This recipe is adapted from New York’s famous Magnolia Bakery. There’s nothing like biting into a slice of rich carrot cake during this chilly weather. Sweet cake layers with a hint of warm spices, topped with a rich, creamy and slightly tangy cream cheese frosting… I don’t think there’s anything better.
This recipe is so versatile, you can make cupcakes, a sheet cake or a loaf. Personally, I love making a sheet cake, its easy to make and take to your next dinner party!
Ingredients:
Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup oil
- 1 ¾ cups granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups grated carrots
Icing
- ½ cup butter (cold)
- 1 8oz package cream cheese, full-fat
- 4-5 cups icing sugar
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, add your oil, sugar and eggs. Whip this mixture until it becomes light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add in your vanilla.
Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt into the same bowl and slowly mix.
Add in your grated carrots. You can also add in ½ cup of pineapple, walnuts or coconut if you’d like. I like to keep my carrot cake plain and simple.
Grab your pan of choice, I like using a 9x13 baking pan. Line it with parchment paper. Pour in your cake batter and bake for 30-40mins. To test your cake for doneness, poke a toothpick into the middle of the cake, it should come out clean or with very few crumbs. Please note that baking times are different for each pan and each oven. I’ve listed estimated baking times below for your reference.
While the cake is baking, you can make the icing. In a large bowl, add in your butter and cream cheese. Whip until the two are combined. It should all look like one mixture.
Slowly add in the icing sugar, one cup at time.
Don't overmix your icing, once its combined, STOP mixing! If you over mix, the icing becomes runny. I don’t know why, its just the weird nature of cream cheese frosting.
Once your cake has cooled, you can ice the cake however you please!
Baking Pans and Temperatures:
Loaf pan - 45-60 mins
9 x 13” - 35 mins
Cupcakes - 15-20 mins
Once again, these times are estimates! When testing for doneness, you cake shouldn’t jiggle, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the knife should come out clean.
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