TWD - Bill's Big Carrot Cake
First off, a big thank you to Amanda of slow like honey for choosing this week's recipe, it may well be one of the easiest recipes that I've made for Tuesdays with Dorie so far. No need to set butter out hours in advance to ensure that it's up to room temperature, no separating of eggs nor whisking of egg whites, not one step that could be called complicated unless you don't happen to have a food processor to grate your carrots; and even then it's not really difficult with a box grater, just labor intensive.
As my weekend turned out, it was all the better that this week's challenge wasn't particularly high maintenance. It was my intention to make this cake on Friday night, but it was sunny after weeks of grey weather and I felt having a drink with my colleagues instead. On Saturday we were up and out of the house early(ish) to do a big shop so we could be back in time to get gussied up to make drinks at 6pm for a friend's birthday, which led to late dinner out, and from there on to a house party of two of E's colleagues. In the end we didn't make it to bed until 5am. So after breakfasting at 3:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, I finally got around to making carrot cake. While I wasn't hungover, I was feeling rather lackadaisical and I think it shows in my photos, but it certainly didn't detract from the taste.
The End Result...
Carrot cake is one of my favorite ways to enjoy cream cheese frosting, but I didn't follow Dorie's recipe for the simple fact that no cream cheese frosting recipe has ever worked for me since I moved the Netherlands. For whatever the reason, all cream cheese (even good old Philly) has a softer and lighter texture here, and turns to soup with too much handling. For this reason I've substituted my own all-cream cheese frosting recipe for Dorie's, but if you'd prefer to use the original recipe then click over to slow like honey.
I chose dried cranberries and pecans for my fruit-nut combo, but otherwise stuck to the recipe, with the exception of the coconut. I left out the shredded coconut, mostly because E isn't a fan, but also because I couldn't find any flaked coconut to my liking at the stores. Most shredded coconut sold here in the NL reminds me more of coconut sawdust, then anything else, and I worried that it might effect the moistness of the cake or add more texture then I wanted. That said, I found the texture of the cake very light and spongy, in comparison with other carrot cakes I've made in the past. I don't think I would have been able to tell if the cakes were done, had I not used a cake tester, because I found the tops of the cakes to be quite soft when it was time for them to come out of the oven. When I torted the cakes for decoration, the very top layers were perfectly baked, so I'm inclined to think that it was simply the texture of the cake and not a question of doneness.
I made two 6-inch cakes, filling two 6x3-inch cake tins with about 2 cups of batter and used the remaining batter to make cupcakes (nine to be exact). One cake was frosted, decorated and delivered to friends who moved into a new house over the weekend and the second cake I sliced into two layers and froze for a later date. I used the remaining frosting for the cupcakes.
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
source: Baking: From My Home to Yours
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 7 9 carrots)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.
To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.
Mevrouw C's Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
For the frosting:
25oz (700g) cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
¾ teaspoon pure lemon extract
zest of 1 lemon
Finely chopped toasted nuts (optional)
To make the frosting:
In a large bowl cream the cream cheese with a large spatula until smooth. Gradually shift the sugar into the bowl, ¼ cup at a time, and continue to stir to incorporate the sugar until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Stir in the lemon and zest.
Previously by Mevrouw Cupcake for TWD:
The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
Caramel Topped Flan (Créme Caramel)
mari
in recipes, cupcakes, cake, Tuesdays with Dorie
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Reader Comments (51)
Woah!!! So freaking adorable! I love the carrots. Great job...isn't it nice to always have baked goods to give away each week!
xo
Rebekka
Beautiful, just beautiful! Love the presentation and freezing one of the cakes is something I wish I had thought of doing! :)
I love how your cake looks! Great job with the frosting.
Adorable Mari! They look fantastic..fab job babe!
The top of your cake is so smooth! You must share your secret! Looks beautiful :)
Your cakes/cupcakes are all so beautiful!!
I was incredibly thankful to keep the candy thermometer sheathed for a week. Huzzah! ;)
The cranberry-pecan option has such a nice zing of color. Think I'll try that next time. Your cake is absolutely lovely, inside and out.
your cake came out looking so lovely! what a perfectly frosted top layer, and i love the carrots!
the cake looks so pretty! great job with the decoration. i love having a few cupcakes on the side too... so much easier to give away than a giant cake :)
I'm loving the mini cakes. I've got to get me some 6" pans...
I love those great little carrots you put on top. Sweets for the sweet!
I Love all the little Carrot decor!!!
Beautiful! You are a frosting genius!
Your cake looks great, with a carrot decoration! I agree, the cake is really easy to make
Your cupcakes look beautiful, I love the garnish! Great job!
Love the cupcakes. The carrot decoration is so adorable! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
I laughed when I saw your first picture. If you look at my carrot cake post you'll see why--great minds think alike. =) But your border looks so much better than mine. Your cake looks fantastic!
Love the carrots. Glad you have been able to craft a suitable cream cheese frosting. It is one of the simple joys.
Yes, grating the carrots by hand was definitely labor intensive - my arm is still sore!
Lovely cake...
That looks great. I loved the carrot, The cake looks so lovely and feminine. Great job.
Love Love Love the little carrots on top! So cute and simple! Kudos!
Your cake is beautiful! I love the little carrots on top. :)
Those carrots on the top cake are so cute!
so beautiful! it just looks so beautiful....apparently i'm at a loss for words!
Nice job! They all look wonderful!
Awww, and you thought my lone cupcake was cute? Your carrot designs blow mine away!! Very nice!!
Posting again... but nothing to do with cake this time... I noticed you Hearted me on Etsy and I just want to say thanks (and to think I had already picked you as one of my three fave TWDers this week...)! :)
i love that cake, and the carrots on top are so sweet!!
Looks wonderful! Love the little carrot decoration top!
i love how you decorated it!!! funny thing about the cream cheese frosting being different in the netherlands?
Beautiful work! The cupcakes are adorable.
You did such a beautiful job with the frosting/decoration of your carrot cake! Looks professional!
There is something so fun about smaller cakes! Probably less-guilt when it's all gone…looks great!
Wow!! This is a beautiful creation. You are so talented. Ilove the carrot on top. Well done!
It's really beautiful with the smooth frosting and the tiny carrots, beautiful!!
Pretty cake and cupcakes. What a great idea to make little cakes - I'm going to have to find some of those small pans!
Your finished cake looks amazing. I like the piped icing around the edges. Great job!
Your cake came out great! I will have to try your frosting next time - mine came out kind of droopy and it was difficult to pipe onto the cupcakes!
Beautiful decorating job! Interesting about the cream cheese there, glad you were able to fix things to your liking!
Awww so adorable!
OH wow, your cakes are absolutely beautiful! Great job!
This is one of my favorite cakes of all-time. Looks good.
What a pretty cake! I just love mini cakes. Your cupcakes look pretty too!
just beautiful
i mean, i think everyone likes carrot cake
and it's so good for you right?
like health food, right?
Love the carrots and your border is lovely and dainty!
Great job!
Fun, you made the little frosting carrots..I love those.
I am proud to say that I introduced you to your first Carrot Cake recipe. You made it for Thanksgiving years ago. We still have it every Thanksgiving. I still love that recipe to this day. You have really "kicked it up a notch" on the decorating. I'm proud of you. P.S. Your flaked coconut is on the way - got you 2 bags!
That is the prettiest carrot cake I've ever seen! Absolutely beautiful!!
rebekka --- if I didn’t give away at least some of the baked goods that made, then I’d be big as a house! It’s a good way to hone my skills without expanding my waistline (too much anyway).
LyB --- I really like how Dorie includes storage and freezing tips with her recipes, being able to freeze certain desserts is great if you have small household like mine.
Chelle --- I think cream cheese frosting is easier to smooth then buttercream, for whatever reason, but I do work with a revolving cake decorating stand and offset spatulas when frosting layer cakes.
Rebecca --- I was well chuffed (English expression) that we had an easy challenge this time round, but then I opted out on the marshmallows.
rainbowbrown --- I’d definitely suggest getting 6” pans, they make the cutest layers cakes, which work well as gifts or for small households and/or single girls. They’re also easy to get into a small freezer, so the possibilities are endless.
Carrie --- of course I hearted you on ETSY, cause your photos are FAB! Everyone should check out Carrie’s shop here.
claudia --- carrot cake is so like health food, I think we should definitely have a slice a day! LOL! ;-)
Thanks to everyone for stopping by and commenting! I’m pleased as punch to get so many compliments on my frosting and decorating skills, especially since I always see myself more as someone who worries about taste over aesthetics. I had a really good time making, decorating and partaking of this cake (nice friends share when you bring them cake). It also gave me the opportunity to try out some natural food coloring that I picked up in the States last year from India Tree. Although the green came out more avocado green then greens green, I did like the idea that I wasn’t using anything borderline toxic.
Such a beautiful cake; the carrots on top were a nice touch. I'm sorry that you didn't get to try out Dorie's cream cheese frosting recipe because it was delicious, but I bet your recipe was good as well. Great job!