I'm so pleased to share with you yet another winning recipe from the innards of my mother Gerre'srecipe binders that she—ahem—"accidentally left at my house several weeks ago" and that I—ahem—keep "forgetting" to mail back to her. And I believe that next week, I shall also forget to mail them to her, and then the week after that as well. Because as long as I keep finding family recipes like this one, I won't ever be able to part with the suckers. Sorry, Mom. But I want them.
Sigrid was one of my mom's dearest friends and I remember every single bite of every single carrot cake she gifted us. You can make it as a sheet cake, a Bundt cake, or a layer cake. Sigrid's carrot cake, my friends, is moist. It's flavorful. It's basic and wholesome and natural. And if it's in my house, it's gone in two seconds.
It’s one of the yummiestEaster cakes: carrot-y and exceedingly spring-y. And the cream cheese frosting is what all of my dreams are made of.Try it this year!
What does carrot cake taste like?
Carrot cake is essentially a heavenlyspice cake. There's cinnamon to thank for that spice and sugar to lend sweetness. The shreddedcarrots alsoadd somenatural sweetness andcontribute to the cake'sdelicious texture. The frosting is the best thing you've ever tasted! It's altogether sweet, tangy, and rich invanilla flavor, and the perfect companion to the moist cake.
Is it better to use butter oil in carrot cake?
Normally I'm all about the butter, baby. But when it comes to homemade cakes, oil is typicallythe better choice. Vegetable oil produces a more moist, tendercake than butter. Yes, butter generally tastes better, but it makes the cake come out a little firmer than I like. Don't worry—there's plenty of butter in the frosting to make up for it.
Should carrot cake have raisins?
If you like raisins in your carrot cake, it should. And if you don't, it shouldn't. Sigrid kept them out of hers, and so have I.Some people also like nuts—chopped walnuts or pecans—baked into the cake whereas I prefer to keep them in the frosting! It's all about personal preference here. Add what you like, and skip what you don't!
Does carrot cake need to be refrigerated?
It does.Because it's slathered in cream cheese frosting, thiscarrot cake shouldn't sit out more than a few hours at a time. Cover it and store it in the fridge and it'll stay fresh for several days, if it lasts that long!
How do you decorate carrot cake?
One bite, and no one will care how you decorated the cake (it's that good!). But if you want to go the extra mile,I like tosprinkle chopped, toasted pecans over the top of the frostedcake. If you have extra pecans, you could press them onto the sides of the frostedcake instead! Ifyou don't like pecans,don't use 'em! The cake and frosting are enough to swoon over on their own.
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- Yields:
- 8 - 10 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 30 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 45 mins
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 c.
granulated sugar
- 1 c.
vegetable oil, plus more for the pans
- 4
large eggs
- 2 c.
all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
- 1 tsp.
baking powder
- 1 tsp.
baking soda
- 1 tsp.
ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 2 c.
grated carrots
For the Frosting:
- 3/4 c.
salted butter, softened
- 12 oz.
cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 lb.
powdered sugar
- 2 tsp.
vanilla extract
- 1/2 c.
chopped pecans, toasted
Directions
- Step1For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper and grease the parchment. Dust the pans with flour.
- Step2In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, andsalt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Then, add the carrots and mix well.
- Step3Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pans on a rack, then run a butter knife around the edges of the pans and remove the cakes to the rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment.
- Step4For the frosting: In large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Place 1 cake layer on a platter and spread with frosting, then top with the second layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Top the cake with the pecans.
I’m so sorry I’ve been away so long, my friends. I have 497 reasons I could give you… but the fact is that I haven’t even had time to edit photos and post recipes here… oh, and then there’s the matter of the four children I decided to bring forth from my loins. Sometimes, they need attention. And clean clothes. And food. But I’m back now.
Here’s the recipe we’ll be making today.
This is the original recipe card for Sigrid’s carrot cake, written by hand by Sigrid herself many, many years ago.
Sigrid was one of my mom’s dearest friends back in the old country. As such, every holiday or family event was occasion enough for Sigrid to bring one of her delicious, delectable carrot cakes to our house. And let me tell you, this practice went on for a period of approximately 25 years and I remember every single bite of every single carrot cake she gifted us. It’s such a basic, wholesome recipe, each bite you take makes you feel like you’re doing something good for yourself. Okay, so the thing is loaded with sugar. But it also contains 2 cups of vibrant, vitamin-rich carrots, so how bad can it be?
Karma’s a real bummer, because now MY hips don’t need it. But that didn’t stop me from making—and devouring—this carrot cake a couple of days ago. But only because I wanted to honor Sigrid.
Wanna make it with me? Let’s go!
The Cast of Characters (cake only): Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Eggs, Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, and Grated Carrots. It’s all very natural and wholesome and innocent. Just like me.
Start by blending 2 cups sugar, 1 cup oil, and 4 eggs in a mixer.
Now, if you follow Sigrid’s instructions, you’ll sift together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then you’ll add the dry mixture into the bowl. But I didn’t feel like sifting that day, and I don’t like doing things I don’t feel like doing. So I just added the dry ingredients straight into the mixing bowl.
Please don’t be like me. And please don’t tell Sigrid.
After you add the dry ingredients, blend mixture together until combined.
Now comes the good part. Add in 2 cups grated carrots. Mmm…can you believe this color exists in nature? I love orange.
Mix it together, just LOOK what the carrots did to the batter.
Now you can grab whatever pan you want to use. Sigrid always used a Bundt or tube pan, which made it special. But I just love sheet cake recipes, partly because they’re just easy to slice and grab…and partly because I have no fewer than nineteen sheet cake pans lying around my kitchen and I feel the need to justify my compulsion to buy new sheet cake pans despite the fact that I don’t need any more sheet cake pans. I don’t think I’ve ever confessed that problem until just this moment. I feel cleansed.
Oh, and you can also do cupcakes. Carrot cupcakes. How cute.
Sigrid says to grease and flour the pan, and to me that means: Grab the Baker’s Joy. It’s this baker’s joy.
Pour it into the pan and smooth out the surface. And I realize this batter might look equal parts delicious and unappetizing. But just you wait, Henry Higgins.
Name that Broadway musical.
Now! Pop the pan into a preheated 350 degree oven for anywhere from 25 (sheet cake) to 50 (Bundt cake) minutes. Just give the pan a very gentle shake if you’re unsure. If it jiggles, it ain’t ready. And while the cake is baking, you have plenty of time to make the icing!
The Cast of Characters: Butter (softened), Cream Cheese (softened), Vanilla, Powdered Sugar, and Pecans.
Place 1 stick of (regular) butter and 1 8-ounce package cream cheese in a bowl.
Mix it together, and try not to pass out from the fat fumes.
Dump in 1 pound of powdered sugar, give or take. Mix that in. Then stick your finger in, pull it out, and lick it. Then say, “Oh my Lord.” Then close your eyes and be at peace.
But we’re not finished yet! We need to chop 1 cup of pecans. I like to get them pretty fine, as large chunks of pecans ruin my afternoon.
Dump them into the icing, and mix together…
And then, if you’re like me, add in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. If you’re like Sigrid, you would have already added this in with the butter and cream cheese.
Again, don’t be like me.
Anyway, this is what the icing looks like when you’re finished. It’s beyond delicious on its own, and you’ll be hard pressed not to eat it by the spoonful.
Plop the icing on top of the baked (and COOLED) cake, and smooth it out.
This really is just enough icing to cover a large sheet cake, but if you’d used a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish, there’d be more than enough. If you wanted to do a layer cake, I’d probably suggest doubling the icing recipe to ensure you’ll have enough to cover the cake.
Then, see this?
Do this, please. Thank you.
Now, the first thing I like to do is cut the cake into pretty little squares, and set the squares on a Fenton milk glass cake stand so I’ll feel like Martha.
Then I like to remove the pieces from the Fenton milk glass cake stand and place them into cheap foil pie pans. Then I like to give them all away because the cold, hard truth is that I can’t be trusted with this kind of temptation in my house.
But I haven’t taken total leave of my senses…
Of course I saved myself a piece.
And of course, I had to go ahead and try it. But only to honor Sigrid, remember.
