carrot cake

We celebrated a birthday in the house recently and the chosen cake was carrot. I was pleased with this choice because I've been craving carrot cake for months now but the husband doesn't like it. When there's only two of you in the house you have to make sure that both of you are going to enjoy it - otherwise there's an unequal gaining of weight and that's just not fair. Sadly, that isn't an issue anymore.

I adapted Alton Brown's carrot cake recipe and it turned out fabulously. The cake itself is very dense and I really like that it wasn't too sweet. I upped the spices and switched vanilla bean for the extract in the icing recipe - both great decisions.

The recipe makes just enough for one 9 inch round cake and the right amount of icing to cover it. If you want to do a two-layer cake I'd suggest doubling both recipes.

Carrot Cake

adapted from Alton Brown

Unsalted butter, for the pan

12 ounces, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan

12 ounces grated carrots

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

2  teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

10 ounces sugar

2 ounces dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

6 ounces plain yogurt

6 ounces vegetable oil

Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In a separate bowl combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

While stirring rapidly and constantly drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Yield: approximately 2 cups

Comments

[SBird's MiL]

THIS WAS DELICIOUS! I love carrot cake and didn't have a good recipe...until now! Thank you!

[Mom]

Thank you for posting this as I lost my favorite recipe, and thank you for not putting raisins in it.

[kristin @ going country]

Yum. I do love carrot cake, but MY husband has this aversion to cream cheese frosting. I KNOW. Who doesn't like cream cheese frosting?! Well, him. And since carrot cake without cream cheese frosting is no kind of carrot cake, we just skip it altogether. Sad.