Carrot Cake Decoration: Easy Carrot Peel Rosettes

A chic “twist” on easy carrot cake decorations.

Give your carrot cake decorations an easy, chic upgrade with this recipe for candied carrot peel rosettes. A cinch to make and oh-so elegant, this carrot cake decoration rosettes recipe makes a fun “twist” on carrot cake decorating — and helps eliminate food waste. 

Let’s Talk About How to Do Easy Carrot Cake Decorations

I am a firm believer that homey, unfussy, nostalgic desserts (think pie, layer cake, chocolate chip cookies) are the best kind of desserts. That is why carrot cake is one of my all-time favorites. Carrot cake conjures all kind of happy, homey thoughts of birthday parties, Easter, and maybe a random special occasion or two throughout the year.

And then there’s the carrot cake decoration. While the typical crushed nuts or little piped buttercream carrots are fine, it’s also been “done.” Plus, those little buttercream carrots on carrot cake means getting out a pastry bag and tip, dyeing buttercream, piping, and cleaning up.

That’s why my favorite carrot cake decoration idea is to make candied carrot peel rosettes. These are easy to make and look chic and natural. They stay fresh on top of a cake for several days instead of drying out.

How to Make Candied Carrot Peel Rosettes to Decorate Carrot Cake

Making candied carrot peel rosettes is super easy. Here’s what to do:

1. Make a warm simple syrup. Heat 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved.
2. When cool enough to work with, dip carrot peels into the warm simple syrup for about 30 seconds.
3. Wind the peels into rosettes by winding each peel around a skewer or your finger.

Regular orange carrots look great, but for an extra-special pop of color, use rainbow carrots. The peels are beautiful.

What About a Great Carrot Cake Recipe?

The best carrot cake recipe–hands down–is the Frog Commissary Carrot Cake. The Frog Commissary was an iconic Philadelphia café, famous for serving things like whole-grain bread and kale before whole grain and kale were “a thing.”

The carrot cake recipe is everything you want a carrot cake to be: moist, full of color, and with a sweet flavor complemented by cinnamon, nuts, and raisins. It’s my go-to recipe and will be yours, too.

If you loved learning about these candied carrot peel rosettes, you’ll also love:

• Sweet Candied Rhubarb Ribbons
• The Best Carrot Cake
  
• Classic Apple Pie
• Mixed Berry Pound Cake

Print Recipe

How to Decorate Carrot Cake With Carrot Peel Rosettes

Your moist and tasty carrot cake deserves to look its best. Candied carrot peel rosettes are an easy carrot cake decoration that looks chic, and stays good for days. Here's how to make them.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time0 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Keywords:: apple cake, baking, carrot cake, carrot cake decoration, carrot peel rosettes, carrots, dessert, easter dessert, food waste

Servings: 12 rosettes or so

Ingredients

• 2 regular carrots (orange or rainbow), or the peels left from making carrot cake
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water

Instructions

• Heat 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat.
• Peel the carrots in long strips.
• When the simple syrup cool enough to work with, dip the carrot peels into the warm simple syrup for about 30 seconds, then twist into rosettes by winding each peel around a skewer or your finger.
• Place atop your carrot cake or carrot cupcakes as desired.

Notes

Want to get a head start on your carrot cake decorations? These carrot peel rosettes can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated in a closed container.