If you missed it, sweet baby Miles arrived June 14th. I was able to have a VBAC and although my labor was long and there were a couple of scares along the way (I was THIS close to having a c-section again) it was so worth it and an experience I’m very grateful for! Baby Miles is a perfect baby and his big brother is obsessed with him!
Two kids is surprisingly easy when you have your mom here helping you for over a week. She was so nice to entertain Owen and take him on special outings, making him feel special too, just like the new baby. Not to mention she cooked for us, cleaned, ran errands, helped through the night…she’s basically super mom.
But now I’m on my own (yikes) so I thought before I turn into an emotional wreck/zombie/too tired to type anything coherent, I’d post this yummy cake my mom made for us.
My mom is the dessert queen and I completely blame my sweet tooth on her. I’ve got this postpartum thing going on where all I want to eat is sweets, so this cake pretty much rocked my world! It’s really rich. Like really really rich. Normally, I wouldn’t go for such a rich dessert but in my recent state one piece was barely enough to satisfy this sweet tooth.
You make your typical carrot cake, poke holes in it, and pour some caramel ice cream topping all over the cake so it seeps down into the holes.
Then add more of the caramel topping to cream cheese frosting. We kept it simple and used a can of frosting, but feel free to make it homemade.
And then, to take the richness completely over the top, drizzle a little more of that caramel topping all over the top of the cake.
Then, sink your teeth in to it. And wash it down with a big glass of milk.
Caramel Cream Carrot Cake
For the Cake:
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, room temp
2 c. grated carrots
1 1/2 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 jar Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 can Cream Cheese Frosting or 1 recipe homemade Frosting (recipe below)
Instructions
Preheat Oven to 350.
Beat eggs, sugar and oil together. Add remaining ingredients, stirring in the grated carrots last. Pour into a greased 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
Poke holes evenly throughout the warm cake using the end of a wooden spoon. Pour half of the caramel sauce all over the cake, spreading sauce out evenly making sure it seeps into holes. Refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Reserving 1-2 tablespoons, pour the remaining caramel sauce into the cream cheese frosting and stir until evenly combined. Spread caramel-cream cheese frosting evenly over the cake (after it has refrigerated).
Drizzle the reserved 1-2 tablespoons of caramel sauce all over the top of the cake.
Serve
Source: Debbie Mortensen
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese, soft
1/2 c. butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Beat well. Add sugar gradually, while beating. Add a small amount of milk if it gets too thick.
Oh my word that looks good! Caramel soaked, pure bliss. I’m glad things are going good, congrats again!
Thanks Dorothy!!
Holy cow. So good.
Mmmm love that caramel!
congratulations on a healthy, beautiful baby boy! what a gift! good call on carrot cake to celebrate!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
Wow. This is amazing!!
This is impressive! Thanks for sharing it. I will definitely be making it tonight.
Just found you via Pinterest – love your blog & this cake looks so good! Belated congrats on baby Miles and your VBAC – what an amazing feat!! 🙂
~Stefani
Just found you via Pinterest – love your blog and can’t wait to try this cake! Congratulations (although belated) on baby Miles and your VBAC – what an amazing feat!! 🙂
~Stefani
Thanks for stopping by Stefani!! Hope you come back!
Hey just wanted to know what kind of oil you used? Was it vegetable, olive…????
Don’t some “poke-hole” recipes use sweetened condensed milk, as the “hole filler”? I was just thinking it could save the “over carameling” of this wildly, delicious looking cake! Reserving the caramel as the crowning glory (mingled with the cream-cheese frosting) might be a real palette pleaser? Thoughts? Lastly, I’m sorry if I missed it, but what is the best tool for the “poking”? Many thanks and God bless you for your gift of baking!!
Yes you could do that too!!