Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Carrot Layer Cake

I'm on a roll!
This cake was wonderful. Delicious. And of course, not very good for you at all. Never had I made a carrot cake, or a layer cake so I've knocked two new things out at once. I love carrot cake! Every once in a while I'll get a craving for it and buy one of those packaged versions by Dolly Madison at a convenience store and yeauck! Rigid frosting, dry cake, augh! There's just nothing like home made.


Carrot Layer Cake
(Modified a teeny bit from Carrie's Cooking Adventures/Tish Boyle's the Cake Book)

2 cups all purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2T ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1T vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat to 350F. Butter and flour two 9-inch pans.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugars together on medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. At low speed, add the oil, melted butter, milk, and vanilla and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing until just blended. Add the carrots and walnuts and mix until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly.

Bake cakes for 25-30 minutes until they are dark golden brown. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely. Frost with your choice of frosting, I (just like Carrie) used the cream cheese recipe below.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Milk, to desired consistency

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat well until smooth. Makes enough cream cheese frosting for a 2-layer cake.

1 comment:

Carrie said...

I'm SO glad you liked this, I love this recipe. I actually was asked to make it for my grandpas birthday in a few weeks!