Carrot Cake

We were having my sister and her boyfriend over for dinner, and she had told me that he really liked carrot cake. I had been sitting on this Alton Brown recipe for a while and was excited to give it a shot. I had never had carrot cake before. I'm not an enormous fan of carrots, and, especially when I was younger, the thought of them in my dessert was entirely unpleasant.

Boy, was I wrong. This was awesome. I know cream cheese frosting makes pretty much anything tasty, but I really enjoyed the cake even by itself (I taste-tested a couple of parts I carved off to make the cake more even before frosting it). And, as expected, it made Jonathan extremely happy. He's always a fan of my cakes that include a vegetable element.

The only thing I changed from the original recipe is that I cut the cake in half to make it a layer cake. I feel like making a cake a layer cake makes it that much more special. And, of course, you get an extra little frosting bonus in the process.

Edited to add: I made this recipe into cupcakes. I baked them for about 25 minutes. Here is the yummy result that we enjoyed for Benjamin's 7th birthday.

 

Carrot Cake
A variation on this recipe by Alton Brown



Unsalted butter, for the pan
12 ounces, approximately 2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/3 cups
2 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup firmly packed
3 large eggs
6 ounces plain yogurt
6 ounces vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325°F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210°F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, cut cake in half lengthwise. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on the bottom layer, cut side up, and then place top layer on, cut side down. Frost the cake with remaining frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted, approximately 2 cups
In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.