• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

La Bella Vita Cucina

delicious | beautiful | Italian | inspiration

  • Home
  • About
    • Start Here!
    • Privacy Policy
    • Media
      • Media
      • Featured On
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Shop
  • Contact
Home ยป Carrot Cake with Praline Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake with Praline Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

October 10, 2018 52 Comments


 

“What do we have to eat that’s sweet?” asked ‘Mr. Meat and Potatoes’ Bill.

“Uh, nothing hon.  Would you like me to bake a cake?”

“Oh YEA!”

“How about a layered carrot cake?  With a praline filling?”

He was speechless!   Sweets and football games on TV will quiet this man faster than anything I know.  Off to the kitchen I scurry.  This cake took one half of the day to make.  Bill got his cake and ate it too . . . the next day with this Carrot Cake with Praline Filling & Cream Cheese Frosting!  If I wanted to sell this cake I’d have to charge $10.00 a slice just to break even with the ingredients and time that was put into baking it.

This is a very dense, heavy, thick, utterly rich cake . . . if you’re looking for light and flakey, this is not your cake.  This is “wow, I-can-only-eat-half-a-slice carrot cake.”

Oh, but made with so much love!

Let me warn you, the praline filling alone will send you directly to blissful heaven.  You may even find yourself spooning it . . . no pouring it into your mouth as it cools on the stove.

This is dangerously rich stuff that puts a humble carrot cake way over the TOP!  I think I’ll make a bigger batch of it the next time to drizzle over the cake!

I doubled the frosting to make this extra luscious.  For me, it’s the frosting on the cake that matters more than the cake anyway!  But I rarely eat sweets, being more of a savory flavor kind of gal.  Maybe that’s why my husband begs me to bake . . . I really do need to do this more often.  Baking really is quite fun!

 
.
all decorated for the new season of autumn, but you can select any season
.
 
.
.
thick layers of frosting on my cakes, that’s why the recipe calls for such large amounts of ingredients.
In this open portion of the cake the praline filling is dripping down the cut cake . . . oh so good!
.
 

Carrot Cake with Praline Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake with Praline Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

For The Cake

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 1-1/3 cups drained crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup shredded coconut flakes
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 6 cups shredded carrots
  • Prepare praline filling and cream cheese frosting.

Praline Filling

  • 6 Tbsp. butter
  • 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 7 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 tsp. butter flavoring
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

For the cake

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare 3 9-inch round baking pans with butter/cooking spray and flour dusting.
  3. In a small amount (about 1 cup) of water, cook the shredded carrots for about 15 minutes to tenderize.
  4. Drain all of the water from the carrots.
  5. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.
  6. Mix well.
  7. Add the softened butter, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, pineapple, coconut, pecans, and carrots.
  8. Place equal amounts of cake batter into each of three prepared pans.
  9. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Place on baking racks to cool.

For The Praline Filling

  1. In a heavy pan, melt the butter.
  2. Add brown sugar and mix well.
  3. Add cream, vanilla, and salt.
  4. Mix well again.
  5. Slowly add in the flour and cornstarch.
  6. Vigorously blend well with a whipping utensil.
  7. Use a small-holed strainer to remove any lumps of flour/cornstarch.
  8. Pour the praline filling into a metal bowl.
  9. Place in the freezer for a few hours to thicken or refrigerate overnight.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Blend all ingredients together.
  2. Assembly of Cake
  3. Gently remove cooled 3 cakes layers from pans.
  4. Pour half of the praline filling onto 2 of the cake layers only.
  5. Immediately place these in the freezer if the filling is too runny. This will thicken up the filling more quickly.
  6. Remove chilled cake layers with praline filling from the freezer after several hours.
  7. Spread thick layers of cream cheese frosting on top of the two cake layers with filling.
  8. Place these two cake layers on top of each other and then place the final third cake layer without any praline filling on the top.
  9. Frost the cake and decorate how you like.
© Roz
 
 
 
.
pour the praline filling over two of the baked cake layers . . .
place in freezer to harden the praline
.
 
.
.spread a layer of frosting on top of “chilled” praline filling
.
 
.place the second praline-topped cake layer on next and frost it too.
.
.
.place the third cake layer without praline filling on top and ice the entire cake
.
.
.decorate your cakes with simple things from the craft stores such as these wheat and nuts accents.
 
.
.a slice of rich, dense, heavy cake with layers of praline and cream cheese frosting
 

.
My good friend, Liz gave me the honor of baking this cake for her book club and posted it on her blog, That Skinny Chick Can Bake and it was a huge hit among the group and her family!  My sister, Kelly, made it for her husband’s birthday and recommended it to Liz.  I know that you’ll get the same reactions from others when you present this delicious Carrot Cake with Praline Filling & Cream Cheese Frosting!

Enjoy this recipe for 

Carrot Cake with Praline Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting
.


Previous Post: « Cheesy Italian Rigatoni Torta
Next Post: Italian Cranberry and Orange Bundt Cake »

Reader Interactions

 

I read each and every comment and respond to questions asap, so ask away!ย  As I always say, “If you’ve made a recipe, please take a photo and I’ll be happy to share your experience and photo of the recipe with all of us in this blog community!”

The kindness of giving a thumbs up 5-star rating is greatly appreciated!

~ Roz

Comments

  1. Pegasuslegend says

    September 24, 2012 at 9:02 PM

    omg are you kidding me.. how can you photograph this and not send everyone a piece … my mouth is watering and really mad I cant have this right this minute!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 24, 2012 at 9:05 PM

      Claudia, I wish I could share this with your husband and you because it is FAR too big of a cake for just my husband (I only eat about a fourth of a normal slice)!

      XOXO,
      Roz

      Reply
  2. Jenn says

    September 24, 2012 at 9:02 PM

    This cake looks absolutely incredible!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 24, 2012 at 9:06 PM

      Jenn, thank you so much . . . it really is a good recipe that I hope you can make and enjoy some day. It feeds a LOT of people!

      Ciao,
      Roz

      Reply
  3. bellini says

    September 24, 2012 at 9:29 PM

    Oh my, I don’t think I will fit into my jeans just looking at the photo. Then again just one slice would be OK since I can never resist carrot cake!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 25, 2012 at 3:04 PM

      That’s exactly why I’m not eating a lot of this cake . . . my super-skinny-can-eat-anything-and-makes-me-sick husband will eat the entire damn thing, Val!

      Hugs to you in Canada,
      Roz

      Reply
  4. Claudia says

    September 24, 2012 at 9:35 PM

    As my daughter would say, “Oh Mon Dieu.” And pass the cake. I love how you used this as a transition to autumn. I make a carrot cake for husband for his August birthday. Thought it was pretty good until I saw this. As my mother would have said, “I’ll have a credit card slice.” Your husband and my husband would get along very well. I am wishing you all good things for your year off and recovery. Hope Italy speeds the process beautifully!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 25, 2012 at 3:05 PM

      A credit card slice is perfect for this for people like me who gain weight looking at food! Maybe even just a bit too!

      Thank you for your well wishes for my back health. . . it’s been slow recovering and I’m glad that I have a back brace for walking around Italy. The wine will help too! Especially helpful will be some strong limoncello!

      Ciao,
      Roz

      Reply
  5. Patrice says

    September 24, 2012 at 9:58 PM

    I’ll leave an address and you can mail me a piece. Okay?

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 2:46 PM

      Will do Patrice! I’ve got plenty since this cake is HUGE!

      Reply
  6. Jo says

    September 24, 2012 at 10:42 PM

    My mouth is watering and I’m actually considering making this at 10:30pm on a school night! It would be wonderful for breakfast ๐Ÿ™‚

    Jo

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 25, 2012 at 2:41 PM

      That’s too funny, Jo! I read your comment to my husband and he got a good chuckle too!

      Reply
  7. Ciao Chow Linda says

    September 24, 2012 at 11:32 PM

    Oh wow – this is wicked – and I do love wicked, so cut me an extra large slice.

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 2:46 PM

      Perfectly described LInda . . . I’d cut you as big a piece as you’d like!

      Ciao,
      Roz

      Reply
  8. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    September 25, 2012 at 3:17 AM

    Oh, what an awesome cake! Divine flavors. I wish I could taste it now….

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 25, 2012 at 2:48 PM

      Thank you Rosa. I wish you could come on over and shoot some photos with your new camera. You amaze me with your camera talent!

      Cheers too,
      Roz

      Reply
  9. Anonymous says

    September 25, 2012 at 7:19 AM

    I read the recipe, looked at the pictures, and gained 2 pounds.

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 25, 2012 at 12:51 PM

      Too funny! I hope you enjoyed it! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Reply
  10. Lisa @ Flour Me With Love says

    September 25, 2012 at 10:14 AM

    I’d love to have a slice of this…it looks divine! I’m all about the frosting too ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 2:50 PM

      A wonderful to hear . . . another frosting lover! That’s the place in a cake where I’m just GONE!

      Reply
  11. Tricia says

    September 25, 2012 at 10:57 AM

    Wow – you have one lucky husband! That cake sounds and looks wonderful. I can’t imagine how delicious it must be. Your fall decorations are (also) icing on the cake!

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:08 PM

      I agree with Tricia, he’s pretty lucky and I just wish I could eat this and any other cake like he does without gaining a pound! Thanks for the kind compliment!

      Reply
  12. Laura Dembowski says

    September 25, 2012 at 11:43 AM

    That praline filling looks amazing! What a great addition to carrot cake ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:14 PM

      Hi Laura! Welcome! I just found your blog too! Thanks for your visit and sweet comment! I hope we visit each other more often!

      Reply
  13. Galexi Cupcakes says

    September 25, 2012 at 3:19 PM

    Carrot cake, praline filing and cream cheese frosting?! Be still my heart!
    Deliciously decadent. Jackie

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:19 PM

      Hi Jackie! What a compliment coming from such an experienced and accomplished baker such as you! Thank you so much!

      Reply
  14. Lizzy Do says

    September 25, 2012 at 6:17 PM

    Carrot cake is what I always ask for on my birthday…and you’ve pushed it over the top with this fantastic recipe! Your icing looks so rich and glossy, and the praline filling sounds extraordinary! I hope you saved me a slice ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 26, 2012 at 6:14 AM

      I can see why you like carrot cake for your birthday! One of the best cakes there is!

      Reply
  15. rita cooks italian says

    September 26, 2012 at 12:10 AM

    Carrot cake one of my favourite! The name sounds so healthy, almost boring, but this MASTERPIECE is rich and full of sweetness!! The investment in time and ingredients to bake this cake is well worth it. Well done!

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:24 PM

      I know what you’re saying Rita . . . sounds healthy, but really oh so decadent! Every now and then we can have a little splurge, huh? Thank you for your visit and compliment!

      Reply
  16. Angie's Recipes says

    September 26, 2012 at 12:34 AM

    wow Roz, this is luscious and HEAVENLY! Shared!

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:29 PM

      Thank you Angie, I’d enjoy any of your recipes for an entree before a bite of this cake. Thank you for the tip about placing a ‘pin it’ button on my blog. So kind of you!

      Reply
  17. Angie's Recipes says

    September 26, 2012 at 12:36 AM

    Don’t see a pin button? Can I just copy your photo url to Pinboard?

    Reply
    • Roz says

      September 26, 2012 at 6:17 AM

      Thanks Angie! The pin button is in the “+” symbol below. Type in Pinterest and it pops up. I’d like to add the ‘pin it’ button to my posts and need to do that right away, huh? yes, go ahead and copy the photo and url on your pin board. Thank you for doing that !

      Roz

      Reply
  18. Piping Bags says

    September 26, 2012 at 10:33 AM

    I LOVE carrot cake and usually wouldn’t dream of changing the recipe…but I have to admit this cake looks scrumptious!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:31 PM

      Thank you so much Piping Bags! I went to your site to leave a comment, but couldn’t find where to do so. I agree, sometimes good things should never be changed, but I knew that I wanted a different filling this time and it really worked nicely. I hope that you stop by and visit again!

      Reply
  19. Big Dude says

    September 27, 2012 at 7:16 AM

    Beautiful job Roz – I haven’t had carrot cake in years.

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 3:36 PM

      Thank you Larry! Bill and I have been wanting to try and duplicate a cake prepared by a local restaurant that doesn’t share recipes (and I understand that), and we think that this recipe is even better than theirs! It’s mighty fine and mighty fattening!

      Reply
  20. lisa is cooking says

    September 28, 2012 at 10:24 AM

    I so love carrot cake! I bet I would finish the entire slice, no matter how rich. The praline filling sounds amazing. Your husband must have been thrilled!

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      September 29, 2012 at 6:44 PM

      Thanks Lisa . . . it is terribly hard to resist even one little bite of this cake. My husband is in cake heaven!

      Reply
  21. [email protected] at Marina says

    September 28, 2012 at 9:29 PM

    Roz, your cake is beautiful! Can you believe it: I’ve never had a carrot cake… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      October 6, 2012 at 8:03 AM

      Thank you Marina! And I hope that you can enjoy a good carrot cake someday!

      Reply
  22. LindyLouMac in Italy says

    September 29, 2012 at 9:51 AM

    The best carrot cake I have ever tasted was in Switzerland which may surprise you or may not. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      October 6, 2012 at 11:10 AM

      Actually I can believe that because Switzerland is so international and so many wonderful cakes and pastries are made there. Talk to you when I return from Italy!

      Reply
  23. vittoria says

    October 5, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    Che torta meravigliosa!
    Great effort and wonderful result, good job!
    Have a nice week end

    Reply
    • Roz P. says

      October 6, 2012 at 11:10 AM

      thank you Vittoria. I arrive in Italy tomorrow and cannot wait to see your wonderful country!

      Reply
  24. Liz says

    May 24, 2013 at 5:41 PM

    Kelly reminded me of this cake! I’ve printed it off and will try it soon. xo

    Reply
    • Roz says

      August 13, 2013 at 9:45 AM

      Liz . . . You did a SUPERB job in baking this cake and the presentation with the nuts on the side makes it all the more beautiful and inviting to dig straight in! Gave you a link back too!

      xo
      Roz

      Reply
  25. Liz says

    August 13, 2013 at 11:31 AM

    Thanks for the mention, my friend!!! xo

    Reply
    • Roz says

      February 5, 2020 at 9:15 PM

      Any time Liz!

      Ciao,
      Roz so

      Reply
  26. Foodiewife says

    October 16, 2018 at 5:32 PM

    Mercy, that frosting looks so billowy– I could do a face plant in it! When we love our man that much, spending hours in the kitchen baking up something you know they will love is totally worth it! That praline filling looks divine! Great job ,Roz!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      February 5, 2020 at 9:16 PM

      I appreciate it Debby! I am making it this weekend for a spring magazine article and my husband is chomping at the bit in anticipation. With your superb baking skills this would be great for you to bake!
      Ciao,
      Roz

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Welcome!

Welcome!

Ciao, I'm Roz!
From my family's kitchens and restaurants in the U.S. and Italy, I share classic, delicious recipes . . . and always served with 'amore'! I'll help you master the art of cooking with easy to follow instructions and cooking tips. Get ready for the compliments! Buon Appetito!

Top Food Blog 2020

Looking for something special?

Most Popular

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse Chopped Salad -- Copycat Recipe is SO DELICIOUS!!

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse Chopped Salad — Copycat Recipe is SO DELICIOUS!!

Classic Italian Minestrone Instant Pot

Classic Italian Minestrone Soup

Pastina Chicken Soup — Italian Childhood Memories

Copyright ยฉ 2010 - 2020 ยท La Bella Vita Cucina ยท