photo courtesy of LaaLoosh
I started off with one of Martha Stewart's carrot cake recipes, with some minor changes. Instead of making a 3-layer cake, I shifted the batter round to make two larger layers. Second, I changed the amount of pecans in the cake, and added some toasted almonds. I always believe that with your own recipes you should be able to do what you like with the nuts (none in my chocolate chip cookies, thank you!). I also chose to decorate the cake differently, and add a different inner layer of frosting, but we'll get to that. Below are the ingredients and directions for my version of Martha's cake:
Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 sticks butter (at room temperature)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup water
1 pound of carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans (I used a springform pan).
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, carrots, and water. Beat until well combined (about 2 more minutes). Reduce mixer to a low speed, then add the flour mixture and finally the pecans and almonds.
Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Cake should be golden brown and a toothpick in the center should come out clean. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before loosening and turning cakes out to cool completely. Before frosting, trim the rounded top of both cakes off with a serrated knife.
Courtesty of Real Baking With Rose
While the cake is baking, begin work on the frosting. For this particular cake, I decided to make the filling a vanilla cinnamon buttercream--this way the cream cheese frosting wasn't completely overpowering. Here are the recipes for both, taken from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz. of cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat the confectioner's sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer at medium speed until the mixture comes together (I do this by hand with a pastry blender at first, to try and keep the cloud of confectioner's sugar down to a minimum).
Add the cream cheese and vanilla; beat until it is fully incorporated. Turn the mixture up to high speed and beat until it is light and fluffy (approx 5 min). Do not overbeat (mixture can become runny).
Cinnamon Vanilla Frosting:
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon (add more/less to taste)
Beat the confectioner's sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer. Combine milk and vanilla and add to the butter mixture. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until it is light and fluffy, adding the cinnamon a little at a time (5 or more minutes).
Phew. Ok. Layer the cakes with the cinnamon vanilla frosting. Finally, frost the entire cake with the cream cheese frosting. To decorate, I used a homemade stencil and cocoa powder to create a whale design on the finished cake.
Happy Snacking!
Antonia
note: the exact recipe link on marthastewart.com is no longer working, so I cannot link directly to it. Good thing I copied the recipe while I could!
The stencil idea is amazing and you executed it perfectly! Sooo cool :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Travis! Love fun alternatives to just colored icing :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! I would never have thought to do a stencil!
ReplyDelete