The Perfect Fall Carrot Cake

This month the weather starts getting colder as it transitions into fall. So it is a great time to bake at home a nice cozy dessert. Here is a recipe for a delicious carrot cake to share with your family and friends this fall!

Carrot cake ingredients:

3 cups of grated carrots

4 eggs

2 cups of all purpose flour

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon powder

2 teaspoons of baking soda powder

3/4 cup of canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

2 cups of brown muscovado sugar

A pinch of salt

Ok, so before we get started I do want to disclose that grating 3 cups of carrots is tedious, but in my opinion and that of my family, it is very worth it.

Tips:

If you are as impatient as I am, I recommend preheating your oven at 180 Celsius when you start the batter, so it will reach the desired temperature by the time you want to bake the cakes.

When measuring the 3 cups of grated carrots, make sure not to squeeze the grated carrots in the measuring cup because then it will be more than what is calculated in the recipe. The carrots have a lot of water and can mess with the texture of your cake, so you want it to be exactly 3 cups. As a general rule, you really should not compress ingredients into the measuring cup.

Some people like to add raisins, pineapple or coconut. I personally think it makes the cake too sweet, but it is up to you. You can add ½ cup of raisins and ½ cup grated coconut or a cup of canned pineapple without the juice.

I also tend to add a teaspoon of vanilla to everything I bake, so you can do that too if you want.

You can add ½ teaspoon of ginger or ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg to enhance the flavor. (Keep in mind that nutmeg is incredibly strong).

I also sift the dry ingredients, even though you do not have to. But I believe it makes it overall better.

When you butter the pans I recommend you use some parchment paper to ensure the cakes do not stick to the bottom. That way it will be prettier and you can decorate it more.

Let your cakes cool in the fridge to make the cooling process quicker.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease a couple of molds.

In a large bowl, sift the flour together with the baking soda, salt and cinnamon (nutmeg and ginger too if you’d like). Stir it a little.

In another large bowl put the 3 cups of grated carrots. Then add the flour mixture to the carrots and gently stir it until each piece of carrot is breaded (you can do this with a wooden spoon).

Then you add the sugar and stir it.

Then you start to add one egg at a time, beating well between each one (you can use a mixer, but you can also do it by hand).

Then add the oil and beat.

At this point you can add the nuts, raisins, coconuts and vanilla or whichever ingredient you choose to add. I will only be adding the chopped walnuts. When the mixture starts to show bubbles it is ready.

Transfer the batter to the molds you previously greased.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. I recommend checking it after 20 minutes because some ovens bake faster than others.

Remove from the oven and cover the cake still in the mold with a kitchen towel so that it steams and retains its moisture.

Let cool. While it cools you can start on the cream cheese frosting.

Demold it, only once it is completely cool or your cakes will break.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 Philadelphia cream cheese

1 stick of butter of 90 grams

1 cup of powdered sugar

1 splash of vanilla essence

Preparation:

The butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. If not, you can put them 15 or 20 seconds in the microwave.

In a bowl, put the butter and cream cheese. Cream with a wooden spoon. Sift the icing sugar on top. Beat until completely incorporated, pour in the splash of vanilla and beat until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

And now you can assemble the cakes and decorate them!!

Hope you enjoy a nice scary movie with friends and family whilst eating this delicious treat :)