It’s high spring here in Germany. What I love best about spring season is….everything comes back to life!! I’m also glad because the weather is finally warming up and I am ready for loads of sunshine! With spring also comes Easter and with Easter comes Carrot Cake. This Super Moist Carrot Cake Recipe With Cream Cheese Frosting is a perfect springtime treat.
How many Carrot Cake lovers out there? Definitely me!!!!!….Carrot Cake never goes out of style and just one bite will tell you why. Give me a perfectly spiced, super moist cake bursting with vitamin-packed carrots, toasted nuts and lots of homemade cream cheese frosting. And I will be a VERY happy person. Is there anything more heavenly???
If you have an abundance of carrots in your refrigerator and you’re looking for a dessert to make with them other than Carrot Halwa (another favourite of mine), look no further….roll up your sleeves and start baking!! This is the BEST carrot cake you’ll ever taste…. I mean it!
Super Moist carrot Cake Recipe is also less fussy than many other layer cakes, making it ideal for beginners. But it’s not all smooth sailing….from grating the carrots incorrectly to slicing your layers and finally frosting the cake. There isn’t enough time to cook the carrots in the oven. So, the carrots should be grated finely enough to be suspended throughout the batter, as they serve to moisten the cake and add texture.
There is something magical about the toasty crunch of pecans garnishing the outside of cream cheese frosted carrot cake…I would definitely recommend it!! Whether or not you want to add raisins in the cake batter is up to you and same goes for chopped walnuts, but just be sure to toast them first for better flavour. I think it’s the frosting that makes the cake and the more frosting the better I say. So, don’t be shy when spreading the frosting over the cake, be generous to use up all that frosting.
Without further ado, presenting you my humble attempt to make Best Ever Carrot Cake !! I adapted the basic recipe from Martha Stewart and tweaked it quite a bit to create my own version of the Super Moist carrot Cake Recipe. My aim was to try to get the taste close to Starbucks Carrot Cake, which is my all time favourite. And trust me….It actually worked!!
Off to Super Moist carrot Cake Recipe!!
Easy Steps to follow for Super Moist carrot Cake Recipe:
- These are all the ingredient you will need for Super Moist carrot Cake Recipe….
Let’s get started:
- Preheat oven to 175C degrees (350F degrees).
- Spray 8 or 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust it with some flour. Set aside.
- Set out the cream cheese for the frosting, so that it may soften while you make the cake batter.
- Roughly chop walnuts and pecan nuts, lightly roast them and set aside.
- Roast half a cup of chopped pecan nuts separately. This is for garnishing the cake.
Make the Carrot Cake:
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and salt.
- In another large bowl, combine brown sugar and oil with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed. Beat in the yogurt for about a minute until fully combined. Add one egg one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and set aside.
- With a spatula, manually stir and fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Gently fold in the finely shredded carrots and toasted nuts (mix of walnuts and pecans).
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
- Bake the cake for 34-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake, as it will dry out cake.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- With an electric mixer, beat softened cream cheese and butter together over medium speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed for 1 minute until thick and well combined.
- Add in 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, vanilla extract and beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes. If required, add more powdered sugar till you get the desired thickness. Add a pinch of salt and mix to cut the sweetness.
- Cover and chill in a refrigerator until firm for at least 30 minutes.
Assemble the cake and frost:
- Allow cake to cool completely before frosting. A still-warm cake will turn the frosting into a runny liquid.
- When the cake has cooled, using a large serrated knife, layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Decorate the sides of the cake with the remaining toasted pecans. Place a few whole pecans in the centre. Slice and serve.
- Cover up tightly and store frosted cake in the refrigerator for up to a week and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Unfrosted cake remains fresh at room temperature for 3 days.
- You can freeze frosted or unfrosted cakes up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
A Quick Summary:
Super Moist Carrot Cake Recipe With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup brown sugar packed (light or dark)
- 3/4 cup Vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1/4 cup Greek Yoghurt or regular yogurt, plain
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups very finely grated carrots
- 3/4 cup Walnut pieces or a mix of walnut and pecan, toasted
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 400 grams Cream Cheese softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3-3.5 cups confectioners sugar adjust to your taste
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175C degrees (350F degrees).
- Spray 8 or 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust it with some flour. Set aside
Make the Carrot Cake:
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and salt.
- In another large bowl, combine brown sugar and oil with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed. Beat in the yogurt for about a minute until fully combined. Add one egg one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and set aside.
- With a spatula, manually stir and fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Gently fold in the finely shredded carrots and toasted nuts.
- Pour the batter into prepared springform pan.
- Bake cake for 34-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frosting:
- With an electric mixer, beat softened cream cheese and butter together over medium speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed for 1 minute until thick and well combined. Add in 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes.Cover and chill in a refrigerator until firm for at least 30 minutes.
Assemble Cake & Frost:
- Allow cake to cool completely before frosting. You can do a single or double layer frosting (Check stepwise pictorial guide above)
- Allow cake to cool completely before frosting. You can do a single or double layer frosting (Check detailed stepwise pictorial guide above)
My Notes:
- If you over mix the cake batter, the gluten in the flour can form elastic gluten strands, resulting in a more dense, chewy texture. So, avoid over mixing the batter.
- Do not over bake, as it will dry out cake.
- You may freeze frosted or unfrosted cakes up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- To make things easier, prepare cake and frosting a day in advance. Keep cake covered tightly at room temperature. Refrigerate the frosting in an airtight container until ready to use.
- You can also prepare cupcakes with the same batter.
Hope you try out this Super Moist Carrot Cake Recipe!!
Do check out other Baking Recipes from blog!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
