Hornet's Nest Carrot Cake

This recipe puts a delightful carrot cake spin on a traditional hornet's nest cake, which takes the flavor of the cake and bakes it into the consistency of a brownie or bread pudding. Cut into small, bite-sized squares for a crowd-pleasing party dessert or just grab a fork and dig in straight from the baking dish, I'm not here to judge!

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 526 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups milk
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1 (4.6 ounce) package cook and serve vanilla pudding mix
• ¾ cup raisins, divided
• 1 (15.25 ounce) package carrot cake mix
• 1 (5 ounce) package glazed pecans, divided

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Step 2

Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan, stirring constantly. Pour in pudding mix and remove saucepan from heat. Stir in grated carrots, 1/2 cup raisins, cinnamon, and allspice. Cool mixture until lukewarm, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in carrot cake mix to form a thick batter.

Step 3

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Scatter 2 tablespoons raisins and half of the pecans on top.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Step 5

Combine confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; beat until frosting smooth. Spread frosting over cooled cake. Top with remaining raisins and pecans.