Vanilla Glaze Brazilian Carrot Cake -Bolo De Cenoura
Our Brazilian Carrot Cake, also known as “Bolo de Cenoura” is seriously amazing and unlike any carrot cake you’ve had before. Trust me, it’s incredibly delicious, super easy to make, and wonderfully simple. Imagine a cake that’s soft, moist, and the cherry on top? It’s topped with a delicious vanilla glaze!
I have a thing for carrot cakes, you will notice that soon enough LOL. After making my Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting many of us were craving for more! So I decided to go for a simple cake this time with a delicious vanilla glaze, yum!
As I mentioned before, I came across this recipe and it changed my life LOL. It was an old photocopy my mom had for years and when I saw it I just couldn’t help it, I had to scan that ma make it at home.
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Brazilian Carrot Cake, or “Bolo de Cenoura”, is a popular dessert in Brazil. It is a moist and tender cake made with freshly grated carrots, flour, sugar, oil, eggs, and baking powder. The cake is often flavored with vanilla extract, although I love adding a hint of cinnamon, and has a light orange color from the carrots.
It is usually served with a creamy chocolate glaze called Brigadeiro. Brazilian carrot cake is a favorite of many and is quite different from the American version of carrot cake. But this time I decided to go with a simple vanilla glaze to twist it a little bit.
Table of Contents
How to Make Brazilian Carrot Cake
It’s pretty easy to make and it tastes so good! It’s soft and fluffy. It’s good for any time of the day, breakfast, dessert, tea time… Yummm!
Ingredients:
Carrot cake:
- Oil: I use canola oil as it makes it moist
- Eggs: Provides structure, hydration, and richness.
- Carrots: This is the key to a light and tender carrot cake.
- Flour: All-purpose flour that has been sifted 1x to create a soft crumb.
- Granulated Sugar: Provides moisture and aeration and enhances color.
- Powdered yeast: To leaven.
- Flavorings: I used pure vanilla extract and cinnamon.
- Crushed walnuts* optional
Glaze
- Cream cheese at room temperature
- Powder Sugar
- Vanilla extract.
- Whole milk
- Salt {pinch}
Tools:
- Blender
- Electric Mixer
Directions.
The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F – 180 °C/Gas 4/fan 16 °C and grease your cake pan.
- Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
- Mix in a blender the oil, sugar, 3/4 of the carrot, and the yolks. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites in a big bowl until it forms hard peaks.
- Stop the mixer and start pouring the carrot mixture in and mix slowly with a rubber spatula.
- Add in the flour with the baking powder and cinnamon and mix until fully combined.
- Now pour the batter into a cake pan I used a bread pan, but you can use any cake pan you like, 9″ cake pan, or a bundt cake pan.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the center or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
- Remove from the oven and place in a cooling rack near it, so the temperature doesn’t change too abruptly. Avoid placing it in a cold spot to cool or the cake may sink.
- Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes, and carefully unmold it while still warm.
- Wait until they are completely cool to add the glaze or it will melt away.
Vanilla Glaze
- With a stand mixer and a whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese over medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Scrap the bowl at least one time during those 5 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar little by little on slow speed until combined and add the vanilla and milk scraping the bowl once.
- Whip it again at low-medium speed for 2 more minutes. The mixture should be smooth.
- Add more milk if it’s too thick.
- Pour the glaze over the cake and let it sit for about 30 minutes
- Decorate as you like, serve and enjoy!
Baking Tips
- Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days, making sure the cake comes back to room temperature before serving.
- Don’t overdo it when mixing; mix until combined.
- Do not overcook the cake.
- This Carrot Cake recipe can also be used to make 24 cupcakes (baking time should be between 25-30 minutes), or a 13 x 18-inch half-sheet cake (20-25 minutes).
- Try adding a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, or a sprinkle of orange zest to the batter. These little additions can take your cake from delicious to absolutely divine.
Variation and Substitutions
Oil: I love to use canola oil in my cake recipes. It makes it moist and tastes great, but avocado oil and any vegetable oil with a neutral flavor will work.
Sugar: Feel free to substitute granulated sugar for light brown sugar or make a mix of the two.
Glaze: You can use chocolate sauce, Brazilian brigadeiro, cream cheese frosting or leave it plain. It’s so delicious.
Leftover and Storage
This cake can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; take it out of the fridge for about 15 to 30 minutes before serving to allow the glaze to warm up and lose the cold.
Plain Carrot Cake without glaze can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To serve follow the same instructions as above.
Make in advance
The cake can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days with a cling film cover over the pan.
How to Freeze
The Cake with frosting can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the cake in cling film twice and foil once.
To thaw, unwrap and thaw for about 5-8 hours or overnight in the fridge. Then take it out of the fridge about 15 to 30 minutes before serving to allow the glaze to warm up and lose the cold
Frequently Asked Questions
Before you make the batter, make sure to preheat your oven; this will help the cake cook more evenly and prevent it from drying out. Also, avoid over-mixing the batter – over-mixing can result in a hard, dry cake.
Wait until completely cooled and Double wrap it in aluminum foil or freezer plastic wrap and place in a heavy-duty bag; thaw overnight in the fridge.
The most common causes are that you opened the oven door in the first 20 minutes, added more baking powder than the recipe asked for, or your baking powder has expired.
Absolutely! You can definitely play around with different oils. Coconut oil can add a hint of tropical goodness, while avocado oil works just fine too. Just keep in mind that it might slightly alter the flavor, so choose the oil that tickles your taste buds the most!
It usually takes around 30 to 40 minutes, but ovens can be a bit unpredictable. To be sure, use a toothpick and insert it into the center of the cake but not before 25 minutes have passed. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it, your cake is good to go!
More Delicious Desserts To Try
If you liked this delicious Brazilian carrot cake recipe, you might also love these other dessert recipe ideas too:
Other delicious cake recipes I love from my favorite bloggers:
- Easy Vanilla Cake by Sugar Geek Show.
- Cinnamon-Streusel Coffee Cake by King Arthur.
- The Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had by Sally’s Baking Addiction
🥣 Recipe
Vanilla Glaze Brazilian Carrot Cake -Bolo de Cenoura
Equipment
- Blender
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
CARROT CAKE:
- ½ cup of vegetable oil.
- 4 eggs.
- 3 medium carrots {grated}
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 ½ cups of flour
- 1 tbsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of cinnamon.
- 1 cup of crushed walnuts* optional
GLAZE
- 4 oz {120 gm.} cup cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup of Powder Sugar
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
- 3-4 tbsp of whole milk
- 1/8 tsp of salt {pinch}
Instructions
THE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F – 180 °C/Gas 4/fan 16 °C and grease your cake pan.
- Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
- Mix in a blender the oil, sugar, 3/4 of the carrot, and the yolks. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites in a big bowl until it forms hard peaks.
- Stop the mixer and start pouring the carrot mixture in and mix slowly with a rubber spatula.
- Add in the flour with the baking powder and cinnamon and mix until fully combined.
- Now pour the batter into a cake pan I used a bread pan, but you can use any cake pan you like.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the center or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
- Remove from the oven and place in a cooling rack near it, so the temperature doesn’t change too abruptly. Avoid placing it in a cold spot to cool or the cake may sink.
- Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes, and carefully unmold it while still warm.
- Wait until they are completely cool to add the glaze or it will melt away.
VANILLA GLAZE
- With a stand mixer and a whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese over medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Scrap the bowl at least one time during those 5 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar little by little on slow speed until combined and add the vanilla and milk scraping the bowl once.
- Whip it again at low-medium speed for 2 more minutes. The mixture should be smooth.
- Add more milk if it’s too thick.
- Pour the glaze over the cake and let it sit for about 30 minutes
- Decorate as you like, serve and enjoy!
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