Do you know know how tiring it is to grate a pound of carrots? My god, I thought I gave myself arthritis after! Thank goodness it all paid off in the end when it got incorporated into this fabulous Spiced-Carrot Cake!
I normally view carrot cake as an easter-type dessert. However, at the request of the boyfriend, I happily obliged and was so happy I did. This cake is moist and well balanced between sweet and spicy, and the icing is to die for! I adapted this recipe from Megabite, with changes to the icing and some to the cake.
Spiced-Carrot Cake
Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t ginger
- 1/2 t nutmeg
- 1 t baking powder
- 2 t baking soda
- 1 cups sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups canola oil
- 2 t vanilla
- 1 lb or 3 cups finely grated carrots
Icing
- 12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 sticks (12T) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 t vanilla
- 6 cups sugar
- Juice from 1/4 lemon
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray or grease a casserole dish, or the equivalent of 3 9-inch cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a medium bowl, Beat together the sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and beat just until mixed. Fold in the carrots.
- Pour batter in baking dish and bake for 28-34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool on wire rack, or keep in deep dish.
Icing
- Place butter in saucepan and brown, while stirring constantly. Slowly add in sugar and whisk until completely melted and looking slightly like caramel. Let cool for a minute, then slowly add caramel to a medium size bowl. Beat in cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice. Once thoroughly beaten, cool in fridge to harden. Spread evenly over cooled cake, and add cut-out carrot flowers if you desire!Buckle down with a solid grater and get to work. This cake is worth the effort!
