The carrot crop was a good one this year – the hubby brought in 69 pounds of them. Most of them went into the freezer and into carrot ginger soup. But I also like to make cake. Carrot cake is a bit of a classic isn’t it? There are as many carrot cake recipes as there are carrots in the garden aren’t there? So where does one begin? Me? I went to my go/to cake cookbook The Perfect Cake as a starting point but me being me I expounded upon it.
Carrot Cake
Serves 15
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried cranberries
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and grated
Orange Cream Glaze
1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350°
Grease and flour a 9 x 13″ pan
In a medium bowl, whisk flour cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dried cranberries and mix in to flour.
To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugars and oil. Whisk until well combined. Add the flour mixture and and gently stir until just mixed. Add the carrots and mix until just combined.
Add the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread with a spatula until even. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack
Make the glaze: Whip together the orange juice and heavy cream until thickened. Stir in the confectioner’s sugar until combined.
Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake.
How Was the Carrot Cake?
It was delicious; moist, rich and full of delicious spicy flavor. The orange cream glaze added just the right bit of sweetness to balance the cake. I will not mention how many pieces I might have taste tested.
I’ve made two so far this year, one for a meeting for the hubby and one for us. It makes a really lovely snack cake.
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Carrot Cake
A spicy, delicious and moist cake
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 15 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried cranberries
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and grated
Orange Cream Glaze
1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°
Grease and flour a 9 x 13″ pan
In a medium bowl, whisk flour cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dried cranberries and mix in to flour.
To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugars and oil. Whisk until well combined. Add the flour mixture and and gently stir until just mixed. Add the carrots and mix until just combined.
Add the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread with a spatula until even. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack
Make the glaze: Whip together the orange juice and heavy cream until thickened. Stir in the confectioner’s sugar until combined.
Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake.
Keywords: carrot cake, dessert, carrots
