Carrot Birthday Cake!
Free recipe for Carrot Birthday Cake
Carrot cake is a spice cake with grated carrot mixed into the batter.
The carrot birthday cake recipe will make one 9x13 sheet cake. As the cake bakes the carrots soften giving the cake a moist and dense texture. The traditional sweet spice cake is perked up by the flavor and texture of the carrots. If you decide to make it as a two-layer cake or as cupcakes, the cooking time is about 30 minutes. If you use a bundt pan, the cooking time is about 55 minutes. Always check the cake about 5 to 10 minutes before the cooking time ends to determine if the cake is done. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray cake pan with vegetable spray and line with parchment paper. If using a bundt pan, do not line it with parchment paper. Adjust oven rack to middle. The carrot birthday cake takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. Whisk 2½ cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1¼ teaspoons of baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon of ground clove, 1¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large mixing bowl together.
In another large mixing bowl, whisk together 4 large eggs, ½ cup of light brown sugar, 1½ cups of granulated sugar until sugar is almost dissolved in the egg mixture. Slowly add in as you whisk 1½ cups of vegetable oil. Stir in one pound of peeled and grated carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place the cake in the center of the oven and bake until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs sticking to it. Bake the cake for about 40 minutes and turn the pan after 20 minutes of cooking. A carrot cake should cool in its pan on a baking rack for about 2 hours. Use a knife to release the cake from the sides of the pan and turn the cake over onto a cake platter for frosting. Carrot cakes are usually frosted with cream cheese frosting when they are baked in a bundt pan. Cream cheese frosting does not do well to hold a layer cake together.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrot cakes may be eaten plain, but are usually frosted with white icing or cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts. The usual decoration is orange icing in the shape of carrots. This carrot birthday cake frosting is used on a bundt cake, sheet cake or cupcakes. Please do not cream cheese frosting with layer cakes - it is not firm enough to hold layers together. In a food processor place 5 tablespoons of unsalted, softened butter, 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of sour cream, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Process for about 5 seconds. Through the feed tube slowly add 1 and 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar and process for about 10 seconds. Transfer the frosting to a bowl for use and chill before spreading.
More About Carrot Cakes
From a baking perspective, the carrot cake is actually a quick bread. The wet ingredients, such as the eggs and sugar, are mixed together first. Then the dry ingredients are mixed together separately. Next the wet ingredients are added to the dry ingredients. This gives gives the cake a course, dense consistency. Optional ingredients that may be added are raisins, pineapple, or nuts. From a historical perspective, carrots were used to sweeten cakes since the medieval times. Whenever sweeteners, such as sugar beets or cane sugar are scarce or too expensive, bakers use carrots to sweeten deserts because they have more natural sugar than any other vegetable except the sugar beet.
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Carrot Cake
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