Swedish Carrot Cake

Last updated on August 9th, 2022 at 12:08 am

Delicately spiced and ridiculously moist, my Swedish Carrot Cake is super quick and easy to make and is topped with the most delicious, ultra creamy white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

WHY IS THIS A “SWEDISH” CARROT CAKE?

Well I never knew carrot cake was a Swedish thing, until I was in Europe in 2019.  We took a train from Copenhagen to Malmo for the day and I had (of course) searched out the best cafe/coffee in town.  The cutest little cafe, Lilla Kafferosteriet, served the most delicious Swedish carrot cake I’d ever had, and the frosting was to die for!  So light and fluffy….and not your regular cream cheese frosting.  So after soaking up the Swedish summer sun and devouring my insanely delicious cake and coffee, I vowed to replicate it when I got home.  And now here’s my version of that Swedish Carrot Cake….

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS CARROT CAKE

• It’s super easy to make (and practically fool-proof!)
• An amazingly moist cake thanks to the canola oil and juicy carrots.
• It stays fresh for days!
• It’s sandwiched and topped with a luscious white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

SOME OF THE STAR INGREDIENTS

• Self-raising flour:  the rising agent is already in there, so need need for an extra ingredient.
• Juicy carrots:  add texture, moisture and sweetness.
• Shredded coconut:  for sweetness and texture.
• Walnuts:  for crunch.
• Spices:  nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger give this carrot cake a Nordic flavour.

TIPS ON MAKING THE PERFECT SWEDISH CARROT CAKE

• Whisk the eggs and sugar for a good 5 minutes
• Everything else is just mixed until combined -don’t overmix.
• For even layers, weigh the batter into the cake tins -you should get around 730g of cake batter in each tin.

FOR THE CREAMIEST WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• Melt the white chocolate and let it cool before adding it to the frosting.  You can melt it in the microwave, on 20 second bursts, giving it a good stir in between.
• Make sure your butter and cream cheese are at room temperature.  If it’s cold, the chocolate will set when mixed in.
• Stop the processor and scrape the bowl, to ensure all of the ingredients are mixed through.
• If it’s warm where you are, you can pop the frosting into the fridge for 5-10 minutes, before using it to frost the cake.

So if I can’t get back to Sweden (for now) then at least I can dream about it while eating my Swedish Carrot Cake.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Please let me know, by rating this recipe or leaving a comment below.

Swedish Carrot Cake

Delicately spiced and deliciously moist, this is the softest carrot cake, topped with a super creamy white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Afternoon Tea, Dessert, fillings

Cuisine American, Australian, English, Swedish

Servings 12

Equipment

• 2 x 20cm round cake tins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Swedish Carrot Cake

• 250 g Self raising flour
• 300 g Brown sugar
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Ground ginger
• 1 cup Canola oil
• 4 Eggs XL
• 3 cups Grated carrots 3 medium carrots
• 75 g Shredded coconut
• 90 g Walnuts, chopped

Fluffiest Cream Cheese Frosting

• 340 g Cream cheese block style, room temp
• 113 g Unsalted butter room temp
• 300 g White chocolate melted and cooled
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 32 g Creme fraîche

Instructions

 

Swedish Carrot Cake

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F/165°FF
• Line 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper
• Using either a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on medium for 5 minutes
• Gradually add the oil
• Sift the flour and spices, then stir that through the egg mixture
• Fold through the carrots, coconut and walnuts
• Divide mixture into the 2 cake tins (each should contain around 730g of mixture)
• Bake for 30 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean
• Cool the cakes in the tin, then turn onto a cake rack, to cool completely before frosting.

Fluffiest Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a food processor, process the cream cheese, butter and creme fraîche until smooth and creamy.
• Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the cooled melted chocolate. Pulse until blended.
• Add the vanilla and pulse until incorporated. You may need to stop the processor and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Sandwich the two cakes together with half of the frosting, then coat the cakes with the frosting, as required.
• Due to the cream cheese and creme fraîche, the frosted cake should be kept refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Notes

• frosting recipe is from King Arthur Baking Company.
• see post on how to melt the white chocolate.
• if it's warm where you are, you may need to put the finished frosting in the fridge for 10 minutes to thicken up.

Keyword carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, Swedish cake

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For more favourite recipes from my travels, check out

Red Velvet Cupcakes from New York

Salted Caramel Macarons from Paris

plus many more to come!