This is the dessert I made for my 24, 24, 24 meal.
I hope you make it someday!

Carrot Cake

To make this classic cake, you will need a 9-inch round pan lined with parchment paper. Shredded carrots are a must. To make the cake even better, you can add nuts such as walnuts or pecans. Alternatively, you can use a store-bought carrot cake mix. Oil is also a must. To make it moister, use cream cheese frosting. Also, you should grate some carrots before you start blending the rest of the ingredients.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 1 2 9-inch cakes

Ingredients

  

• Natalie’s Killer Carrot Cake
• 2 cup AP Flour
• 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/4 cup 100% Vegetable Oil
• 3 cups Grated Carrots
• 1/2 – 1 cup Pecan Pieces save some for decorating
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• 2 8 oz packages Cream Cheese softened
• 2 TBS Butter softened
• 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
• 1 TBS Lemon Juice
• pinch Salt
• 4 – 5 cups Powdered Sugar sifted

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Instructions

 

• Natalie’s Killer Carrot Cake
• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• prepare two 9 inch cake pans
• Whisk together first 7 ingredients. In another bowl whisk together eggs and oil.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix until incorporated. Fold in carrots and nuts.
• Pour in two 9 inch cake rounds, bake for 35 – 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cool at least 30 minutes before taking out of pan.
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Using your electric mixer, cream together first 5 ingredients until smooth.
• Add powdered sugar slowly until 4 cups have been added. I prefer my frosting a bit more thick so I used closer to 5 cups.

Video

Notes

There is 3 cups of grated carrots in this cake (which took me a pound of carrots to get) so this cake is somewhat healthy… right? OK wrong. But it’s SO good! I like to add lemon juice to my cream cheese frosting to make it more tangy. Oh and this cake stays moist for days, not that it will last that long!

Keyword cake, carrot cake

Tips and Tricks to make a Carrot Cake

Oil keeps carrot cake moist

Carrot cake requires a small amount of oil, which is not often found in most recipes. This is an important step in baking, because oil keeps the cake moist. Instead of using butter, vegetable oil works well in the recipe. Oil also helps keep the cake moist and improves its texture. Make sure to use a good quality oil in this recipe. Then, prepare the ingredients for baking. Once all the ingredients are well combined, proceed to assemble the cake.

When baking a cake, it is important to keep in mind that vegetable oil is a liquid, and therefore, difficult to incorporate into the batter. However, oil can easily be substituted for butter if the other ingredients are moist enough. When you are making a carrot cake, use about one and a half tablespoons of vegetable oil for every cup of butter. You may also want to reduce the amount of oil by using a third of the cup for vegetable oil instead.

Shredded carrots are a must

Ideally, you’ll use fresh, shredded carrots. However, if you can’t get your hands on fresh ones, you can buy pre-shredded carrots, which will likely have a lower flavor and texture. For the best carrot cake texture, use fresh carrots. Fresh carrots will snap when you bend them, so you don’t want to use any pre-shredded carrots. You can also use a box grater, but use extreme caution. Keep your nails away from the blades.

To use shredded carrots in this recipe, make sure you grate them finely. In this case, the carrots are suspended throughout the batter, adding texture to the cake without taking center stage. If you’d rather use nuts, you can try using pecans or walnuts instead, but make sure they’re lightly toasted. Without nuts, your cake will have less batter.

Cream cheese frosting is the best frosting for carrot cake

A classic carrot cake has a moist interior and a buttery, tangy cream cheese topping. Cream cheese frosting perfectly offsets the sweetness of the cake. To prepare this simple yet elegant frosting, mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the applesauce, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar to the large bowl. Mix well until well combined. Fold in the raisins and orange and green swirls, if desired.

To make this buttery and smooth frosting, softened butter at room temperature is the best choice. Butter should be soft but not melted, and can be lightly chilled in the center. It should give when pressed with a knife. Once the cream cheese is soft, beat in the butter with a wire whisk or electric hand mixer. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. To pipe the frosting, you can use piping tips.

Walnuts and pecans work well in carrot cake

Although this classic carrot cake recipe calls for walnuts and pecans, other nuts can also be used to add extra crunch and flavor. For instance, you can replace walnuts with pecans or use dried fruit. Oatmeal can also be used to add texture and taste. Crisp rice cereal or granola also work well in this recipe. It’s important to note that the amount of nuts should match the amount of cake batter.

If you’re looking for a healthier carrot cake recipe, try adding walnuts. The nuts will enhance the flavor of the cake. For a less sweet variation, try adding dried fruit to the batter. To make your carrot cake recipe more decadent, try adding nuts to the top. Walnuts and pecans work well in this recipe, but don’t skip them completely.