This Sourdough Carrot Snack cake is a simple carrot cake for Easter! It’s moist, lightly spiced, topped with a cream cheese icing, and decorated with naturally colored small piped carrots!
If you’re looking for more Easter desserts, check out my Easter Bunny Cake, Orange Carrot Ginger Cake, or my Brown Sugar Carrot Cupcakes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You will love this simple carrot cake for Easter! This Sourdough Carrot Snack Cake is a carrot cake that uses butter (not oil). Plus, it uses up sourdough discard for a unique carrot cake flavor, unlike any other! I also top this Sourdough Carrot Snack Cake with a cream cheese icing.
I use Suncore Foods natural dyes to pipe little buttercream carrots onto the top of this simple carrot cake for Easter. This part is totally optional! But, it does make for a really cute cake!
This is another collaboration recipe with my friend Hannah at Make It Dough! Hannah has got me making more sourdough recipes and I hope you’re all enjoying them! I think this one is my favorite one yet!
How to Make Sourdough Carrot Snack Cake
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or alternatively in hand mixer or bowl with whisk) add the carrots, melted butter, cane sugar, sourdough discard, eggs, and cream. Mix on low to combine.
In a separate bowl, add the white whole wheat flour, rye flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt and whisk together. Add to the carrot mixture and mix on low to combine.
Step 2
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pan.
Step 3
To make the frosting: In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high and mix for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Reserve about 1/3 cup frosting, set aside.
Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake and spread evenly.
Step 4
With the 1/3 cup frosting that was set aside, divide into bowls of two thirds and one third.
Add a small pinch of green dye to the one third and stir to combine. If you want it darker you can add more. Transfer to a piping bag with Ateco tip #68.
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the orange dye to the bowl with two thirds, stir to combine. If you want it darker orange, you can add more. Transfer to a piping bag with Ateco tip #6.
Using the orange frosting, pipe a line the size of the carrot you’d like to pipe and zig zag the frosting back and forth while making the line shorter each time so it creates a triangle.
Using the green frosting with the tip vertical (not horizontal as you’ll get a petal) pipe 2 to 3 small stems. Continue adding carrots on the cake in a freeform way!
FAQ’s
What if I don’t have sourdough discard?
If you don’t have sourdough discard, you can still make this simple carrot cake for Easter! Replace the sourdough discard with 1/4 cup water and 57 grams organic all purpose flour. Add these two ingredients to a separate bowl, mix together, and then add in place of the sourdough discard.
What if I don’t have creamer?
I use Organic Valley Sweet Cream Creamer in this cake recipe. If you don’t have creamer, you can use heavy whipping cream or even milk. I just like the taste that the Organic Valley Sweet Cream Creamer provides in this cake.
What if I don’t have rye flour?
I use a little bit of rye flour here for added flavor. If you don’t have rye flour, you can use whole wheat or spelt flour instead. Or, you can also just use more white whole wheat flour as well! Just be sure to use the weight measurement when substituting.
What if I don’t have white whole wheat flour?
If you don’t have white whole wheat flour, you can use all purpose in its place. This is another collaboration recipe with my friend Hannah at Make It Dough! Hannah made this cake with all purpose to test it, and it’s still delicious! If you are subbing to all purpose flour, be sure to use the weight measurement so replace the white whole wheat flour with 155 grams (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour.
Do I have to pipe carrots?
You do not have to pipe carrots on this cake and it will still be equally delicious, and less work and time! If you’re not piping carrots, just add all the frosting onto the top of the cake and spread evenly.
What if I don’t have the decorating tips?
If you don’t have decorating tips, but still want to pipe carrots, you can easily do that! You do not need either tip to pipe the carrots. Just use a piping bag with no tip (or even a zip bag!) and cut a very small hole. Pipe them the same way, as noted in the recipe. The carrots will look the same (as Ateco tip #6 is just a small round tip) and the stems will look a little different, but they will still look like carrot stems!
Ingredients for Sourdough Carrot Snack Cake
Costco Kirkland Organic Cane Sugar
Organic Sourdough Discard
Organic Valley Sweet Cream Creamer (or you can use heavy whipping cream)
King Arthur Organic White Whole Wheat Flour
Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon
Organic Carrots
Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Sugar
Suncore Foods Organic Green Matcha Dye
Suncore Foods Organic Orange Dye
Tools Needed
Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
Why Organic
Why use organic ingredients in this recipe? You all know I’m a huge organic advocate, and I bet you may be thinking sometimes, Why would I even bother to use organic ingredients in something that is so sweet and indulgent? But, that is the exact reason why you should use organic ingredients! Sweet things need to have flavor in order to be good, otherwise they are just sweet and they don’t taste like much else. Organic ingredients are more pure than conventional ones, therefore they actually have more flavor than the non organic options. Say it with me, organic means more flavor! And not just more flavor but a more true and pure flavor. And organic ingredients are much healthier for you to eat in general as they do not contain GMOs or anything artificial. Plus, you are being environmentally friendly when you choose organic ingredients!
So, I highly recommend that you buy the best organic ingredients for this recipe! You can also shop my Amazon Storefront for all my favorite organic ingredients here. Tip – hover over each ingredient to see the name. And if you want to learn more about organic foods and the difference, read my post here on Food Labels and What They Mean.
This Sourdough Carrot Snack cake is a simple carrot cake for Easter! Moist, lightly spiced, cream cheese icing, and decorated with naturally colored carrots!
Ingredients
- Batter
8 ounces organic carrots, finely grated
113 grams (1/2 cup) organic salted butter, melted
226 grams (1 cup) organic cane sugar
113 grams (1/2 cup) organic sourdough discard
2 organic large eggs
1/4 cup Organic Valley Sweet Cream Creamer
155 grams (1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) organic white whole wheat flour
30 grams (1/3 cup) organic rye flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon organic cloves
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Frosting
1/2 cup (113 grams) organic salted butter, softened
113 grams (1/2 cup) organic cream cheese
284 grams (2 cups) organic powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or alternatively in hand mixer or bowl with whisk) add the carrots, melted butter, cane sugar, sourdough discard, eggs, and cream. Mix on low to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add the white whole wheat flour, rye flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt and whisk together. Add to the carrot mixture and mix on low to combine.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pan.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high and mix for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Reserve about 1/3 cup frosting, set aside.
- Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake and spread evenly.
- With the 1/3 cup frosting that was set aside, divide into bowls of two thirds and one third.
- Add a small pinch of green dye to the one third and stir to combine. If you want it darker you can add more. Transfer to a piping bag with Ateco tip #68.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the orange dye to the bowl with two thirds, stir to combine. If you want it darker orange, you can add more. Transfer to a piping bag with Ateco tip #6.
- Using the orange frosting, pipe a line the size of the carrot you’d like to pipe and zig zag the frosting back and forth while making the line shorter each time so it creates a triangle.
- Using the green frosting with the tip vertical (not horizontal as you’ll get a petal) pipe 2 to 3 small stems.
- Continue adding carrots on the cake in a freeform way!
Recipe Video
Notes
- High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Make sure to check out my Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake recipe, which I’m sure you’ll love too! And, share it with someone who you think may also like it!
