Carrot Cake
For my Nonnie, who adores carrot cake.
Yields 1 3-tiered cake or 24 cupcakes.
Cake Ingredients
250g all-purpose flour or cake flour
150g granulated sugar
150g brown sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
4 large eggs
360g vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated carrots
Icing Ingredients
16 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 sick of unsalted butter
16 oz powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
About 1 hour before baking, set 2 8oz packages of cream cheese and 1 stick of unsalted butter on the counter to come up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
If making a cake, generously grease 3 9-inch round pans with vegetable oil. Cut parchment paper into a round the size of the inside base of the pan. Grease the parchment paper as well and sprinkle the entire interior of the pan with all-purpose flour. There will likely be excess flour that you can get rid of by beating the edge of the pan on the edge of the counter over your sink once or twice. Set aside.
If making cupcakes, line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners or silicone liners.
In a medium bowl, combine 250g all-purpose flour or (cake flour if you have it), 2 Tbsp Cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp baking soda, and 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt with a whisk.
Wash and peel your carrots. In a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, grate the carrots until you have 3 cups of grated carrots. If you don’t have a food processor, you can carefully shred the carrots on the large side of a box grater.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 150g of granulated sugar, 150g of brown sugar, and 360g of vegetable oil with a paddle attachment. Stir on the lowest setting for about a minute until well combined.
Add the 3 cups of grated carrots, 1 tsp vanilla, and 4 eggs. Mix on low until well combined.
On low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time just until combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl occasionally.
If making a cake, separate the batter evenly into the three lined baking pans. Using a scale will make this very easy. It will take longer, but the closer you can make each layer, the more evenly the layers will cook and the more perfectly the layers cutting into the cake.
If making cupcakes, use a large cookie scoop and fill 24 lined cupcake tins equally.
If making a cake, bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick can be inserted into the cake and removed cleanly. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack for about 10 minutes. Empty onto a plate. Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper into a large square. Place the paper on a plate and carefully turn both upside down on the cake pan. Carefully place one hand on top of the plate and one on the bottom of the pan and flip so the cake can empty onto the paper-lined plate.
If making cupcakes, bake for approximately 17 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick can be inserted into the cake and removed cleanly. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack for about 10 minutes. Carefully stick a knife between the liner and the pan and lift the cupcake from the pan. Set on a cooling rack.
While the cakes are cooling, add 16 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp kosher salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream on low until well combined and there are no more clumps. Then add 16 oz of powdered sugar and mix until there are no more clumps. Place a square of paper towels into the bowl to absorb excess moisture and cover it with plastic. Set in fridge.
Make sure you do not overmix the cream cheese icing. Overworked cream cheese can create a gelatinous, springy texture that is not enjoyable. Also, buy quality cream cheese. Cheaper cream cheeses are more likely to become overworked more quickly.
After allowing the cake to cool completely–this is vital, as any heat remaining in the cake will melt the icing–remove the chilled icing from the fridge. Carefully transfer the icing into a piping bag. If making a cake, pipe the icing onto the layers evenly, stacking them carefully and covering the entire cake with icing. If making cupcakes, pipe an even amount of icing on each cupcake.
