Cinnamon, nutmeg, carrots and a creamy, tangy frosting make this classic carrot cake a winner.
Instructions
1
Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients, separately
2
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and oil. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Editor's Tip: For a hint of apple flavor, and less oil, replace the canola oil with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce. You can replace half the oil, or all of it.
3
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
4
Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture, a third at a time, until fully combined. Fold in the grated carrot. Editor's Tip: For a variation on this carrot cake recipe, add raisins, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts or well-drained crushed pineapple when you fold in the grated carrot. Any of these mix-ins will give the cake more texture and an extra layer of flavor.
5
Bake the cake
6
Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Divide the carrot cake batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and let the cakes cool for 10 minutes. Take the cakes out of the pans, put them on a wire rack, and let them cool completely (the layers should not be stacked at this point). Editor's Tip: Here's the best way to grease a cake pan.
7
Make the cream cheese frosting
8
While the cake layers are cooling, make the frosting. First, cream the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl, until light and fluffy, three to four minutes. Don't rush it—here's more on how to cream ingredients. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Beat in enough milk to make the frosting spreadable. If you're decorating the cake, set aside 1/2 cup of frosting. Then, if you're adding walnuts to the frosting, stir them in now. Editor's Tip: You'll often see walnuts in carrot cake, but you can use a different nut, such as pecans, almonds or pistachios.
9
Frost the cake
10
After the cake layers have cooled completely, frost the top of one layer. Stack on the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the two-layer cake. Editor's Tip: We use an offset spatula for this step. It's one of the frosting tools that makes producing a beautiful cake so much easier.
11
Carrot cake doesn't need decoration, but we do love a carrot cake with squiggly carrots piped on top of each slice. To make the decoration, divide the reserved 1/2 cup of frosting into two portions. Use food coloring to make 1/4 cup orange and the other 1/4 cup green. Next, cut a small hole in the corner of a piping bag or plastic bag and insert a #7 round pastry tip. Fill the bag with the orange frosting and pipe 16 evenly spaced carrots on the top of the cake, so each slice will have one. In another cut pastry bag or plastic bag, insert a #67 leaf pastry tip and the green frosting, and pipe a leaf at the top of each carrot.
12
Store the carrot cake
13
Unless you're serving the carrot cake immediately, store it in the refrigerator. Leftovers should also go into the fridge.
