Gourmet Carrot Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x12 inch pan.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
• In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
• Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
• Pour into prepared 8x12 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Check with toothpick.
• Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Make the cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat two 9"-diameter cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; lightly coat rounds with nonstick spray. If using raisins and rum, heat together in a small saucepan over low just until warm, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit until liquid is absorbed and raisins are plump, 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 8-10 minutes; let cool. Combine carrots and buttermilk in a medium bowl.
• Whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually stream in oil. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with carrot mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; mix until smooth. Fold in raisins, if using, and walnuts with a rubber spatula. Scrape batter into prepared pans.
• Bake cakes, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cakes cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around sides of cakes and invert onto wire rack; remove parchment. Let cool completely.
• Make the frosting:
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla extract and salt. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in powdered sugar. Increase speed to high and beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Assemble the cake:
• Place 1 cake, domed side down, on a platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting evenly over top. Place remaining cake, domed side down, on top. Spread top and sides with 1 1/4 cups frosting and chill 30 minutes to let frosting set. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides, swirling decoratively. Top with Candied Carrot Coins, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160c. Brush a deep, 23cm round cake tin with melted butter or oil. Line the base and sides with baking paper.
• Sift together the flours, spices, and soda into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.
• Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and syrup in a jug until combined. Gradually stir this mixture into the dry ingredients; stir until smooth.
• Stir in the carrot and nuts. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin; smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre.
• Leave the cake in the tin for at least 15 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
• To make the icing: Beat the cream cheese and butter with electric beaters until smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar alternately with the vanilla and juice, beating until light and creamy. Spread the Icing over the cooled cake.
• PLEASE NOTE: The cake can be halved horizontally. Sandwich the layers together with half the icing and spread the remainder on top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to warm 315dF.
• Brush a deep 9 inch round cake tin with melted butter or oil.
• Line the base and side with baking paper.
• Sift the flours, spices and soda into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
• Whisk together the oil, sugar, syrup and eggs and gradually stir in the dry ingredients until smooth.
• Stir in the carrot and walnuts.
• Spoon the mixture into the tin.
• Bake for 1-1/2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
• Cool in the tin, then on a wire rack Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
• Gradually add the icing sugar alternately with the vanilla and lemon juice, beating until light and creamy.
• Spread the icing over the cake or cut th cake horizontally, sandwich the layers together with half the icing and spread the rest on top.

Steps:

• For the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-inch round, 2-inch deep cake pans, flour the insides and tap out the excess.
• Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.
• Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a whisk, beat the sugar and oil together until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. If you are working in a mixer, reduce the speed to low, if you're working by hand switch to a large rubber spatula, and gently stir in the flour mixture - mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. Just as gently, stir in the chunky ingredients.
• Divide the batter among the baking pans and slide the pans into the oven. Bake the cakes for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cakes are properly baked when a knife inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean; the cakes will just start to come away from the edges. Transfer the pans to cooling racks, cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool to room temperature. (At this point, the cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; thaw before frosting.)
• For the frosting: Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
• If you'd like to have coconut in the filling, scoop out about 1/2 of the frosting and stir the coconut into this portion.
• To frost the cake, place one layer of the cake, right-side up, on a cardboard round or a cake plate. If you've added coconut to the frosting, use half of coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer. Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake top-side down. Frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting. Top with the last layer, right-side up and use the plain frosting to cover the top - and the sides, if you want - of the cake. Finish the top layer with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle on these ingredients now, while the frosting is soft. Slide the cake into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, just to set the frosting.
• Serving: The cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper, overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and, while it's good plain, it's better with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or even some lemon curd with a little whipped cream folded in.
• Storing: Covered the cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen, uncovered, and then, when it is firmed, wrapped airtight and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.