Birthday Cake Club: Carrot Pecan Praline

With not-your-ordinary cream cheese frosting.

Baker’s Notes

A classic with a twist; luscious cream cheese frosting

Warm, toasty pecans; deeply flavorful praline paste

Hi Bakers!

Do you make birthday cakes for your loved ones? Such a seemingly obvious question for this series, but I don’t think I ever officially asked. If you don’t, then this is such a wonderful way to start a new tradition in your home or among friends!

I write about baking multiple times a week. But in practice, how often are we all actually making recipes? Even I over romanticize how many from-scratch bakes I’m putting together each week. No matter where you are on your home baking journey, I think we can all agree that even if it’s just a couple times a year, making loved ones their birthday cakes is a doable goal with such lasting memories.

Well you’re in luck! Because I have over 40 celebration-worthy cakes in our Birthday Cake Club Archive! Sometimes I let the season dictate the flavor, but often the recipes are pretty evergreen. I believe there is truly something for everyone in this collection. And now a Carrot Cake!

Carrot cake is a year-round favorite, but I won’t hide that I was inspired by Easter to create this one for April. Really, a carrot cake for spring? Nobody ever saw that coming. But not this carrot cake…

The frosting on this cake is going to blow your mind! I prefer to keep nuts out of my cakes, so instead, caramelized pecans are folded into the cream cheese frosting. Praline paste adds so much flavor. It’s sweet but with depth from the caramelized sugar plus the earthy, nutty flavor of toasted pecans.

To make the praline paste, pecans get enrobed in cooked sugar. They completely harden as they cool. Next, crack and shatter the pecans into small pieces before blitzing into a praline paste. Fold through luscious cream cheese frosting to use for both between the layers and to finish. 

What are pralines? Pralines are a type of confection/candy made from sugar, nuts, and sometimes cream. They are often made with hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Praline paste takes them to the next stage where they’ve been blended until creamy or a thin, paste-like consistency. Think of it like a caramelized nut butter - yummy!