Who thought I’d make a carrot cake? Well, my baking addiction doesn’t fail to surprise me all the time. Just until few days back, I was very judgemental about baking a carrot cake or rather eating it. It is not that I don’t love carrots – I like to put them in my soups, pilafs, fried rice, make famous Indian gajar halwa or simply eat them raw. But in the cake, no chance! Who adds a vegetable in baking goods, was my perception that kept me away from this super moist and a cake full of flavors! The spices and sweetness from the carrots kicked up a notch, per se. Last week, I had this huge urge of baking a cake and after hours of studying and stressing, I finally decided to go ahead with carrot cake without knowing that I will label it as my most favorite cake. It’s incredibly light, and a great great recipe to fall back on when you decide to diet but somehow those carrots in your refrigerator plead you to be picked up and used in your baked goodie. OK, let us pretend it is healthy without a cream frosting.
Carrot cake is generally frosted with cream cheese icing; that’s what I know from all the research I did that day. But hey we were celebrating nothing else but a weekend so this worked just fine. Since I didn’t had cream cheese handy, I used a box of whipped cream to top the cake which also made it taste divine. Here’s the recipe for a carrot cake adopted from Shaina Olmanson’s blog . Add in the cake some pieces of real raw fruits and nuts and you are bound to travel to a world full of flavors. This is that rich!
Super Moist Carrot Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting -
Ingredients -
(makes 6 pieces)
- While granulated sugar – 3/4 cup
- All purpose flour – 1 cup
- Grated carrots – 1 1/2 cup
- Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
- Baking Powder – 1 tsp
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Vegetable oil – 3/4 cup
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
- Cinnamon – 1 tsp
- Nutmeg – 1/2 tsp
- Pineapple – 1/4 cup, chopped
- Walnuts - 1/2 cup, roasted and chopped
- Chocolate Sprinklers – a handful, optional
For Whipped Cream Icing -
- Heavy whipping cream – 120 ml
- Powdered sugar – 2 tbsp
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Method -
Line a bottom of round baking pan with parchment paper so that moistness from the cake will prevent it from sticking to the pan and grease the sides of the pan with butter. Pre heat oven to 180 Degrees C and place rack in the center of the oven. Toast walnuts until lightly brown and frangrant. Chop them and keep aside. In a bowl stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a bowl of food processor with whisk attachment beat eggs until foam appears. Gradually add the sugar while the processor is still on and pulse until light and thick (about 3-4 mins). Add oil in a steady stream and vanilla extract. Oil will keep the cake soft and moist. Add in flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. With a spatula fold in chopped nuts, pineapple and grated carrots. Pour in the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 mins or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool on a wire rack. Invert the cakes onto a plate and remove the parchment paper. Cut through the middle of the cake so that the cake is divided into 2 pieces.
For the frosting place all the ingredients required in a food processor and beat just until the stiff peaks form. Layer the frosting between the two layers and on the top swirling through with a spatula or spoon. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinklers, if you wish. Cut and serve. This cake stays fresh for about a week in the refrigerator.
