Carrot Pound Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting + Thoughts from KC

Hello, friend. 

Back at it again with another cake recipe! That’s number 2 for 2016?? I would apologize, but I have no shame. What’s wrong with posting a few too many cake recipes? I see no issues here. This past weekend was Easter (hence the carrot cake recipe). I never knew that carrot cake was a typical Easter dessert. Then I started thinking “well maybe it’s because rabbits eat carrots. Rabbits are comparable to bunnies. The Easter Bunny, maybe?” Is that true? I really would like to know. I hate being an Uninformed Umberto when it comes to festive figures. Anywho, I was able to head home for the weekend and spend time with family and celebrate the holiday. The holiday was filled with honey glazed ham and double decker brownies. So good!

On a more serious note, let’s talk barbeque, shall we?

Two weekends ago was the end trail of my spring break. Momma Crawford and Father surprised the family with an impromptu weekend getaway to Kansas City, a city none of us had ever visited before. Being that Kansas City is one of the many BBQ capitals of the US and that BBQ is my favorite food to eat. PERIOD. I couldn’t pack my bags any fast. Speaking of ribs, there are very few foods I could eat every day, but BBQ ribs are that one exception (and maybe a cinnamon apple pound cake). I could eat ribs for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack. Slow smoked on a wood burning fire and charred to a beautiful coal black. YES!! That is what true comfort food is.

All that weekend, we were granted outstanding food, soulful blues music, beautiful sites, and memories galore. We ate at upper-scale BBQ eateries like Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, which had the best side dishes (ie. The Cheesy corn bake, baked beans, and coleslaw) and Q39, which was arguably one of the greatest meals I’ve ever had. EVER. Their honey glazed spare ribs were to die for. Pure perfection. The subtle sweetness of the honey played beautifully with the chard, smokiness of the slow roasted ribs. Also, the Dulce de Leche cheesecake was heaven on earth. The cake was light and decadently rich. We also ventured to more casual venues for BBQ like Joe’s Kansas City Barbeque, located inside of an old gas station with a line stretching out the door, and B.B’s Lawnside BBQ, with its long picnic benches, open windows, and stage area in front where Jon got to perform during an open mic set. So fun! 

Trying to work off the insane amounts of BBQ consumed, we strolled through infinite arrays of art galleries, saw giant heads made out of fruit and vegetables, basked in the morning light in an old train station, learned about the life and work of Da Vinci, and visited the largest WW1 museum in the country. All in all, I loved the city of Kansas City and I am awaiting the day to return and wander through its industrial iron streets, eating spare ribs all along the way. Next time, I challenge myself to try more BBQ places, get a drink downtown, scoop out the local coffee scene, and do some more exploring (with my camera by my side)! 

If you have been to Kansas City and know of any other incredibly spots to get some barbeque, leave me a comment in the comments below. Check out the Kansas City Tourism site to see what else there is to do in the great city of KC. 

 Carrot Pound Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe was adapted from a Clabber Girl recipe I tested a few months back. The basic pound cake recipe was so delicious, I knew I needed to adapt it into my own. You can choose to cut the cake in half and fill it with the brown butter cream cheese or just dollop a layer on top, leaving the cake intact. Whichever method you believe works for you! This cake turned out beautiful! The inside was warm, buttery, and bursting with notes of cinnamon and ginger. It seems odd that cake like this is an Easter tradition, but who even cares?! With this brown butter, the nutty flavors it brings just elevates the cream cheese to a more dynamic layer of flavor. Happy baking!

Ingredients

            Carrot Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1 ¼ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cups cake flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1/3 cup sour cream

4 eggs

12 ounces grated carrots, 6 medium size

            Brown butter cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1 8oz block cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

For the carrot cake. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch tube pan or one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until smooth; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, Clabber Girl Baking Powder, salt, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger. Add to creamed mixture. Mix on low speed 1 minute.

Add sour cream and vanilla extract. Add eggs and beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Fold in the grated carrots. Pour batter into greased 9-inch tube pan, or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake in 350 degrees F. oven for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool completely.

For the brown butter cream cheese frosting. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until nut-brown in color, about 8-10 minutes Remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediments behind. Allow to cool slightly

In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the confectioners’ sugar, mixing slowly at first then increasing the speed as the mixture begins to incorporate. Add the vanilla, heavy cream, and 2-3 tablespoons of the brown butter (reserve the rest for drizzling over pieces of cake). Beat until smooth. Refrigerate until needed or cake has cooled completely.

Assembly. Fifteen or so minutes before you intend to layer the pound cake, pop it in the fridge and allow it cool. This was once you start cutting, the cake won’t be so crumbly. On a cutting board with a serrated knife, cut the cake in half-length wise so that the cake is in two even pieces. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto one-half of the cake and place the other remaining half on top. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately. 

{click here for the printable recipe}