Carrot Cake

For several years, I made carrot cake in a rectangular baking pan, or casserole pan; then I used a cast iron bundt pan for carrot cake the first time in 2024. Either way, the results were very satisfactory...and delicious. The hardest part is, of course, grating all of those carrots!
Pans needed: Large-sized bowl for mixing wet ingredients, especially carrots and pineapple. Another large bowl for mixing dry ingredients. Medium-to-large bowl for mixing frosting. 9-by-13 inch baking pan.

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Wet Ingredients

  • 12 ounces grated carrots (about 3 cups, or six medium-to-large sized carrots. Start with 15 ounces of carrots before peeling and grating.)
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapples, drained
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped or ground pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-by-13 inch baking pan, or a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Because the cake will likely stick, cut a sheet of baking parchment paper and cover the bottom of the pan. The pan needs to be greased before applying the paper, so the cake will pull away from the sides of the pan as it bakes.
Peel and grate carrots and add to a large bowl. Strain pineapple to remove most of the liquid. Mix drained pineapple into carrots.
In a second large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and spices. Return to the first bowl, and to the carrots and pineapple add eggs, oil, applesauce, white sugar and vanilla. Beat all of the wet ingredients together into a mixture. Add dry ingredients from the first bowl, mixing as they are added to the wet ingredients. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Cream Cheese Glaze

This recipe for carrot cake gives a result that is very, very rich – so rich, in fact, that a typical frosting (such as the kind you buy at the store) may be a little more sweet than it needs to be. This quick and easy frosting recipe has been adjusted a bit more so that the coating will have more of a "cream cheese" flavor to blend with the cake.
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 cup (or more) whole milk
In a medium-to-large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and milk. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour over the top of the cake. (If you want a thick cream cheese frosting rather than a glaze, don't use the milk and increase the powdered sugar to 2 and 1/2 cups.)

CONTACT

Email
modemac@modemac.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CastIronChaos