By Yewande Komolafe
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes, plus cooling
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes, plus cooking
- Rating
- 4(930)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Bolo de cenoura, a carrot cake often found in Portuguese and Brazilian bakeries, is thrilling in its simplicity. A few key ingredients (carrots, flour, sugar, eggs and oil) and a blender or food processor are all you need to bring together the batter. The carrots give the cake its tender orange-amber crumb, which is finished with a brigadeiro frosting, anchored by a condensed milk and cocoa powder, that’s made while the cake cools. A spoonful of sour cream, a nontraditional addition to the batter, adds a slight tang here, and condensed coconut milk lends a subtle nuttiness to the frosting.
Featured in: This Carrot Cake Doesn’t Require Any Grating (Really!)
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:12 servings
- 2cups/260 grams all-purpose flour
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- ½cup/115 milliliters grapeseed oil or other neutral oil, such as safflower or canola, plus more for pan
- 2large or 3 medium carrots (about 300 grams), trimmed, scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 1¼cups/270 grams granulated sugar
- 3eggs, at room temperature
- ½cup/112 grams full-fat sour cream
- 2(7.4-ounce/210-gram) cans sweetened condensed coconut milk
- 5tablespoons/30 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ¼teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 2tablespoons chocolate sprinkles
For the Cake
For the Brigadeiro Topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
340 calories; 14 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 26 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 324 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Generously brush a 9-inch round cake pan with oil.
Step
2
In a blender or food processor, finely chop the carrots by pulsing about 6 to 10 times until minced. Add the sugar and pulse until just combined, about 30 seconds. Add the oil and eggs all at once. Pulse until the mixture is combined and looks a bit foamy, 30 seconds. (You can also do this step without a blender or food processor: Grate the carrots into a medium bowl using the fine side of a box grater. Add the sugar, eggs and oil, and use a whisk to combine.)
Step
3
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and, using a whisk, mix until just combined. Gently mix in the sour cream and pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake until the sides pull away slightly from the edge of the tin and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Step
4
Move the cake to a baking rack set in a sheet pan and let it cool slightly in the pan, about 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the baking rack and let cool completely.
Step
5
While the cake cools, make the brigadeiro topping: In a small saucepan, combine the sweetened condensed coconut milk, cocoa powder and salt. Stir with a whisk over medium-low heat until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Increase heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture forms large bubbles and thickens, about 12 to 15 minutes. It should fully coat a heatproof rubber spatula and drizzle off in a slow stream. Remove from heat and allow the topping to cool completely, stirring frequently to prevent a skin forming on top, and until the brigadeiro topping streaks when stirred and is thick and fudgy, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Step
6
Spread the cooled topping over the cake, swirling the topping over the center and allowing it to drip over the edge. Let it set slightly, about 10 minutes, then shower a handful of chocolate sprinkles over the top. Cut the cake in wedges to serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
930
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Luciana Barbosa
Nobody in Brazil uses coconut condensed milk for this… it may be an adaptation for making it lactose free.. (?)Make it with La Lechera condensed milk.. that’s what we use to make brigadeiro. It’s a great cake.
Jeanarie
Googling the topping helps! Authentic topping is made with condensed milk, plus a TBSP. Of butter and 200 grams of cream mixed in after thickening on the stove. Look it up.
Chickenfog
Did not make the topping. Cut the cake recipe in half and baked for 20 mins. Also, I made the whole thing in the food pro bc why dirty a bowl? I just dumped the dry into the food pro bowl and whirled w/ the wet. So easy. Nice color. A dense cake.
marilene
This is is one of the most popular cakes in every Brazilian home. I skip the rich condensed milk topping for a much simpler - but still delicious - mix of 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk, a bit of vanilla, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Bea
I have made this cake for years with a half teaspoon of allspice.
mosaic
I like the cake. It is easy, minimal cleanup, a little dense, not too sweet. The topping, not so much. The topping doesn’t work for the cake or even to roll into balls like classic Brigadeiro. I threw the topping away and made a thinned coconut Brigadeiro. It worked well. 1 tablespoon butter14 oz sweetened condensed milk2/3 cup coconut milkcoconut flake, as neededSimmer, stirring constantly until you can see the bottom of the pot for 1-2 seconds when dragging a spoon.
Emily Segal
How about just eating it without any frosting?
Richard
You could put applesauce on top if you want. The carrot police are not going to come after you.
Susan
There has to be something missing from the chocolate topping. Mixing the condensed coconut milk, cocoa and salt and cooking turns it into a chewy caramel - that while delicious is unspreadable. I was so excited about the cake, which was quite easy to make, but I braved forward with the topping as is and no have an impenetrable layer of caramel on top. I should have listened to my gut and added some 1/2 and 1/2 to it after I finished cooking it. Live and learn.
William Wroblicka
Sweetened condensed coconut milk can be rather easily made at home by simmering regular full-fat coconut milk in a pot on the stove until reduced by half and adding sugar or honey to taste. And although I haven't tried it, I'm thinking that substituting cream of coconut (e.g., Coco Lopez) might work as well.
A.M. Bremer
Sweetened condensed milk can be subbed for the sweetened condensed coconut milk, with no change in the amount needed. Lots of recipes call for exchanging the latter for the former for a vegan option.
Edith
Can regular condensed milk be used?
Shelley
I agree with Marc Kegan. Used one can of light sweetened condensed milk with 3 tbs cocoa and it was more than enough (the rest will make awesome fudge sauce for ice cream). 5-7 minutes on the stove and I was good to go after letting it cool for 30’minutes and once on the cake, it thickened a bit more.
SNL
I follow another popular baking blog and she regularly subs sour cream with Greek yoghurt/Greek style yoghurt. Whole milk yoghurt is slightly thinner so I would use the amount called for minus 2tbsp (I'm sure most people would do 1:1 but I like the option for adjustment). Just a small note - sour cream contains more fat than yog so the cake texture will be slightly more tender with SC than with yog (I noticed it in vanilla cake and in devil's food cake, but I think carrot cake worked fine 🙂)
Michele
Though it's more expensive, I almost always sub avocado oil for liquid oils in baking recipes. I don't bake enough to make it "too expensive" of a substitution, and I always feel better about what I'm eating. Also, avocado oil is a healthy fat (as far as I know)! And note, apparently not all avocado oils are "real"; I buy Chosen Foods brand from Amazon in a half-gallon jug using Subscribe & Save for best pricing, because this research shows it's reliable: https://studyfinds.org/best-avocado-oil/
Austin G.
The cake is killer. I didn't have the ingredients for the frosting so I made a quick buttercream. To cut through all the sugar I added 1/4 tsp of citric acid. Really brightens the frosting up--could almost fool someone into thinking it was a lemon buttercream. Almost.
cathy S
Made this gluten free using 1:1 Bobs Red Mill flour, also substituted 2/3 cup honey instead of the sugar. Used 1/4 teasp allspice and 3/4 teasp cinnamon as spicing. Came out fantastic. Made a quick chocolate ganache with 1/3 cup cream and half bag guittard semi-sweet chips as the frosting. Super popular dessert at the pot luck!
becky
Third time making this. Used 1/4 c Greek yogurt instead of the 1/2 c sour cream. Reduced sugar to 3/4 c. Added a pinch of cinnamon. No frosting. Delightful!
Bruce
Cake was dense and surprisingly not flavorful. Frosting was not spreadable. And based on the large number of comments and suggestions to make it better, others take issue as well. Will not repeat, thanks.
janet
Made for a vegetarian with multiple food allergies for their birthday. Cake has a delicious pop of carrot in that first bite! Some coconut oil separated from the brigadier when cooling .I cooked it too long and it was good but too thick. I will do better next time when I focus on the thickness as I stir over it over the heat.
Jim
Beautiful *looking* dessert but a little short on flavor. Perhaps increasing the amount of carrots and sugar might help.
W
18 cupcakes bake in 25 minutes.
Jason
Dense and bland. Easy cake to make, but theres little carrot flavor and little flavor of any kind.
John
Cake is fine - better than fine, quite delicious. However, the topping, at least in my hands, was disastrous - followed the recipe and ended up with a lump of solid matter which was impossible to pour or spread. I threw it out. But ate the cake dusted with icing sugar.
becky
I have made this once with the sour cream and once without it. With the sour cream the texture was dense and moist as if it was undercooked. Without the sour cream the texture was light and lovely. Skipped the chocolate topping and served with berries and mango.
Olive
How far ahead of time can you make this? Would it be better to make the cake and topping separate if making it the day before serving?
Margo
I had to go to five grocery stores before I could find sweetened, condensed coconut milk.
nancy
I've made it three times so far--twice with gluten-free flour--and it gets devoured every time. I made a glaze with powdered sugar, citrus juice and zest, and a small amount of melted butter. I also cut down the sugar in the batter to 220 grams, and got approving comments about how the cake is not too sweet (goes well with a glass of white wine).
A new favorite cake
Originally, I made this for my mother, but it didn't make it to her. My fiance and friends devoured it! So far, I've made this 3 times in one month. Everyone who's tried it wants more, and the recipe. I have modified the vegetable addition by using beet & carrot pulp leftovers from juicing. The cake is just the same DELICIOUS. It's a great cake
becky
I added the zest of a small lemon which I liked.
Private notes are only visible to you.
