The Ultimate Carrot Cake
Helpful Tips
The spice blend of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves can be used to make a variety of spiced cakes, cookies, and even chai teas. It also makes a nice homemade gift for family or friends that enjoy occasional baking if you scale up the amount for additional uses. I opt to use a small amount of cardamom and cloves in my spice blend which gives the cake a nice fragrance, although you are free to omit these ingredients.
Why use toasted almonds? Aren’t pecans normally used? Yes, pecans are the traditional nut that is used in carrot cakes, although I find that the crisp texture and lightly salted, toasty flavor of the almonds pairs very nicely with the spiced cake. For those who have a family member or friend that is particularly picky about nuts on their cake, I also find that the almonds are often a more tolerable option as well.
Can you add pecans or raisins to the cake? While I have chosen not to incorporate nuts or dried fruit in the batter of this cake recipe it is perfectly fine to do. Simply add 1 cup of chopped nuts, or ½ cup of raisins at the same stage as you add the shredded carrots.
If the cake centers are still not quite set after baking for the complete duration, turn off the oven and let the cakes sit in the warm, but cooling oven for 5-10 minutes and it may set up without overcooking the edges of your cake.
Wait for your cake to cool completely before attempting to frost and decorate it. Trying to assemble layers of cake and frosting while the cake is still warm will likely result in a disastrously lopsided cake. Any heat leftover in your cake layers from baking will quickly transfer to the icing and ruin the structural integrity of any cake.
If not decorating immediately wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and refrigerate them once cooled to preserve their moisture.
How to use cake trimming after leveling?Creating a beautiful cake will almost always leave you with some trimmings that you may not be sure what to do with. One easy way to use these tasty leftovers is to roughly slice them similarly to a loaf of bread, then top a couple slices with a drizzle of cajeta (Mexican caramel) and sprinkle with the remaining toasted almonds for a nice variation that pairs well with a cup of afternoon tea or coffee.
To evenly level and frost your cake use a bench scraper and turntable to spin the cake, keeping all your layers and icing as even as possible.
Cake Directions
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground white cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
- 3-4 large carrots (about 3 cups when grated)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease two 8 inch cake pans.
Step 2:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and spices) until evenly combined.
Step 3:
In a separate bowl, mix the white and brown sugars with the oil and vanilla before beating in each of the eggs one after another. The batter should be smooth with minimal lumps of brown sugar.
Step 4:
Add in the dry ingredients about a third at a time, mixing well before adding in the next third. Be sure to scrape the sides of your bowl to avoid having any bits of unincorporated flour.
Step 5:
Wash, peel, and grate your carrots on the large holes of a box grater before folding them into the spiced cake batter.
Step 6:
Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes. Once there is no longer any jiggle in the cake and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, the layers are done. Cover them with a paper towel and let them cool to room temp before leveling and decorating.
Frosting Directions
Ingredients:
- 12 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 12 oz unsalted butter (softened)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond slices
- 1 pinch of salt
While the cake layers are cooling, toast the almond slices in a pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once the nuts have developed a light golden brown color remove them from the pan, sprinkling with a pinch of salt, and allow them to cool completely.
To prep your cooled cake for decorating, first level your layers by rotating them on a flat surface while passing a chef’s knife around the edges to remove the dome shaped tops. This step will ensure that your cake is a uniform shape and won’t become lopsided while decorating.
At this point you should have two even cake rounds about 2 inches in height. Divide each of these into two layers by rotating them on a flat surface once more and passing a knife through the centers to make four 1 inch layers in total.
To make the frosting, add the softened cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer and whip using the paddle attachment until smooth and creamy.
Add in ½ cup of powdered sugar with the vanilla extract and a small portion of the heavy cream, mixing until fully incorporated. Continue adding powdered sugar in ½ cup increments with small amounts of the heavy cream until the desired sweetness level is reached.
To decorate the cake, spread an even amount of the cream cheese frosting between each of the layers before generously covering the top and sides of the cake in the remaining icing. For an especially even coat, rotate the cake while using a bench scraper to even out the sides.
Sprinkle the toasted almonds across the sides and top edges of the cake, leaving the center open. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
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