Apple Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Filling & Praline Icing

Michelle in KY's Note:

I get recipe requests every time I make this cake. I think the original recipe came from Taste of Home. I have a Kitchenaid mixer with the shredder attachment and use that to shred up the carrot, apple, and even the toasted pecans, but any shredder will do, or you could chop with a good old-fashioned kitchen knife instead! Note: Be sure to both grease AND flour your tube pan as this cake is very moist and needs the flour to help it release from the pan! Enjoy!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups shredded peeled tart apples (I like to use Granny Smith)
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

PRALINE ICING

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (use good vanilla if you have it, so worth it!)
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 egg; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat oil with remaining sugar and eggs until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; gradually beat into oil mixture until blended. Stir in the apples, carrots and pecans.
3. Transfer half of the apple batter to a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan; layer with cream cheese mixture and remaining apple batter.
4. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. In a large saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Sprinkle with pecans.

Reviews

[Glimmer]

I was excited about the concept of this recipe but it just didn't work for me. The only thing I did differently was to use half applesauce for the oil amount but I do that all the time without a problem. The cake was moist but had no flavor and the cream cheese filling had a strange texture. The praline was good but the pecans should be mixed in when it's still warm because the praline sets up too fast to get the pecans to stick. I really hate to give a low rating... the idea is good but the result wasn't what I expected.

[pammyowl]

Very good! I'll make this cake to sell at my stand!

[ginadicamillo]

This turned out great moist and very delicious! I hesitated to try this because nobody reviewed it yet and i usually only try recipes that are rated 5 stars by at least 10 people.So glad i took a chance on it! he only thing i did differently was t leave out the pecans...since i had none and didn't want to run out and buy them.