CARROT CAKE
Source of Recipe
Burt Wolf's Menu Cookbook
Recipe Introduction
"The carrot contains more sugar than any other vegetable except the beet. As a result, carrots have been used as a "sweet" ingredient for hundreds of years. There are Irish recipes that describe carrots as "underground honey," and middle eastern cooks have used carrots in desserts since the time of the ancient Greeks. During the 1960's, carrot cake became popular in North America and has remained on the dessert menu of many restaurants. The following version is particularly moist and tasty."
List of Ingredients
For the Cake:
5 medium carrots, peeled and grated (3 1/2 cups)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts or a combination of the
two
For the Icing:
8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 1/2 tablespoons cream or milk
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds for garnish
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9-inch
springform pan.
TO MAKE THE CAKE: In a bowl, mix together the grated
carrots and the brown sugar and let that mixture stand for 30 minutes. At the end of that time a considerable amount of juice will have been drawn out of the carrots. This liquid keeps the cake extremely moist. To the carrots and
sugar add the oil and the eggs. Incorporate the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract. In a second bowl, combine the dry ingredients and nuts. Add this mixture of dry ingredients to the moist ingredients. Add the dry
ingredients in 4 equal amounts and mix well after each addition. This technique will help avoid lumps in the batter. Pour this batter into the prepared pan.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake the cake for 40 to
45 minutes, until the top feels springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
TO MAKE THE ICING:
While the cake is baking prepare the icing. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese with half of the confectioners’
sugar. Blend in the cream or the milk and the vanilla extract. Blend in the remaining half of the confectioners’ sugar.
When the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool. Then
remove it from the springform pan and slice it in half horizontally into 2 disks. Place a third of the icing mixture on the top of the bottom disk and spread it evenly. Place the top half of the cake on top of the icing. Use
the remaining icing to cover the top and sides of the cake. Press the almond slices into the side of the cake.
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