Frog Commissary Carrot Cake

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Frog Commissary Carrot Cake with Pecan Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting is the most incredible carrot cake recipe you will ever eat. This cake goes a long way, it’s very rich!

I love carrot cake. I’ve been harassing my mom for her carrot cake recipe for a few months and she finally told me that she didn’t have one. I asked my sister if she had our mom’s carrot cake recipe and her response was “Mom makes a carrot cake?”. I know that I’m not crazy, I know that at some point she made me a carrot cake and it was insanely good. My mom used to own a catering business and has a big binder of recipes from those days and I was convinced that it was in there. It wasn’t. 

Turns out the cake that I was thinking of is a recipe from a closed Philadelphia restaurant called The Frog Commissary. (I think that they still might have a catering business and do the food at the Franklin Institute.) This cake had a reputation and when the restaurant closed, the carrot cake lives on. If you were married in Philadelphia in the ’80s, there was a good chance this was your wedding cake.

Why You Will Love Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is a great cake for a beginner baker. You can make the cake batter by hand – no mixer needed. It’s hard to dry out because of the moisture from the oil and grated carrot. If you want to really elevate this cake, make the pecan cream filling. You need to make the filling the day before, it needs to set up. It’s really easy and is a twist on the classic carrot cake.

This is a SERIOUS cake. This is a dense cake. It weighs about 47 pounds. You can get a lot of slices out of it, it is very rich, a little goes a long way. I made this cake and it sent to my husband’s office and it lasted about four minutes. I send a lot of baked goods up there and they can be a tough crowd, but this cake was a favorite.

Carrot Cake Ingredients

Pecan Cream Filling

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Carrot Cake

• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. The day before you are going to assemble the cake, make the pecan cream filling.
2. In a heavy saucepan, add sugar, flour, and salt. Give a whisk and slowly stir in cream. Add butter. Cook and stir over low until the butter has melted. Let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture turns golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
3. Add pecans and vanilla and stir through. Let cool completely and keep in the fridge overnight.
4. If it is too thick to spread the next day, put in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
5. To make the cake, preheat oven to 350°. Spray (3) 8-inch with baking spray.
6. In a large bowl, whisk oil and sugar until smooth. Set aside.
7. In another bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
8. Add half of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Mix until incorporated. Alternate eggs, one by one with the remaining flour mixture. Add carrots, pecans, and raisins and mix until just combined.
9. Pour batter evenly into the three pans.
10. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
11. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add half of the sugar and beat for two minutes. Add remaining sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue to beat until very fluffy.
12. To assemble, place the first layer on your cake plate. Add cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe a thick layer of frosting around the edge of the cake. Fill in the ring with pecan cream filling. Repeat with the next layer. Top with the third cake layer and cover the top with cream cheese frosting.

Tips for Frog Commissary Carrot Cake

• Make the pecan filling the day before. It needs some chill time in the fridge to set up.
• The original recipe calls for toasted coconut around the sides of the cake. I wanted to leave mine naked, but coconut goes really well with this cake.
• I don’t like raisins, so I leave them out add more pecans.
• You can prepare this cake a few days ahead of time. It keeps really nicely.

How to Store Carrot Cake

You can make this cake a few days before you want to serve it. It keeps really well. I usually keep it covered and store it in a cool, dry place. If you store it properly, it will taste great even a full week after baking!

This cake also freezes really well. You can keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Frog Commissary Carrot Cake

bakedbree

4.91 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course cake

Cuisine American

Servings 12 to 16

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Pecan Cream Filling

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Carrot Cake

• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8- ounce package cream cheese room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt

Instructions

 

• The day before you are going to assemble the cake, make the pecan cream filling.
• In a heavy saucepan, add sugar, flour, and salt. Give a whisk and slowly stir in cream. Add butter. Cook and stir over low until the butter has melted. Let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture turns golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
• Add pecans and vanilla and stir through. Let cool completely and keep in the fridge overnight.
• If it is too thick to spread the next day, put in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
• To make the cake, preheat oven to 350°. Spray (3) 8-inch with baking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk oil and sugar until smooth. Set aside.
• In another bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add half of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Mix until incorporated. Alternate eggs, one by one with the remaining flour mixture. Add carrots, pecans, and raisins and mix until just combined.
• Pour batter evenly into the three pans.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
• To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add half of the sugar and beat for two minutes. Add remaining sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue to beat until very fluffy.
• To assemble, place the first layer on your cake plate. Add cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe a thick layer of frosting around the edge of the cake. Fill in the ring with pecan cream filling. Repeat with the next layer. Top with the third cake layer and cover the top with cream cheese frosting.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!