Naked carrot cake with coconut buttercream

This carrot cake was on my summer bucket list and now it can be on yours too! This naked carrot cake literally spells summer and is really worth the time it takes to decorate it and everything. It doesn’t matter how many times I make it, it tastes the same every time. You can never actually go wrong with moist carrot cake, and it pairs so well with coconut flavors. I added Oreos and walnuts to the filling but you can use chopped fruit or even toasted coconut.

The key difference between a regular frosted cake and a naked cake is that the latter design is very bare and minimalistic. With a traditional cake, you frost layers of buttercream over the cake. However, with a naked cake, less buttercream is used so you can actually see parts of the cake. It is a very trendy and modern design which I’m a huge fan of. It makes me feel like I’m a fancy cake artist, even though I’m far from it.

Things you’ll need:

• Cake spatula to spread the buttercream on the cake
• Cake turntable stand to frost the cake easily at all angles
• Cake scraper to flatten the sides and top of the cake

The carrot cake filling

The buttercream is made with coconut cream instead of regular cream to enhance the coconut taste. Even the carrot cake batter has coconut milk. Add coconut extract too instead of vanilla extract if you have that! This coconut buttercream is so yummy and I added crushed Oreos in between the layers for a fun twist. As you refrigerate the cake to set the buttercream, the Oreos soften up. So don’t worry- you won’t taste crunchy biscuit pieces in your cake. It just adds a nice chocolate flavor along with the crushed walnuts to the buttercream without being overwhelming. Refrigerate this for at least 2-3 hours so that everything sets nicely. Serve this naked carrot cake up at your next patio party and have a good time!

If you’re looking for a full-fledged cake with all the layers of buttercream, check out my classic chocolate cake. Or if you still prefer laidback cakes, my frosted carrot sheet cake will do the trick!

Naked carrot cake with coconut buttercream

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Servings: 8 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 45 Minutes 45 Minutes

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Carrot cake

2-3 large carrots, grated (about 2&1/2 cups)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs, whisked and at room temperature

1&1/2 cups coconut milk, at room temperature

1 tablespoon coconut extract or vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

 

Coconut buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar

1 teaspoon coconut extract or vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut cream

 

Garnish and filling 

1&1/2 cups crushed Oreos (about 16 Oreos)

1 cup crushed walnuts

Instructions

Making the carrot cakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl. This is your dry mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the butter, sugar, coconut milk, extract and whisked eggs together using a hand or stand mixer. This is your wet mixture.
4. Whisk the wet mixture with the dry mixture until it is smooth. Fold in the grated carrots last with a spatula.
5. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and pour in the batter from the previous step equally amongst the two pans.
6. Bake the cake at 350°F/175°C for 45 minutes.
7. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the pan before taking them out of the pan. That way they won't fall apart since hot cakes are usually very soft and delicate.
8. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to continue cooling completely to room temperature.

Making the coconut buttercream

1. Cut the room temperature butter into small cubes. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter until it is smooth.
2. Sift in the icing sugar, coconut/vanilla extract into the same bowl and gradually whisk in the coconut cream until it looks pale and fluffy. This is your buttercream.

Frosting the carrot cake

1. Spread a thick layer of buttercream over the top of both cakes. Smooth it out with a cake spatula. Press crushed Oreos and nuts to the top of the frosted cakes.
   

2. Stack the cake circles directly on top of each other. Spread the rest of the buttercream around the sides and top of the cake. Use a cake scraper along the sides of the cake to even out the buttercream on the cake.
3. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours to set the buttercream.
4. Serve the cake cold always.