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Carrot Cake

It’s my birthday!

I love carrot cake. It’s always been my mom’s favorite, and I’ve discovered it’s my favorite, too! I made one for my birthday this year, which I shared with my twin brother, Thomas (safely and distantly). We’ve only been apart for one birthday when he was studying abroad in Australia. I hope we can continue to celebrate together for the rest of our lives. Check out how to make one for yourself below!


Carrot Cake

Hangry Timer: 8 hours
Feeds: 10
Cost: $15

What you need:

Cake:

2 cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 cups Vegetable or Canola Oil
4 Eggs
2 cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
3 cups Raw Carrots, grated
4 ozs. Walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup Golden Raisins

Frosting:

1 lb. Powdered Sugar
12 ozs. Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
2 ozs. Butter, room temperature

What to do with it:

For the cake

Preheat oven to 300º F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture and mix well. (I just used a whisk and spatula). Fold in carrots, chopped nuts and raisins until well combined. Distribute batter evenly into 2 (9-inch) cake layer pans, which have been generously greased and lined with parchment. Place in preheated oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool layers in pans, for approximately 1 hour. Invert pans to release the layers and cook on wire rack until completely cool.

Center a 9-inch cake circle on top of a revolving cake stand. Remove parchment paper from bottom of layer cakes and place first layer on the cake circle. 

For the frosting

In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and butter. Beat at medium high speed until thoroughly blended.

For the assembly

Place first layer, bottom side down, at center of cake stand. With a spatula, evenly spread approximately 1/4 cup of frosting on the layer. Center second layer on top of first layer with topside down. Again with a spatula, evenly spread approximately 1/4 cup of frosting on the layer. Using both hands, press firmly but gently, all layers together to get one firm cake. With spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting all over the entire cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spread the remainder of the frosting all over to cover the top and sides of the chilled cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.



*To make decorative carrots, reserve two tablespoons of frosting for each color: green and orange. Mix food coloring into the frosting to reach your desired colors. Transfer each color into the tip of a Ziploc bag and snip the tip of the corners off. After cake has chilled, pipe carrots onto the cake as you please! Enjoy.


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