Carrot Cake
From New York Times Cooking
Indulge.
This recipe includes both the cake and the buttercream.
Photo shows optional lightly toasted nuts added as a topping. I did not add the coconut to the pictured cake.
Scroll down for both or click the pink button below.
Ingredients
Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (you can grate the carrots in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade)
1cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
½cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1cup canola or safflower oil
4 large eggs
Buttercream
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1pound (3¾ cups) confectioners' sugar
1tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½cup shredded coconut, optional
Toasted finely chopped nuts and/or toasted coconut, for topping, optional
Cake Steps
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour insides of three 9” round and 2” deep cake pans. Soak cake pan insulators & wrap.
Wisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine chunky ingredients… carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, & Rasins.
Use mixer with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a whisk, beat the sugar and oil together until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother.
If you are working in a mixer, reduce the speed to low, gently add flour mixture. If you're working by hand switch to a large rubber spatula, and gently stir in the flour mixture — mix until the dry ingredients disappear.
Gently stir in the chunky ingredients.
Divide batter into 3 pans, bake 40-50 minutes. Rotating occasionally. Cook until clean knife test. Cool before frosting.
Buttercream Steps
Use mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth & creamy.
Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth.
Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
Frost room temperature cake.
OPTIONAL - copied directly from NYT recipe
If you'd like to have coconut in the filling, scoop out about ½ of the frosting and stir the coconut into this portion.
To frost the cake, place one layer of the cake, right-side up, on a cardboard round or a cake plate. If you've added coconut to the frosting, use half of coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer. Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake top-side down. Frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting. Top with the last layer, right-side up and use the plain frosting to cover the top — and the sides, if you want – of the cake. Finish the top layer with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle on these ingredients now, while the frosting is soft. Slide the cake into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, just to set the frosting.
