Tag: carrot cake

Carrot Cake

Most of the time, instead of shredding carrots I use the left over pulp from making fresh carrot juice. Shredded carrots / carrot pulp, they’re interchangeable in this recipe. Sometimes I freeze the extra carrot pulp in 3 cup amounts – just for this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a bundt pan (or a 9x 13 cake pan, or two 8×8 baking pans) by buttering or oiling it. Wipe lightly with paper towel to remove any clumps of butter or puddles of oil. Lightly dust with flour, shaking out the excess. Set aside.
*hint: my preferred pan is a large bundt pan. I like the look of the cake when I serve it.

Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable oil of your own choice
5 large eggs
1+1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup liquid: milk or kefir or juice
2 cups unbleached flour (can substitute 1 cup whole wheat flour if desired)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each nutmeg, allspice, ginger (if you don’t have one of these spices, don’t worry about it)
3 cups grated carrots (or carrot pulp left over from juicing)
*optional: toasted nuts like almonds, walnuts and pecans chopped. Pumpkin seeds or raisins too.

  1. In large mixing bowl, sift together: flour, baking soda and powder, with all spices. Set aside.
  2. I like to stir the carrots into the dry ingredients till thoroughly incorporated, but you can also fold in at the end if you prefer.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat the 5 eggs, add sugar and continue to beat till thoroughly combined. Add the 1/2 cup of liquid, and mix in to incorporate well.
  4. When both bowls are prepared, pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and gently fold together till all are equally moistened. If you feel you need a little more moisture, go ahead and add a little more.
  5. Pour batter into prepared baking pans (my favourite is a large bundt pan). If the pan is more than 2/3 full of batter, remove a few tablespoons of it to a smaller (prepared) pan and bake separately. This will prevent it from rising too much and overflowing your bundt pan.
  6. Set in the centre of your heated oven and set the timer for 35 minutes. Start checking every five minutes after then. Depending on the size of pan you’re using, you can expect it to take between 45-60 minutes. The bundt pan takes the longest because it’s deeper. Don’t undercook.
    Test by lightly tapping with your finger. If the cake bounces back, test further with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, remove the cake from oven and set aside to cool about half an hour.
  7. Lightly loosen with spatula then turn upside down onto serving plate. Allow to finish cooling before fully removing. *I leave the square or rectangle cakes in their pans to serve, only removing the cake in the bundt pan.

Icing:
1/3 cup butter – room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese – room temperature
1 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 T cream or milk
*optional: toasted nuts like almonds, walnuts and pecans chopped. Pumpkin seeds too.

In medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed till completely smooth. (1 or 2 minutes)
Gradually add icing sugar, then vanilla and cream – beating till fluffy.
Lightly pour over top of the cake and smooth out with spatula. I like a drizzled look on the bundt cake. If you’d like it iced completely, double the recipe.
Sprinkle chopped nuts over top of the icing.

with chopped nuts
without nuts

Enjoy

Cindy Suelzle

Carrot Ginger Cake

– recipe made with Carrot Pulp from juicing carrots –
serve with caramel apple bottom OR with lemon sauce poured over top

1+1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside.

* optional: ADD 2 CUPS CARROT PULP
to flour mixture. Gently fold in to make sure all carrot gets coated in flour. Set aside.

* hint: I’ve made this ginger cake several times WITHOUT carrots. They’re kind of the afterthought (trying to use up extra carrot pulp), so don’t hesitate to go ahead without them. I find that they do moisten the cake so much though, that it sure is worth adding them. If you don’t have carrot pulp, then shred some carrots. If you don’t have carrots, make it anyway – without them. It’s still GREAT.

With beaters, whip:
1 cup butter
add 1 cup sugar, beat in
add 3/4 cup molasses (I use blackstrap, but if that is too strong for you use a regular molasses)
add 4 eggs one at a time and beat in
add 1/2 cup milk

add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and beat with mixture. If you feel its a little too thick, add another 1/2 cup milk.
Bake in 350F oven, middle shelf, approximately 30-35 minutes.
Start testing at 25 minutes. When cake centre springs back to the touch, it should be done.
Serve warm or room temperature – doesn’t matter.

caramel apple carrot cake served upside down with vanilla yogurt

Caramel Apple variation:
Butter 9×13 baking dish, Slice up 2-3 apples and arrange slices around bottom of pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup+ brown sugar over top apples. Pour cake batter evenly over top apples.
Serve on plate upside down so the apples are on top.
Serve plain or with whipped cream or ice cream or vanilla yogurt (pictured).

Lemon Sauce variation:
Butter 9×13 baking dish. Pour cake batter evenly. You’ll be adding the lemon sauce after its baked.
Sauce:
1 cup white sugar mixed with 2 tsp cornstarch
1 scoop of butter about the size of an egg
1 cup water
Heat over medium heat stirring frequently as it thickens slightly.
When its a slightly thick and pourable texture add
the juice of one lemon
Remove from heat and stir well.

choose one of these two ways to serve lemon sauce. Life is full of tough decisions lol.
1. Cut cake and serve with some lemon sauce drizzled over top.
2. When cake is baked, poke holes with a fork all over the top, and drizzle the lemon sauce over, allowing it to soak in.

Regardless of which option you choose, you still have another choice.
Plate suggestions:
just a cake on a plate in all its moist gingery wonderfulness
OR with whipped cream
OR with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Cindy