Salted Caramel Carrot Cake

Last week of June. The summer is here and the wedding is three months away and James Martin is seventy-eight years old and on Sunday he mowed the lawn before Gloria could tell him not to.

I did not know yet on that Sunday what the summer would bring. I did not know yet that the last weeks of June were the last weeks. I was at the daycare on Monday when Gloria called, and I drove the twenty-five minutes in fifteen, and I held Gloria while Gloria held James's hand, even though James was already gone.

He had a heart attack mowing the lawn. He was in the front yard. Gloria found him. She had been watching from the window.

I want to write about what that afternoon was and I cannot yet. What I can write is this: Gloria held James's hand and I held Gloria and for the first time in the eleven years I have known them, I was the one doing the holding. All those years they held me. On that Monday afternoon in June, I was the arms. That is a thing I am going to carry for the rest of my life.

James Martin. He said you turned out good, Savannah. He said you were a gift. He ate two plates of smothered chicken and said well when my fried chicken was finally right and sang off-key at every birthday for eleven years. He was the first man who was kind to me and there will be no replacing him and I am not going to try.

James always said my fried chicken was finally right, and I have been turning that over in my mind all week — the way he waited until it was true before he said it, the way his praise meant something because of that. I could not bring fried chicken to Gloria’s house. I needed to bring something that took time, something that asked something of me, something layered and careful and worth the effort the way James himself was worth every bit of effort. Salted caramel carrot cake is what I made — warm spice and something sweet cut through with salt, which is about as close as food can get to what grief actually feels like.

Prep Time: 40 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups finely grated carrots (about 5 medium carrots)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Drizzle:
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 tsp flaky sea salt, plus more for finishing

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
Combine and fold. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until no flour streaks remain. Fold in the grated carrots, drained pineapple, and nuts if using.
Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter together on medium-high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add powdered sugar gradually, then vanilla. Beat until smooth and spreadable.
Make the salted caramel. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt sugar, stirring constantly, until it turns a deep amber color. Carefully add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat and slowly pour in heavy cream, stirring constantly (it will bubble vigorously). Stir in 1 tsp flaky sea salt. Let cool 10–15 minutes until slightly thickened.
Assemble. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous layer of cream cheese frosting over the top. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the entire cake.
Drizzle and finish. Drizzle the cooled salted caramel over the top of the cake, letting it run naturally down the sides. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt over the top. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Salted Caramel Carrot Cake — The One I Made When I Needed to Feed Someone I Love