My Naked Carrot Cake with Chocolate, Caramel & Fresh Fruit Recipe is a beautiful and decadent centerpiece for Easter or any special event. This recipe is part of my Traditional Easter Feast spread, however it is a perfect sweet treat year-round.
It is layer after layer of a fantastic sweet and savory mix that adds a delicious twist to traditional carrot cake.
This is a sponsored post for Whole Foods Market 365. Opinions and recipes are my own.
Naked Carrot Cake with Chocolate, Caramel & Fresh Fruit Recipe
Naked cakes are very much in right now, which is a good thing because they are easy to make and lower in calories. A naked cake is any cake that isn’t frosted on the outside like an ordinary cake. Frosting is still spread on the top and in between the layers. A semi-naked cake has a very light layer, almost a crumb layer on the exterior of the cake.
I take this a step further with my recipe, creating a hexagon shape to expose the layers in a more dramatic way.
| Servings |
- 1.3 lbs carrots peeled & shredded
- 4 cups Flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup sugar OR 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup Stevia
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate chopped or shaved
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 6 eggs
- Fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peach slices, figs, grapes, etc)
- caramel sauce
- 1.5 sticks butter unsalted
- 2.5 bricks cream cheese 2.5 bricks =20 ounces
- 5.25 cups Confectioners Sugar
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting
| |
- Preheat oven to 320°. Grease 3 8" cake pans.
- Stir together dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add grated carrots, sugar, brown sugar, and chocolate.
- Beat in oil, vanilla extract, and eggs.
- Divide batter into 3 8" prepared pans, about 3 cups cake mixture per pan.
- Bake 23 minutes in convection oven or 30 minutes in traditional oven.
- Remove from cake pans after 10 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.
- Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature.
- Beat butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
- Add confectioners sugar into mixture 1/2 cup at a time.
- Add vanilla extract and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Refrigerate leftovers, may need to beat again to make fluffy after being refrigerated.
- Place one cake on serving plate or cardboard cake circle, right side up.
- Frost and spread the top of first cake.
- Add second cake layer upside down on the first layer. Frost and spread.
- Place the third cake right side up and frost.
- You can serve as is for a naked cake. Lightly frost the sides of the round cake for a semi-naked cake.
- For a hexagon cake, exposing all the layers in their glory, cut the cake in 6 equal parts with electric knife.
- Add plenty of fresh fruit of your choosing. Drizzle with caramel sauce. Refrigerate.
This recipe is make even healthier by using ingredients found at our local Whole Foods Market 365. There is nothing artificial in this dessert!
Topped with plenty of fresh fruit, this cake also has plenty of vegetables with shredded carrots too. For a dessert, I can really feel good about giving my family this homemade treat over processed, prepackaged types of desserts. This is as wholesome as it gets. Don’t let that scare you, it is super easy to make at the same time. 
Simply mix the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder & baking soda) first. Then add the rest and bake.
Assembling a naked cake is easy because it is a slightly imperfect look with the exposed layers. It isn’t meant to be perfect with smooth frosting all around. You can make it look even cooler by cutting it into the shape of a hexagon. Plus, it gives you the chance to have a taste before everyone else if you choose to eat the edges – and why not!? To make my shape even, I printed out a hexagon shape from my computer as a guide.
The focus on a naked cake is on the toppings. This is where you can really go crazy. Add all the fresh fruit that you want. I used blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and peaches. You could also use strawberries, grapes, figs, pecans, walnuts, coconut, kiwi, or even fresh flowers. Next, drizzle with caramel sauce and let it run down the sides of the cake. Since a naked cake isn’t frosted on the sides, they tend to dry out quicker. By added a caramel sauce (or pear sauce), the cake stays rich and moist. Plus, caramel sauce is an amazing compliment to carrot cake.
Adding hints of chocolate to this carrot cake adds an unexpected sweetness to this cake. Bite for bite, you’ll enjoy this wonderfully complex combination of flavors. 
Also, by eliminating the entire exterior layer frosting that a traditional carrot cake has results in fewer calories and carbs per serving while giving a show-stopping look.
I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe for Easter. Check out my other Easter Feast Recipes here.
Stop by our local Whole Foods Market 365 Market to find all the ingredients.
Whole Foods Market 365
1745 W Market St
Akron, OH 44313