Ingredients
- Cake:
- 2 1/3 cups finely chopped lightly toasted pecans, divided
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. apple pie spice
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups peeled and grated Granny Smith apples
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 2/3 cups plus 2 Tbsp. Apple Cder Caramel Sauce
- Mascarpone Frosting (see below)
- Apple Cider Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- Mascarpone Frosting:
- 1 (8-oz.) container mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup whipping cream
Preparation
Step 1
Cake::
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle 1 1/3 cups toasted pecans into 2 well-buttered 9-inch round cake pans; shake to coat bottom and sides of the pans.
2. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients.
3. Stir together eggs and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Add flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Fold in apples, carrots, and remaining 1 cup pecans. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 mintues. Remove from pans and completely cool.
5. Place 1 cake layer, pecan side down, on a serving plate. Spread top f cake layer with 2/3 cup Apple Cider Caramel Sauce; top with remaining cake layer, pecan side down. Spread Mascarpone Frosting over top of cake. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Caramel Sauce over frosting and swirl sauce into frosting.
Sauce: Cook cider in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often 10 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in remaing ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; boil, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Remove from heat, an cool completely. Refrigerate up to 1 week. Reheat in microwave.
Mascarpone Frosting: Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large bowl just until blended. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until peaks form. Gently fold into the mascarpone mixture.