Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake with Brown Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Servings: 24
Yield: 24 servings

Description

This carrot sheet cake not only feeds a crowd, but it also gets an extra delicious flavor from the addition of brown butter to both the cake and the frosting.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Directions

1 Place butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan constantly, until butter is bubbling, smells nutty, and browned bits begin to form on the bottom of the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and pour butter into a heat-safe bowl. Allow brown butter to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
2 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 12x16-inch pan and line with parchment paper.
3 Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt together in a bowl until well combined.
4 Beat cooled brown butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, until mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Pour in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add in remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.
5 Fold in shredded carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
6 Bake in the preheated oven until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of it comes out clean, 23 to 27 minutes. Transfer onto a wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
7 While cake is cooling, repeat step 1 to brown butter for the frosting. Let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
8 Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until completely smooth. Add in cooled brown butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla and salt. Beat frosting at medium-high speed until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
9 Spread frosting over the cooled cake. Chill cake until ready to serve.