Reinventing Carrot Cake

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t always been a fan of carrot cake. Growing up, I would eat (or not eat, in reality) the very traditional version: spiced carrot cake layers with raisins and nuts, covered in cream cheese frosting. I would always take one bite and push my plate away. Nuts, no thank you. Raisins, no thank you. Not in my cakes!

It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I decided to try out a couple of new carrot cake recipes from some of my favorite bakers, including Sweetapolita and Milk Bar’s Cristina Tosi. I was originally drawn to the Sweetapolita recipe because Rosie doesn’t use nuts or raisins in her cake. She also includes candied ginger and orange zest, and used a white chocolate buttercream. All of which I love and knew would taste amazing together in a cake.

Rosie’s cake didn’t disappoint in the least. It quickly changed my opinion of carrot cake and became my go-to Easter cake.

Then, last year, I decided to try out Milk Bar’s Carrot Cake. I have loved so many of the Milk Bar cakes and was eager to see how Cristina reinvented this traditional cake. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The cake itself was pretty much a typical spice cake, and the cheesecake filling was a little overwhelming. I did love the graham cracker frosting and graham crust though! Just all together, the cake wasn’t my favorite.

My Take on the Classic: Carrot Apricot Cake with White Chocolate Pretzel Crunch Filling

As I was thinking about creating my own carrot cake recipe this year, I knew I wanted to do something with fruit. I racked my brain for something that I hadn’t seen used with carrot cake (i.e. no pineapples, no oranges, no strawberries) and something that would compliment the cake well. I landed on apricots and was so excited about it. But, if you caught my Instagram stories recently, you saw my excitement was squashed a bit when I realized I didn’t time my seasons right with this one! No fresh apricots in March. Duh! What was I thinking!

Well, that wasn’t going to stop me. I went with my backup plan and snagged some canned apricots to make my compote. It worked beautifully.

White Chocolate Pretzel Crunch Filling

The other element I wanted to add to this traditional cake was some kind of texture, and not in the form of nuts. While talking to my mom about some ideas, she suggested trying something with pretzels. I wasn’t sold on it right away, but the more I thought about the crunchy, salty pretzels in this cake, the more the idea grew on me. I just needed to add them the right way.

As I was thinking of how to create the right pretzel filling, I remembered Milk Bar has a recipe for Milk Crumbs, which is basically flour and milk powder baked in butter and covered in white chocolate. (Seriously heaven!). I played around with the recipe a little and subbed crushed pretzels for the flour and came up with the White Chocolate Pretzel Crunch Filling. You guys! This stuff is no joke! If I were you, I’d make double the recipe called for because you’ll not only want to add more to each slice of cake as you serve it, you’ll want to snack on this stuff all day long.

I then decided to go with a white chocolate buttercream like Rosie did in her cake. It’s a little less traditional and pairs perfectly with the apricot compote and white chocolate pretzel filling.

Of course, if you love the traditional cream cheese frosting on your carrot cake, go right ahead and whip up THIS frosting recipe instead. It’s amazing

Have I sold you on it yet? I really hope so because I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Enjoy and have a wonderful Easter weekend.

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Carrot Apricot Cake

Carrot cake layers with an apricot compote, a white chocolate pretzel filling, and white chocolate buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword carrot cake, white chocolate buttercream

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 5 cups (420 g) freshly grated carrots
• 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (315 g) all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp (12 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp (4 g) baking soda
• 1 tsp (6 g) salt
• 1 tsp (2.6 g) ground ginger
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp (4.2 g) vanilla
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, at room temperature

FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZEL FILLING (adapted from Milk Bar)

• 1/2 cup (62.5 g) milk powder
• 1/2 cup (60 g) crushed pretzels, I pulverized mine in my magic bullet
• 2 tablespoons (16.9 g) cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar
• 5 tablespoons (70.6 g) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (31.25 g) milk powder
• 3/4 cup (127.5 g) white chocolate, melted
• I suggest doubling the filling to snack on!

FOR THE APRICOT COMPOTE

• 2 cans apricots, drained or 2 cups fresh apricots, diced
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons (16.8 g) cornstarch, sifted

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 5 ounces white chocolate, melted
• 5 1/2 cups (687.5 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoons (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray each of the three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
• Grate the carrots using a food processor. Measure out 5 cups.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger. Stir until blended. 
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat on medium for about 3 minutes. 
• Beat in the eggs, followed by the vanilla. (Don’t worry if it seems curdled).
• With the mixer on low, gradually add about one third of the flour mixture. Beat until just mixed, followed by half the milk. Repeat additions, ending with the flour. Stir in the carrots.
• Divide batter between pans, about 16 to 17 ounces of batter in each 8-inch or 12 ounces in each 6-inch pan. Spread as evenly as possible to the side of the pans.
• Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. 
• Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes in their pans before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.
• Can be decorated once cooled completely, or to store them for up to a week, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and freeze. Before frosting the frozen cake layers, take them out of the fridge about an hour beforehand so the layers aren’t too cold (which will harden your frosting as you start to decorate).

FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZEL FILLING

• Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine 1/2 cup milk powder, pretzel crumbs, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Toss with your hands to mix. Add the melted butter and toss, using a spatula or spoon, until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.
• Spread the clusters on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes. The crumbs should be sandy at that point. Cool the crumbs completely.
• Crumble any clusters that are larger than 1/2 inch in diameter, and put the crumbs back in the medium bowl. Add the 1/4 cup milk powder and toss together until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
• Pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until your clusters are covered. Then continue tossing them every five minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky. The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.

FOR THE APRICOT COMPOTE

• Combine the apricots and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir occasionally while the mixture comes to a boil. Once the mixture boils, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the sifted cornstarch and stir until well blended. 
• Pour the mixture into a blender and puree. 
• Let cool completely before using in the cake. 
• Best to make the compote a day or more ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• In a microwave safe bowl, heat the cream and then pour it over the white chocolate to melt. Stir until the mixture is smooth and silky. If needed heat the mixture for another 20 to 30 seconds and stir until the chips are melted. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed for about two minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sifted powdered sugar until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix for another minute.
• Slowly add the warm white chocolate while mixing on medium-low speed.
• Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high and beat the frosting for five minutes, until light in color and texture. 
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a wooden spoon and mix by hand to stir out the air bubbles. emove the bowl from the mixer and use a wooden spoon and mix by hand to stir out the air bubbles.

ASSEMBLY

• Level each cake layer with a knife or cake leveler, if needed.
• Place your first cake layer, right-side up, on a cake plate or cake board. Cover the cake layer with a thin layer of frosting, allowing some of the frosting to go over the edge of the cake, and then pipe a rim around the cake to act as a barrier to the apricot compote.
• Pour and spread about 1/4 to 1/2 cup compote over the cake layer. Cover with the white chocolate pretzel crunch filling. 
• Repeat step 2 and 3 for the second layer, and then place the final cake layer on top, top side down. Frost the entire cake with a thin coat of frosting to lock in the crumbs. Freeze the crumb coat for 10 to 15 minutes. 
• After the crumb coat is chilled, continue frosting the cake.

The post Delicious Carrot Cake with Apricot Filling and White Chocolate Buttercream (no nuts, no raisins!) first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Carrot Cake: The Easter Dessert

Hard to believe Easter is less than a week away, right?! What better way to celebrate than with my Classic Carrot Cake recipe. I know this Easter will look a bit different for most of us than in years past, but the meaning stays the same… as do the desserts!

For me, carrot cake is the quintessential Easter dessert. In fact, I think Easter is the only time of year we ever had carrot cake. But here’s the thing – I never liked carrot cake. Not until I made my Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream, that is. Every carrot cake I ever had growing up had nuts and raisins in it. And I think you know how I feel about that: eew, gross!

But when I made my first carrot cake, based off a Sweetapolita recipe, I realized two things: one, carrot cake doesn’t HAVE to have nuts and raisins and two, carrot cake is actually really good!

Untraditional Recipe

The first carrot cake I published on my blog is definitely untraditional, and I think that’s why I like it so much. My recipe is based off a compilation of a couple adapted recipes from some of my fave bakers: the cake is adapted from Rosie of Sweetapolita and the white chocolate pretzel crack filling is adapted from Christina Tosi of Milk Bar.

I was first attracted to Rosie’s carrot cake because it didn’t have any nuts and raisins, and because she used ginger! I love ginger! Also, I love adding texture to my cakes, but not in the cake layers. So adding Christina’s white chocolate pretzel crack filling was almost a no-brainer.

In addition to the cake and the filling, I decided to add an apricot compote (you can also use apricot jam) and a white chocolate buttercream. Again, I was purposely going against the norm.

The result, a deliciously unique and moist carrot cake!

Classic Carrot Cake

And while I absolutely love that unique carrot cake, I’ve been feeling for a while now that a classic, more traditional carrot cake was calling my name. So, here we are! Today I’m sharing my new Classic Carrot Cake recipe with you.

Traditional Ingredients

Spices

• This carrot cake is more traditional in flavor with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

Oil and Applesauce

• I also use a combination of oil and applesauce for fat and to create a beautiful moist cake. You can certainly use all oil in place of applesauce or sub the applesauce for crushed pineapple.

Freshly Grated Carrots

• It’s SUPER important to use FRESHLY grated carrots in your carrot cake recipes. Freshly grated carrots have more moisture than the pre-shredded carrots. We want a moist cake! That moisture also means the carrot pieces will soften. If you use pre-shredded carrots, you’ll have crunchy carrot pieces in your cake.

Cream Cheese Buttercream

• Sticking to traditional elements, I’m using a cream cheese buttercream with my Classic Carrot Cake instead of my white chocolate buttercream. To ensure the cream cheese flavor doesn’t overpower the cake, I don’t use a lot of cream cheese – just enough to give it a perfectly tangy but not overwhelming cream cheese flavor. See my frequently asked questions about how to get the best frosting results.

Nuts and Raisins

• As I mentioned above, I left nuts and raisins out of my cake layers. However, that doesn’t mean you have to if you love that kind of texture in your classic carrot cake. If you want to add nuts and raisins, I’d start with a half cup of each.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

If you’d like to turn this Carrot Cake recipe into cupcakes, no problem! A full batch of the batter will make about 24 to 26 standard size cupcakes. You can also split the batch and make a half batch. I did that with my cupcakes yesterday!

For carrot cake cupcakes, you’ll want to bake at 325 degrees F. for a little less time than the cake recipe calls for. Mine were perfect and moist at 20 minutes. If you’re doing a full batch, and baking two cupcake pans at a time (on the same rack), the bake time will vary slightly. Keep your eye on them, but know they’ll take a few minutes longer.

BAKING TIP: I don’t ever recommend baking cake layers or cupcakes on different racks. You always want to bake them on your middle rack. If you can’t fit all of your cake pans or cupcake pans on the same rack in your oven, it’s ok to leave cake batter on the counter while you wait to bake. Just make sure to cover the cake pan or cupcake pan with plastic wrap while you wait.

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Classic Carrot Cake

Deliciously moist spiced carrot cake layers with a perfectly tangy cream cheese buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword carrot cake, classic carrot cake, cream cheese frosting

Servings 20 people

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 cup (218 g) vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 cup (125 g) applesauce can substitute with crushed pineapple
• 1 cup (200 g) packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 6 eggs at room temperature
• 2 tsp. (8.4 g) vanilla extract
• 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. (5.3 g) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. (1.2 g) ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. (.8 g) ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. (.8 g) ground cloves
• 1 Tbsp. (10 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp. (4 g) baking soda
• 1 tsp. (5.6 g) salt
• 4 cups (400 g.) freshly grated carrots

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 1 1/2 cups (339 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
• 6 oz. (170g) cream cheese slightly cold
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 3 tbsp. (45 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil and sugars. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes.
• Add the applesauce and vanilla and then stir to combine.
• With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the eggs, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Once all of the eggs are combined, beat the mixture for about a minute on medium speed.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture.
• Fold in the carrots.
• Evenly divide the cake batter between the three prepared pans (about 20 ounces of batter in each). Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
• Let the cake layers cool in the pans on cooling racks for about 10 to 15 minutes. Invert the cake layers onto the cooling racks to cool completely.
• Level cake layers, if needed.
• Cake layers can be made ahead of time. To store: let cake layers cool to room temperature and then wrap well with plastic wrap and freeze. Before you decorate your frozen cake layers, let them thaw at room temperature for about 30 to 60 minutes prior to decorating.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the cream, vanilla and pinch of salt.
• Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for about 3 to 5 minutes.

ASSEMBLY

• Place the first cake layer, top side up, on a cake plate or cake board.
• Evenly spread about 1 cup of buttercream on the cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream and spread another 1 cup of buttercream over the second layer.
• Place the third cake layer top side down.
• Apply a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake. This is the crumb coat. Freeze the crumb coated cake for about 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
• Once the crumb coat is set, continue decorating the cake with the remaining buttercream.

The post The Best Classic Carrot Cake Recipe for Easter first appeared on Cake by Courtney.