Contents
A sturdy, dense, moist, and very flavorful cake, without being heavy or “wet” (as many carrot cakes are), nor overly spiced. (Pics here.)
Ingredients
Cake
- 21⁄2 c flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking solda
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄4 tsp nutmeg
- 1⁄4 tsp mace
- 1⁄4 tsp allspice
- 1⁄4 tsp ginger
- 1⁄8 tsp cloves
- 1⁄4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 c butter (browned)
- 1 c brown sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 c Greek yogurt (or drained crushed pineapple, or pumpkin puree, etc.)
- 1 c crushed toasted walnuts or pecans
- 5 c grated carrots
- 3⁄4 c white sugar
- 1 c raisins (liqueur-soaked, then drained)
- 1⁄4 c flour
Frosting
- 16 oz. cream cheese
- 8 oz. butter
- 4 oz. high-fat sour cream
- 11⁄2 c confectioner’s sugar
- One vanilla bean’s worth of seeds
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Preparation
- At least one day before, soak raisins in liqueur.
- At some point (the day before, perhaps) toast and crush the nuts.
- Take frosting ingredients out of refrigerator 1 hour prior to starting (so they come to room temperature).
Cake
- Butter and line with parchment three 8″ round cake pans.
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- Brown 1 c butter and let cool. (Chill in fridge so the browned butter congeals.)
- Drain the raisins.
- Toss the raisins with 1⁄4 c flour.
- Grate the carrots.
- Toss the 5 c grated carrots with the 3⁄4 c white sugar and place in sieve over a bowl to drain.
- Sift together dry ingredients.
- Cream the butter with 1 c brown sugar. Beat in 5 large eggs.
- Mix butter mixture with dry ingredients and 1 c Greek yogurt (or puree/etc.).
- Mix in drained carrots and 1 c crushed toasted nuts.
- Fold in the raisins.
- Distribute cake batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until cake surface is a deep golden brown and wooden skewer comes out dry.
- Cool cake rounds on racks.
Frosting
- Place first three ingredients (cream cheese, butter, sour cream) in a medium mixing bowl.
- Beat with electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the 11⁄2 c confectioner’s sugar and the vanilla seeds and extract; mix until smooth.
Assembly
- Frost the cake with the frosting. Let chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. Eat.
