Buttermilk Glaze

As my husband sat eating his slice of cake, all he could say was "This cake is phenomenal!" I couldn't agree with him more. It's delicious and delectably decadent especially for a carrot cake. To reiterate the many others who have commented-do not forgo the buttermilk glaze!! Buttery and yummy, the glaze adds a whole other level of flavor to this cake. As far as the frosting goes, when I went back to make the cream cheese frosting that was originally attached to this recipe, it was gone and replaced with a $ sign and an ad for store-bought frosting. This cake is way to good to be dressed with a subpar Betty Crocker confectionary concoction, so I found a scrumptious recipe for homemade cream cheese frosting on another website.

The name "buttermilk glaze" is deceptive, because you might think you don't care about putting buttermilk on your cake and wonder if you should skip this step. Don't skip this - it is absolutely fantastic and turns this carrot cake into something really special. Essentially, this is a light caramel sauce. It turns a beautiful caramel color as it cooks and since it is boiling hot when you add it to your hot-out-of-the-oven cake, it just seeps right in and adds a wonderful moistness and flavor. Also, be sure you follow the direction to use a large heavy pan. As this boils, it more than doubles in volume and it would be a huge sticky mess if your pan was too small and it boiled over. I use a big plastic cooking spoon to ladle it over the cake layers, which helps me measure it out evenly across the three pans. One last note - even though I hate cutting out wax paper circles for my pans, I'm always glad I did because it really helps release the cakes after this sticky glaze is added.

Is the glaze supposed to take the place of the cream cheese frosting?

Despite the fact that I had to substitute brown sugar for regular sugar, this cake came out amazing. The glaze is just what all the other carrot cakes have been missing. I also added raisins and walnuts. Thanks for the recipe!

This glaze is an absolute must for this cake. Adds wonderful flavor and makes the cake even moister. I have been making this cake for years and it is the one that everyone requests for holidays and birthdays.