Carrot Cake

I never really cared much for carrot cake until recently - I think I usually just passed it up for other things when it came to dessert. But over the past year or so I've come to enjoy it a lot more, so of course I had to try making my own. I just ate a piece of this cake, and the spices are really delicious and the frosting is extremely rich. I think I'd prefer something a bit more carrot-y, but this is definitely a tasty recipe to try. I almost totally screwed up the frosting using a substitute for sour cream...my second recipe mixup in one week. I'm losing it!


For the cake:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb carrots, grated
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans or one 13×9 inch pan.

Whisk flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer, mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs in food until thoroughly combined. Add oil in steady steam and process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified. Remove bowl from mixture and mix in carrots and flour mixture by hand.

Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top with rubber spatula, and gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake cake at 350 until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, and when cool, turn cake right side up onto serving platter.


For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, softened
6 tbs unsalted butter, softened
4 tsp sour milk (mix milk with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Using a stand mixer, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt until combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

If making a layer cake with two 8″ rounds, level cakes, ice one layer, add second layer and spread frosting evenly over cake and serve. For 13×9″, spread icing evenly and serve.



Original recipe here