Spiced Up Carrot Cake

Yields: 1 Serving Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 30 Mins Cook Time: 50 Mins Total Time: 1 Hr 20 Mins

Carrot cake is one of those  recipes that have been all time favourites list!  It’s a very popular item in the families recipes books  and, if you “google” it , you will find many variations of the old-classic recipe . In this post , I would like to share with you my take on it: a spiced up version with a kick of heat!

The main difference among the many versions of carrot cake  recipes is the combination of fruits, nuts and spices. I have read recipes indicating the use of pineapple instead of the classic raisins, five spices instead of nutmeg and/or cinnamon.  Others suggest to use pecan over walnuts and so on.

Over the years, I have used myself several recipe variations . It has evolved to to what I dare to call my ultimate carrot cake recipe : My carrot cake is spiced up with cinnamon, cloves and freshly grated ginger. I love pairing cinnamon and cloves! they remind me of the oatmeal that both my grandmother and my mother made for me for breakfast when I was a little girl. The ginger brings an awesome kick to the palate that I also enjoy so much and I hope you will love it too.

In terms of fruits, I only use dry fruits: pecan and/or walnuts and I replace the raisins for extra carrots in the batter , for more texture.

You will notice the color of the cake itself is darker than other recipes. This is because I used a very brown granulated sugar from actual sugarcane, which is not very easy to find in the Netherlands, in here, most of the sugar comes from sugar beets.

Usually, I make carrot cake without any frosting, and when I choose to use it, I will go for a zesty cream cheese topping decorated with some nuts. The recipe of the frosting is also included here for you to make if that’s your choice. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do, I can assure you this cake is super yummy  either way !

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what combination of fruits and spices do/did you use?  –   add your comment in the below box

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Ingredients

0/18 Ingredients
Adjust Servings
    Cake Batter
    • Frosting

Instructions

0/9 Instructions
    Prep
  • Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease a 10-inch cake pan with cooking oil spray. You may also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, as I did.
    • The Batter
  • In one bowl mix, flour baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
  • In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla extract until fully combined. Add the grated carrots into the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
  • Add eggs to the second bowl , one by one, whisking until fully incorporated
  • Using a spatula, combine the mix of dry ingredients with the one in the second large bowl. Do it in three batches, until all the ingredients are JUST combined. Do not overmix.
  • Stir in the carrots, ginger and nuts. Again, do not overwork the mix.
    • Baking and cooling
  • Pour the cake batter into the greased 10-inch cake pan. Bake at 180 ºC (350°) for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake out dry and clean. Remove from the pan from the oven, place it on top of a wire rack, let the cake cool for about 20 min to later remove it from the pan and turn it into the wire rack to finish cooling.
    • The frosting
  • Beat the cream cheese until smooth by means of your stand mixer or a hand handle mixer, using the whisking tool. Add the butter and continue mixing for about 30 seconds-1 minute until well combined and smooth. Don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar,the pinch of salt and lemon juice and mix until fully combined.
  • Once the cake is cooled, cover top and sides of the cake with the frosting. Use the extra nuts to decorate to taste.

Notes

  • Caster sugar is a refined white sugar that is commonly used for baking in the Netherlands, Australia and the UK. It is finer than granulated sugar and dissolves very easily. One can be used as a substitute  of the other in a 1:1 ratio.
  • About eggs sizes: Eggs sizes are not really standard, especially organic ones. I do prefer to indicate the weight in grams  for you to know exactly what amount I used
  • Yield and pan sizes: This recipe yields one layer cake in a 10-inch cake pan and enough frosting to top it. You could also make a double layered cake - filled in cake, for that,divide the batter into two  9-inch cake pans and bake for 35-40 min. You must double up the amount of ingredients for the frosting to cover and fill the cake in.

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Tags

#cakes  #carrot cake  

31 Comments

  2. Estupendo tu post sobre el pastel de zanahoria, yo también sustituyó las pasas por más zanahoria, me parece más rico.

    1. A la orden Maria Gabriela, ese es uno de los objetivos de mi cocina , espero regreses pronto por mas recetas ricas

  5. I feel like a have another child! Congratulations on this new journey Tati! Beautiful spicy carrot cake! What’s next?

    1. Hello Enri! thanks for the good wishes and good advice to make this blog come to life. Next in line is The Pumpkin Series, including a venezuelan recipe …stay tuned !

  6. Love a homemade spiced sponge carrot cake and what best if with pecans and walnuts! Well done Tati, you also made it look super easy and delicious 😋! Love the step photos and to be able to tailor it the desired number of portions 🍰. All the best. Can’t wait to try. Can I substitute all purpose four for almond flour? Ciao.

    1. Hi Gatsbyd, thanks for your comment and your question. In principle , you could make that substitution to make the cake keto friendly. I have not tried yet myself. I am soon starting a project to work on a keto version of a few of my recipes. Keep following my IG for new exciting things on my blog. My IG is @tatiblock. Ciao!

  7. I am not very fond of sweets but carrot cake is one of those I cannot resist, and yours looks so tasty!

  8. Definitivamente hay que probar esta versión de carrot cake. A mi me encanta la torta de zanahoria 🥕 y esta se ve buenísima.

  9. Carrot cake is one of my favorites desserts and can you believe I never made it at home!? Thanks for the recipe and the step by step instructions. Long live for your new page! Congratulations!

  12. Delicious! Easy to make and a feel-good thing. Me encanta Tati. Se ve rica. Voy a hacerla. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼❤️

  14. Nothing like homemade desserts and carrot cake is one of my favorite. I make it at least once a year.

  15. Tati, I totally love your blog! This recipe is one of my favorites, the carrot cake is a must for fall in this house! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I am going to make it for sure!

  16. Me has dejado enamorada de esta carrot cake 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Esta tarde la haremos que tengo a mis sobrinos en casa y querían carrot cake

    1. Hola Noemi, que lindo tu comentario, espero que hayas podido disfrutar ese dia, la torta y especialmente la compañía de tus sobrinos.

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