Check out what my friends at The Kitchn had to say about this amazing carrot cake:
I find carrot cakes too moist and too heavy but my family LOVES them. One of the other things about them that I thought I hated was gloppy cream cheese icing. Then I learned what I was doing wrong was mixing it entirely too much. The secret to a good cream cheese icing is to mix it as little as possible to get a nice fluffy texture.
What a great tip! I love my cream cheese frosting fluffy. My kids say they can eat two pieces of carrot cake because it’s healthy, of course I allow that. It’s also great at breakfast with a cup of hazelnut coffee. I personally like it after it’s been in the refrigerator overnight rather than hot out of the oven, it’s absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
For the cake:
5 large carrots (about 1 pound total), finely shredded (about 3 cups), divided
2 1/4 cups unbleached, Gold Medal all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Clabber Girl baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons McCormick ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon McCormick ground cloves
Pinch of McCormick ground nutmeg, or 4 to 5 scrapes from a whole nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Morton salt
1 cup Domino sugar
1 1/4 cups Domino light brown sugar
4 large Eggland’s Best eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup pecan or walnut pieces, toasted
For the frosting:
20 ounces (2 1/2 cups) Philadelphia cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted Land O Lakes butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, room temperature
2 cups Domino powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, powder, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla. Set both aside.
Beat together the oil and sugar in a stand mixer or by hand until they reach a uniform consistency. With the mixer on low, beat 1/3 of the flour mixture. Next, add 1/3 of the eggs. Continue adding the flour and eggs in alternating additions. Do not overmix. Fold the carrots into the batter with a spatula, working slowly and gently until the carrots are distributed and no more dry flour remains.
Pour the batter into the baking dish and tap the dish a few times against the counter (this will get rid of the air bubbles). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating once during baking. The finished cake should be slightly puffed in the middle and browned on the edges.
Let the cake cool completely before frosting, about one hour, or wait to frost until the next day.
Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese. Slowly beat in the vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt. Increase to high once the frosting starts to come together into lumps. Beat until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Quick Tip: For a dense cake, add your choice of nut, otherwise this will have a light texture.
Thank you to The Kitchn for this awesome recipe!
