Southern Style Carrot Cake
Southern Style Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake
Dry ingredients:
2.5 cups 350 g all purpose flour (plus extra for flouring the cake pans and tossing the raisins)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger optional
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet ingredients:
1 cup 284 ml vegetable oil
1 cup 198 g light brown sugar
1/2 cups 115 g granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Other ingredients:
3 cups 150 g grated carrots
1/2 cup 75 g raisins (toss with flour to prevent them from sinking in batter)
1/2 cup 60 g chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
16 oz. cream cheese room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
Garnish
1-2 cups chopped pecans to press on the side of the cake
4 whole carrots
cilantro leaves or any other herb to use as carrot leaves
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease two 9" cake pans with oil and cover the bottom of the pans with parchment paper (optional). Add a handful of flour to the pans and rotate the pans to coat with flour to prevent sticking.
- Dry Ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 2.5 cups flour, 4 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder and set aside.
- Wet Ingredients. In a medium sized batter bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup vegetable oil on high speed for 2 minutes.
- Combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir them together using a spatula until combined. Stir in the 3 cups of carrots, 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.
- Bake. Pour into the cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove from oven, let cool for 20 minutes before transferring the cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Cream Cheese Frosting. In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract using an electric mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1/3 at a time and beat until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Decorate the cake. Place the first layer on a cake stand and cover with cream cheese frosting. Stack the second layer on top and spread the top and outsides of the cake with frosting. Use your hand to press the additional 2 cups of toasted pecan pieces to the outside of the cake. Right before you are ready to serve, cut the ends off the whole carrots and then cut them in half lengthwise. Place them on top of the cake with the pointed ends facing the center. Use a the cilantro leaves as the carrot tops.
Recipe Notes:
- Store the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- If you are using the carrots to decorate the cake, place them on the cake right before you are ready to serve. If they are left on overnight, the moisture from the carrots will seep out and cause the frosting to become "wet" around the edges of the carrots.
- For a 3 layer cake use three 8 inch cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- This recipe makes 18-24 cupcakes. Use cupcake liners and bake for 25 minutes.
- A 10 ounce bag of pre-shredded carrots and be used instead of grating the carrots. I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces before adding them to the batter.
- Vegetable oil can be substituted with 1 cup melted coconut oil or 2 sticks melted unsalted butter.
- The pecans can be substituted with walnuts.
- For even more nutty flavor, toast the pecans in the oven at 350 degrees on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- Use a good quality cinnamon for the best taste.
- There are a few ways to tell if the cake is done. A toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, the sides are pulling away from the cake pan or the cake springs back when pushed down in the middle.
- Parchment paper is not necessary but helpful in ensuring the cake does not stick to the pans when removing. Run a knife around the cake to help release the sides before trying to remove it.
- Carrot Cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the layers individually in 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil.
- The original recipe called for 1 cup granulated sugar. We cut that down to 1/2 a cup and added 1 cup of light brown sugar to create more moisture in the cake.
Read More About This Health Tips Click Here