Ah, the carrot cake. The only cake that I can eat 4 slices of without feeling completely guilty about it. It has plenty of vegetables in it, so in my opinion it’s basically a salad!
I have to admit, I kind of stumbled my way into this recipe. I made my grocery list based on the ingredients I didn’t have (carrots, mostly) and set everything out on my counter in my neurotic baking ritual. As I was taking out the armload of spices from my pantry, I realized I was missing a hugely key ingredient: ground ginger. I tore through my spice cabinet three times, dug around the back of the baking shelf in my pantry, and even ventured into the canned goods section, all to no avail. There wasn’t a speck of ground ginger to be found. From a recent venture into pumpkin pie, I knew ginger wasn’t just something I could omit and not notice in the finished product. I plopped myself into a stool and attempted to rally enough energy to venture back to the store. Then I spotted it. A nice, plump ginger root hanging out in my fruit basket. Huzzah! (Not a word I often use, mind you). I broke out my microplane and got to work.
For those of you out there who have never baked with fresh ginger, it’s wildly different than the powdered stuff. Definitely more bite and a tad more bitterness overall. I augmented my recipe and decided that the potential flavor shift from using the fresh ginger was more than worth not having to brave the store again. The result? Absolute deliciousness that brought a fresh zing to the cake that I didn’t even know was possible. Dig in!
This recipe is based off of one from the food bible, Bon Appetit.
Ingredient List:
for the cake:
- 2 1/2 cups AP flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 inch knob of ginger
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 eggs
- 1.5 lbs carrots
for the frosting:
- 12 oz cream cheese
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- green food coloring (optional)
Kitchen Tools: two 9″ cake pans, nonstick spray, parchment paper, vegetable peeler, whisk, offset spatula, piping bag (optional), microplane, electric mixer, food processor with grating attachment or cheese grater, two wire cooling racks
Prep Work:
Preheat your oven to 350*F. Set out your cream cheese and butter to get to room temperature while you make the cake. Prep your cake pans with nonstick spray and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit into the bottom of each pan.
Remove two carrots from your bundle and set them aside for later. Peel remaining carrots and shred them using your food processor with a grating attachment or a cheese grater. (I strongly recommend the food processor option if you have it). Peel and microplane your ginger until you have one tbsp worth.
In a mixing bowl, whisk to combine all of the dry ingredients – flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, white and brown sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir in buttermilk and ginger. Whisk for a few minutes until everything is well incorporated. Slowly whisk your dry ingredients into the wet ones, separating the dry ingredients into about 3-4 batches so you don’t overwhelm the mixture (or yourself). Stir in your carrots and mix until smooth. Batter should be very wet.
Baking:
Carefully divide batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans and place in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Once they’re done, place pans on a wire rack and cool for about 15 minutes.
Release the sides of the cake from the pan with a sharp knife. Place a wire rack upside down on top of each cake pan and use it to hold each cake in place as you upend them onto the rack. Remove parchment paper and discard. Let cakes cool completely before frosting, about 30 minutes.
Frosting:
While your carrot cake is in the oven, start preparing your frosting. Combine butter and cream cheese into a bowl and use your electric mixer on high to whisk them until smooth. Beat in salt and vanilla extract. Reduce your speed to low and slowing beat in powdered sugar, about a 1/2 cup at a time. Once sugar is incorporated, whisk on high for about 2 minutes.
Transfer one of your cooled carrot cakes to your cake plate, domed side down. Use your offset spatula to spread a layer of frosting on top thick enough that the cake isn’t completely showing through in places (see above for reference). Place the second cake on top in the same orientation. Frost entire exterior, reserving about 3/4 cup for the leaves if you want to use this design.
Add 2-3 drops of green food coloring into reserved frosting and mix well. Spoon into piping bag with a leaf nozzle and place in the fridge while you make your carrot flowers.
Carrot Flowers:
Peel your carrots and discard peels. Start peeling in straight vertical lines down each carrot to create strips. These strips are going to form your “petals”. Take 3-4 strips and place them in a line on your cutting board with about 1-2 inches of overlap. Start from the bottom end and roll carrots into a cylindrical shape. Fluff out the ends and place firmly into your frosted cake at about 3 inch intervals. Repeat until you have the number of flowers desired. Pipe two leaves directly next to each carrot flower. Serve within a few hours so that carrot flowers do not wilt.
Tips + Tricks:
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- If you’re making your carrot cake ahead of time, save the carrot flowers until about an hour or two before serving. They will wilt and dry out overnight, which I found out the hard way.
- Feel free to ditch the design I did on top and go a bit crazy with it. Add some extra grated carrot or chopped walnuts, or pipe some fun designs on top!
