The best carrot cake

A good carrot cake is very difficult to come by. Especially if you, like me, don't like cinnamon. I am not a fan of spices in general and never found the need to add them to my desserts. Personally, I find their taste a bit too strong and overwhelming, and that is why I tend to avoid using them when baking. The problem is, most carrot cake recipes require some amount of cinnamon, spices or raisins. Raisins. That's another thing I dislike. So, although I do love a good carrot cake, I seldom find one I actually enjoy or a recipe for one that doesn't require raisins and cinnamon or some other spice.

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This recipe is my all-time favorite because it requires none of the ingredients I dislike and it tastes wonderful! I rarely make carrot cakes, though, because the amount of dishes I have to wash afterwards is depressing. So, I save this cake for special occasions and make it only once or twice a year. This year, I baked a batch over the Easter break.

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If you are not a fan of cinnamon, spices and raisins but love carrot cake, this recipe is definitely for you. 

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The best carrot cake

Makes 24 muffin size cakes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour

  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

  • 1 cup vegetable oil

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 2 cups grated carrots (approx. 4 carrots)

  • 1 cup chopped pecans

  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

  • 1 8oz can of crushed pineapple (drained)

  • Vanilla frosting

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners.

  3. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla at medium speed until light colored and well combined. 3 to 4 minutes.

  5. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just blended.

  6. Fold the carrots into the mixture. This step and the next ones are delicate, so hand mix with a spatula.

  7. Fold the pecans into the mixture.

  8. Do the same for the coconut, and then the pineapple.

  9. Fill each liners about 2/3 full with the batter.

  10. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  11. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

For me, carrot cake comes with a good layer of frosting. Cream-cheese frosting to be precise. If there are none, I would get seriously upset. If you're looking for a good cream cheese frosting recipe, click here. It also happens to be my go-to vanilla frosting for any type of desserts.

Optional

If you want to impress people, decorate your carrot cakes with little curls of candied carrots. They look fancy but are super easy to make. There seems to be a lot of steps, below, but rest assured that the curls really are easy to make!

  1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

  2. Make carrot strips using a vegetable peeler. Only 1 carrot will be needed.

  3. Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil, on high heat, and mix until all the sugar has dissolved.

  4. Add the carrot strips and reduce heat.

  5. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

  6. Remove from heat an strain out the liquid. Let cool a few minutes.

  7. Put parchment paper on a large baking sheet and spread the carrot strips on a single layer.

  8. Bake for about 20 minutes, but do not turn off the oven.

  9. The strips will be almost dry.

  10. Working very quickly, wrap each carrot strips around a pencil to form curls and gently slide the curls off the pencil.

  11. Put the curls back in the oven and continue baking for about 10-15 minutes, until completely dry.

  12. Let the curls cool completely before decorating the cakes with them.

Variation

If you don't want to make cupcake size cakes and prefer a bigger one, just use 2 9-inch round pans. Line their bottom with parchment paper, and butter the bottom and sides of the pans. Then, bake for about 35 to 40 minutes.

My go-to vanilla frosting

Frosting should not be underestimated. If not done properly, you could ruin a whole cake. For that reason, you should find that one recipe that you really master so you have something to fall back on in case of emergency. For special occasions, I always try to find a new vanilla frosting recipe but generally, I always go back to this one. It's simple and easy to make.

Personally, I am not a fan of buttercream frosting. First, because it requires a lot of temperature control: if the butter or the room you're baking in is too cold, the cream will be too thick but if it's too hot, the cream will be curdled. Very frustrating. And the second reason why I don't like buttercream is that it requires so much butter and sugar! I mean, 2 sticks of butter and 4 cups of sugar is just too much! 

My favorite recipe only uses 1 cup of sugar and is made with cream cheese and whipping cream. Not only is cream cheese my favorite spread for my morning toasts, it is also perfect for frosting because it ads a bit of tanginess, thus providing some balance taste-wise for the cakes. The dessert will not be over sweet and the whip cream makes the frosting super light.

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My go-to vanilla frosting

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla paste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on high speed, until thick and fluffy. About 2 minutes. Be careful not to over whip! The cream should not be so thick that it looks like butter.
  2. Transfer the cream into another bowl and store it in the refrigerator.
  3. Now back to the stand mixer, whip the cream cheese and slowly add the powdered sugar, one 1/4 cup at a time. Beat at low speed. Once all the sugar is incorporated, increase speed to medium-high.
  4. Add the vanilla extract and mix. I also like to add a little bit of vanilla paste for a fuller taste and also because the tiny little vanilla seeds make the frosting look so much better! 
  5. Then, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. This step is delicate so it should be done by hand, with a spatula.
  6. And that's it! Your frosting is ready to be piped or stored until ready to be used.