Carrot Cake Recipes . . . Gone Wild!

Carrot cake . . . consists of grated carrot mixed with batter. The carrot softens in the cooking process, and the cake usually has a soft, dense texture. The carrots themselves enhance the flavour, texture and appearance of the cake. ~ Wikipedia

Photo courtesy of: David Blaine, on Flickr

Recipe for Carrot Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and grated*
½ cup crystallized ginger (this can be very expensive at the supermarket, so you may want to leave it out. You can generally get it online or a local candy shoppe for nearly 15x's cheaper).

*Use either a box grater or food processor shredding disk, do not use pre-shredded carrots, the result will be a crunchy cake.

Carrot Cake Frosting Ingredients

2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar (I actually use a natural sweetner, Madhava Agave Nectar )
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons grated orange zest

Baking the Carrot Cake

1. With the oven rack in the middle position, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat your cake pan (see note below on cake pans and corresponding baking times) with vegetable oil spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices ans salt, set aside.

2. Whisk eggs, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl until sugar is mostly dissolved and the mixture becomes frothy. Slowly whisk in oil until combined. Add flour mixture from step 1 in small batches until totally incorporated (no remnants of flour should remain). Stir in the carrots and crystallized ginger.

3. Pour batter into the pan of your choice and smooth top. Bake according to chart below. When done, a wooden skewer inserted into the center of cake should come out clean with only a few crumbs. While cake is baking, mix sour cream topping* ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

4. Remove from oven and apply topping. Place cake back into 350 degree oven for 5 more minutes, allowing the topping to set. Cool in pan on counter for 2 hours.

Cake Pans and Baking Times

Sheet cake : Bake 35~40 minutes.
Bundt cake : Bake for 55 minutes.
Cupcakes (makes 24): Bake for 30 minutes.

*Layered cake (two 8-inch pans): Bake for 25~30 minutes. For a layered cake, I recommend lining bottom of pan with parchment paper, this will ensure your cake does not stick. You will also need to prepare a frosting, rather than using the sour cream topping since it is not stiff enough to hold the cake layers together. Traditional recipes typically use a cream cheese frosting. Before frosting the cake you will need to first remove the parchment paper; run a paring knife along the sides of the pans and the invert cakes onto a rack or baking sheet, remove parchment paper, and invert again. Place first cake on serving platter and frost, add second cake to first and frost.

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Recipe courtesy of: http://www.wasabibratwurst.com/ginger-orange-carrot-cake-recipe/
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Photo courtesy of: foodistablog, on Flickr

Applesauce adds moisture to this carrot cake.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups applesauce
3/4 cups shredded raw carrots
3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsifted whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in granulated and brown sugars. Beat in eggs.

Measure all-purpose and whole wheat flour into a bowl; add baking soda and spices and stir to blend. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with applesauce and carrots. Fold in walnuts and raisins.

Spoon batter into to a greased and floured bundt cake pan. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes; tap to loosen and unmold on a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar or drizzle with a glaze before serving.

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Recipe courtesy of: http://southernfood.about.com/od/carrotcakesandcookies/r/bl30409k.htm
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Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter

Filling:

24 ounces cream cheese, softened and divided
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour, divided
4 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:

1 tablespoon orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

Heat oven to 325F.

Mix crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter and press onto bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450F.

Beat 2 1/2 packages cream cheese, sugar and 1/4 cup flour at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in juice. Add combined remaining flour, carrots, raisins and spices and mix well. Pour over crust.

Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 250F and continue baking for 55 minutes. Turn off oven and let cheesecake cool for one hour inside cooling oven. Loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool completely and then refrigerate.

Beat remaining 1/2 package cream cheese and juice until well blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing until well blended. Spread over top of cheesecake. Garnish with additional raisins and orange zest or shredded carrot, if desired. Serves 10.

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Recipe courtesy of: http://www.thatsmyhome.com/cheesecake/carrot-cake-cheesecake.htm
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Photo courtesy of: foodistablog, on Flickr

Photo courtesy of: scubadive67, on Flickr

Photo courtesy of: joyosity, on Flickr