…The Lazy Girl’s Cake is perfect!!! <3
Kelly says
As much as I love carrot cake, grating the carrots is not my favorite part either. Love that this cake has all those spices! It looks gorgeous and the walnuts are perfect!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Kelly! The spices really do brighten up this cake and give it the autumn feel we all embrace this time of the year <3
mimi says
A beautiful cake. You’re very talented. I wouldn’t make a good ine cook either, or chef.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you so much, Mimi! I think we’d both take cake over working the line any day! 😉
Sam @ SugarSpunRun says
This cake is gorgeous, Beeta! I love the "naked" style for frosting cakes, too, and this is done here beautifully! Wish I could have a slice right now!! 🙂
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Sam! Wish I could share a slice with you too! <3
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen says
I am with you on this one Beeta, I hate grating a mound of carrots ( I have to admit I just pop them in the food processor using the grater attachment!) I’m a huge fan of walnut cake, I so want a slice of this now, just gorgeous!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
A good grater is always awesome! My food processor’s attachment shreds them to bits rather than truly shred them like a manual grater, so I can never use that option 🙁 But this spice cake never makes me feel like I’m missing out! Thanks love <3
Katie says
Hi! Do you think this recipe would work in a bundt pan? Thanks, looks delicious!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Hi Katie! Yes you could definitely make this in a bundt pan! You might have to bake the cake for longer, probably 45 min plus (rather than 30 or so minutes). But keep checking on the cake every 7 minutes or so after the 35 minute mark.
Also, are you still planning to do a cream cheese frosting? If you wanted to do a glaze, I highly suggest a cream cheese glaze like the one done in this recipe: http://www.monpetitfour.com/brioche-rolls/ 🙂
Hope you enjoy! I love this one!
Vassi says
Hi there, your cake looks amazing – quick question regarding the flour you use in this recipe. In Australia we use either plain (all purpose) flour or self raising flour – which one is used in this recipe as it’s not specified and I’d love to try making it! .