Carrot Cake. It sounds like such a strange concoction that must have a storied history that involved frugality and ingenuity on the part of the baker. I am not completely sure of its origins despite my research, so I will just continue to enjoy the perfect balance of spiced cake and sweet cream cheese frosting. Not to mention the added crunch from the pecans. This is great cake, friends. Just in time for Easter.
I've tried many recipes for carrot cake recently, and I found that (not surprisingly) I am a purist. None of this pineapple juice or diced pineapple or raisins business. I do enjoy the added crunch and rustic texture from the pecans, though they are completely optional. Let the carrots do their job, which is to create a supremely moist cake that doesn't actually taste like carrots. I recommend grating your carrots on a box grater on the medium or fine size instead of coarse. The finer the carrots are grated, the more smooth the texture of the cake will be.
Feel fee to use whichever frosting is your favorite. I don't usually care too much for cream cheese icing, but I do like it on carrot cake, and I don't use quite as much cream cheese as one might usually use. It's more of a traditional buttercream with a hint of cream cheese. I also decorated the frosted cake with Spiced Pecans, which are pretty much one of the most amazing things ever.
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 8-inch round cake layers 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (8.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- 1 ¼ cups (8.75 ounces) light brown sugar
- ¾ cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups finely shredded carrots
- ¾ cup toasted pecans
For the Frosting:
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- Spiced Pecans, if desired for decorating
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with butter. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper and then butter the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves, and ginger.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in carrots and pecans, then gently fold in the flour mixture just until combined.
- Divide batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake until center of cakes feel firm to the touch, about 25-28 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed, slowly adding the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and a pinch of salt and continue mixing. Increase speed to medium and add cream cheese gradually, mixing until smooth.
Assemble and frost the cake:
- Using a serrated knife, carefully slice the rounded top off from each cake layer so that both layers have a flat top.
- Arrange one layer on a cake plate and spread the top with frosting. Top with remaining layer of cake. Continue frosting the top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing, and decorate with spiced pecans, if desired.
- Refrigerate 1 hour, or until ready to serve.
Notes
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
Another great Easter recipe for your enjoyment this week, and one of my absolute favorites: Hot Cross Buns
Abbi
This looks delicious. I do swear by pureed pineapple in mine though and I do it with toasted pumpkin seeds because I am allergic to nuts.