Carrot Cake

There is nothing like a slice of Carrot Cake to announce the beginning of spring. Even though the weather here has been anything except "spring-like", it still made a perfect breakfast, I mean dessert. My mom always makes a Carrot Cake for Easter Sunday. It's one of her specialties and everyone in my family expects it. This is the reason that I was not allowed to use her recipe for today's blog post. So this Carrot Cake comes from the wonderful blogger Smitten Kitchen.

I made a few adjustments to her recipe, but the basic Carrot Cake was left intact. There is something about the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger that just smells and tastes absolutely intoxicating. The batter is so tasty that I could eat it straight out of the bowl. Actually, I could do that with all cake batters, but this one especially makes my mouth water.

For the carrot cake, you're going to need: sugar, flour, oil, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, ground ginger, eggs, and carrots.

To start, wash and peel the carrots. Then shred them in a large bowl.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger in and whisk together.

In a mixer, beat the sugar and oil together until smooth.

Then, slowly add in each egg one at a time, mixing each egg until the mixture is combined.

Add the dry ingredients into the egg, oil, and sugar mixture in small batches. Make sure not to over-mix.

Once the batter comes together, remove from the mixer and add in the shredded carrots. Mix them in, until they are evenly dispersed through the batter.

Now here is where you can get a little creative with the recipe. Smitten Kitchen made her batter into cupcakes, which sounded really tasty, but I am all for simple, easy, and quick. So instead, I made mine into a 9x11 pan, but a third option is using two 9 inch rounds and making it into a layered cake. 

Spray the pan of your choosing, or line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers and pour the batter evenly into the pans. For cupcakes, fill each wrapper 3/4 full. 

Bake them in a 350 degree oven. Cupcakes should cook for roughly 14 to 18 minutes and the 9x11 or 9 inch rounds should cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and test for doneness. A knife or toothpick, when inserted in the middle should come out clean. 

While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting. Mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Then add in powdered sugar and milk and combine. I ended up having to add more powdered sugar than the recipe recommends, so taste as you go and add more of anything if necessary.

Make sure that the cake is completely cooled before you ice it, if not the cream cheese icing will melt. Spread evenly over the cake or cupcakes, serve, and enjoy! Recipe below!

Carrot Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 24 cupcakes, one 9x11 pan, or two 9 inch rounds

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

4 large eggs

3 cups grated peeled carrots

For the icing:

2 packages cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

Instructions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Whisk together until combined. In a mixer, mix together the sugar and oil. Beat eggs into the sugar and oil mixture one at a time until mixed through. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Using a spatula, mix in the grated carrots. Spray the baking dish with cooking spray or line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Pour the batter into the pan or the cupcake wrappers. If making cupcakes, fill the wrappers 3/4 full. Bake cupcakes for 14-18 minutes or 30-40 minutes for the 9x11 pan or 9 inch rounds. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick or knife until they come out clean.

For the icing:

If you are making a 9x11 cake, I cut the icing recipe in half, but for cupcakes I would use the full recipe. Start by combining the butter and cream cheese in a mixer until smooth. Then add the powdered sugar and milk and mix together. Keep it in the fridge until the cake is cooled. Ice the cake, serve and enjoy!