Carrot Cake

Kitty FloridoApril 8, 2023

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For us, April gals, usually mean that we’re baking our own cakes. Helga baked a Coconut Cake last year, and a few years ago I baked a Lemon Blueberry Cake that was just delicious in a bite. this year I wanted to recreate a favorite of mine: carrot cake. A few years ago I tried this recipe and loved it.

It has toasted ground walnuts – which is genius as the nuts won’t go soggy after being added to the batter. It also has finely shredded carrots and crushed pineapple. By adding the latter, the cake is moist without overwatering the batter. For this, you need to finely chop the pineapple and strain it before adding it to the batter.

For the dry ingredients, make sure to sift them all together, as the spices can be evenly distributed to the batter. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness of it all.

All around, this is a birthday cake that I love for celebrating at home.

Kitty

Carrot Cake

Recipe by Sweet Style
Makes one 8-inch cake

Ingredients, for the cake:
1 cup walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ginger
1 pinch of salt
1 ¼ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
4 large eggs
zest of 1 orange
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 cups finely shredded carrots
8 oz. crushed pineapple (strained)

Ingredients, for the cream cheese frosting:
12 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 to 5 cups confectioners sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line the base of two springform 8-inch pans with parchment paper, grease, and dust with flour. Set aside.
While the oven is preheating, toast 1 cup of walnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes. Let them cool for a bit, and then grind them in a small food processor, and set them aside. After grinding you should have about ¾ cup.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine both sugars, eggs, and orange zest. With the mixer running on low speed, stream in the oil and mix until combined.
Working in two batches, gently mix in the dry ingredients, and finish by stirring in the ground walnuts.
Lastly, fold in the shredded carrots and pineapple just until combined.
Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.
After the cakes have cooled completely, start making the frosting. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add the vanilla and continue beating until the mix changes to a lighter color. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and set aside.
Add half of the confectioner’s sugar, and milk until they are combined. Turn up the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until fluffy. Pause the mixer and add the rest of the sugar, adjusting the milk amounts until the desired consistency is achieved.
To assemble, once the cakes have cooled, gently cut them in half horizontally to create 4 even layers. Place the first cake layer and spread ¾ cup of cream cheese frosting, follow with the next cake layer, and so on.
After the 4 layers are set, crumb-coat the cake and chill for 30 to 60 minutes in the fridge.
Frost with the remaining frosting and decorate as you like.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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