Easter is less than a week away, which means we better start getting our Easter dinner menus prepared. Luckily for you, we’ve already shared some of our best Easter recipes like glazed ham, creamed leeks, and even deviled eggs. So feel free to check some of those recipes out if you need some ideas. However, today I want to focus on my all-time favorite Easter dessert, carrot cake. It’s such an incredibly moist and flavorful dessert that everyone will enjoy. And as you will find out with our recipe, it’s really not that difficult to make.
Carrots in a cake?
For the uninitiated, the idea of a cake made with carrots can sound, well… a bit odd. But when you stop and think about it, it really makes a lot of sense.
You see, carrots are incredibly high in sugar content and have been used as natural sweeteners in many dishes for centuries. In fact, the secret to our marinara sauce recipe is the use of finely minced carrots instead of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. So it’s really not as strange as you might think.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- You can easily turn your carrot cake into cupcakes by pouring the batter into some cupcake tins. However, they will require a shorter baking time, about 15 minutes.
- While it’s not necessary, I like to line the bottom of my cake pans with a piece of parchment paper. To do this simply place the piece of paper under the pan, and use it as a templet to draw a circle. Then simply cut out the circle and place it into the bottom of your cake pan. It will guarantee that your cakes don’t stick.
- Want to make the frosting on the outside of your cake smooth? Then try running your spatula under some hot water for 30 seconds, the residual heat with make the frosting more pliable.
- Check to see if your cakes are fully baked with the toothpick test. To do it simply poke a toothpick into your cake. If it comes out clean the cake is fully baked, if it comes out with some cake batter on it then let the cake bake for a little longer.
Carrot Cake Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10
Ingredients
For the carrot cake:
2 Cups of all-purpose flour
2 Teaspoons of baking soda
½ Teaspoon of salt
1½ Teaspoons of cinnamon, ground
1 Teaspoon of ginger, ground
¼ Teaspoon of nutmeg, ground (optional)
¼ Teaspoon of cardamom, ground (optional)
1½ Cups of brown sugar
½ Cup of granulated sugar
4 Large eggs
1 Cup of neutral-flavored oil like canola or vegetable
½ Cup of unsweetened apple sauce
1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 Cups of grated carrots
1 Cup of either pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
For the cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. of cream cheese, softened
¼ Cup of butter, softened
1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 Lb of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit or 176 Celcius.
- Make the batter: Get out a large mixing bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. In another large mixing bowl whisk the brown & granulated sugar, eggs, oil, apple sauce, and vanilla extract together until they are thoroughly incorporated. Then pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and use a spatula, or wooden spoon to combine the two. Finally, toss in the grated carrots along with the chopped nuts, and fold both ingredients into the batter.
- Distribute the batter between two 9-inch cake pans that have been greased with either butter or some type of spray, like PAM.
- Bake the cakes: Place the two cakes into the center rack of your oven and let them bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You will know that the cakes are done when they become dark brown, and it passes the toothpick test.
- Let the cakes cool: Take the fully baked cakes out of the oven and let them cool in their pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
Then remove the cakes from their pans and let them finish cooling on wire racks for 40 minutes to an hour.
- Make the frosting: After the cakes have completely cooled it’s time to make the frosting. Start by beating the cream cheese and butter together in either a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Next, add in the vanilla extract and beat it into the cream cheese/butter mixture. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar and continue to beat until everything is incorporated.
- Assemble and frost the cake: Start by laying one cake down on a plater or cake stand. Then spread a light layer of the cream cheese frosting over the top of this cake.
Place the second cake on top of this, and use a spatula to spread a layer of the cheesecake on both the sides and the top.
At this point the cake is done, however, you can also add in some decorations or crushed nuts.
- Let the carrot cake chill in a fridge for an hour to let the frosting set up. Then you are free to slice it up and enjoy.
Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the carrot cake:
- 2 Cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 Teaspoons of baking soda
- ½ Teaspoon of salt
- 1½ Teaspoons of cinnamon ground
- 1 Teaspoon of ginger ground
- ¼ Teaspoon of nutmeg ground (optional)
- ¼ Teaspoon of cardamom ground (optional)
- 1½ Cups of brown sugar
- ½ Cup of granulated sugar
- 4 Large eggs
- 1 Cup of neutral-flavored oil like canola or vegetable
- ½ Cup of unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 3 Cups of grated carrots
- 1 Cup of either pecans or walnuts roughly chopped
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 8 oz. of cream cheese softened
- ¼ Cup of butter softened
- 1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 Lb of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit or 176 Celcius.
- Make the batter: Get out a large mixing bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. In another large mixing bowl whisk the brown & granulated sugar, eggs, oil, apple sauce, and vanilla extract together until they are thoroughly incorporated. Then pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and use a spatula, or wooden spoon to combine the two. Finally, toss in the grated carrots along with the chopped nuts, and fold both ingredients into the batter.
- Distribute the batter between two 9-inch cake pans that have been greased with either butter or some type of spray, like PAM.
- Bake the cakes: Place the two cakes into the center rack of your oven and let them bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You will know that the cakes are done when they become dark brown, and it passes the toothpick test.
- Let the cakes cool: Take the fully baked cakes out of the oven and let them cool in their pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Then remove the cakes from their pans and let them finish cooling on wire racks for 40 minutes to an hour.
- Make the frosting: After the cakes have completely cooled it’s time to make the frosting. Start by beating the cream cheese and butter together in either a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Next, add in the vanilla extract and beat it into the cream cheese/butter mixture. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar and continue to beat until everything is incorporated.
- Assemble and frost the cake: Start by laying one cake down on a plater or cake stand. Then spread a light layer of the cream cheese frosting over the top of this cake. Place the second cake on top of this, and use a spatula to spread a layer of the cheesecake on both the sides and the top. At this point the cake is done, however, you can also add in some decorations or crushed nuts.
- Let the cake chill in a fridge for an hour to let the frosting set up. Then you are free to slice it up and enjoy.
