I’m back with another recipe from Dessert Person! It was my Dad’s birthday last week, and his #1 fave is Carrot Cake, so I decided to test out Claire’s version.

Her recipe is pretty straightforward and keeps the focus on the carrots and traditional spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Her only extra addition to the cake is a hefty amount (1 1/2 cups) of chopped, toasted pecans; no raisins, no pineapple, no coconut. The method is also very traditional, with one exception: Claire tells you that you can soak the grated carrots in the buttermilk for a while so they tenderize a bit. I don’t know if it made much of a difference, but I did it anyway.

Claire is also VERY passionate about cream cheese frosting and says she doesn’t want to eat any carrot cake without it. I never want to eat carrot cake anyway, but I agree, if it’s the only treat around, it better have a nice thick layer on top! Claire’s version steps it up a notch with the addition of brown butter in the frosting. HELL YEAH.

This is a three layer cake, so I stacked up two layers and delivered them to my Dad as a birthday treat, and kept one layer for myself for taste-testing and sharing. I don’t love nuts in my treats (brownies, cookies, cake), so I don’t think this would be a go-to recipe for me, but I can still appreciate that this is a very hydrated, tasty carrot cake and it made the birthday person very happy!

You can find the ingredient listing + directions in Claire’s video here!

More Planet Byn x Dessert Person posts here!

Note: I can’t find Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt anywhere, so just use regular salt and cut the measurement in half for these recipes.