High Altitude Carrot Crumb Coffee Cake
The most delicious carrot crumb coffee cake, in an easy high altitude tested recipe. The carrot cake is moist and perfectly spiced, topped with brown sugar crumble topping, a drizzle of cream cheese icing and walnuts.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Carrot Cake
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 ½ oz peeled and finely grated carrots (about 1 cup, not packed tightly)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp cold heavy whipping cream
- chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Lightly spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
Crumble Topping
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the melted butter, and stir together until moist and crumbly.
- Set the crumble topping aside until needed.
Carrot Cake
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. Immediately scrape the butter and the browned bits into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the grated carrots, applesauce, milk, vinegar, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla to the brown butter, and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Add the the flour mixture and the chopped walnuts to the wet ingredients, and use a spatula to stir the batter together until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and scatter the crumble topping over the cake batter.
- Bake the cake for about 40-45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the cake on a cooling rack, and let cool for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours before adding the icing and cutting into squares.
Cream Cheese Icing
- In a bowl, use a spoon or spatula to combine the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla and the cream, stirring until smooth. Adjust the amount of cream, depending on how thick or thin you want your icing.
- Scrape the icing into a piping bag and snip off the tip. Squeeze the icing over the top of the carrot cake, then sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
- Tip: You can also just make a simple powdered sugar glaze, instead of the cream cheese icing. Just combine 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and several tablespoons of milk or cream until drizzly. Drizzle over the top of the crumb topping with a spoon.
Notes
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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