Carrot Cake
This recipe describes how to make a delicious carrot cake. It includes detailed instructions for preparing the cake batter and frosting, as well as tips for achieving the best results.
This recipe describes how to make a delicious carrot cake. It includes detailed instructions for preparing the cake batter and frosting, as well as tips for achieving the best results.
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- cream cheese frosting
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tablespoons millet flour i used sweet white sorghum flour
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup finely grated carrots or up to 1 3/4 cup
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut pulverized in food processor too
- 1 cup crushed pineapple mostly drained (eyeball and add a little juice if you need it)
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup stick of butter
- 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 t. lemon juice a little lemon zest
- Carbohydrate 24.8040136761761 g
- Cholesterol 112.991200387385 mg
- Fat 39.5171837514208 g
- Fiber 2.99129619091027 g
- Protein 4.84901597352479 g
- Saturated Fat 25.4060619468457 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (150g)
- Sodium 652.932953086063 mg
- Sugar 21.8127174852659 g
- Trans Fat 3.37930337827318 g
- Calories 460 calories
Step-by-step
- Get all your ingredients ready. Grind the almonds (if needed), coconut, etc. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees make sure your rack is in the center, and prepare your baking pans (2 9 inch baking pans or 3 if you are doubling the recipe) by greasing them and putting parchment paper in the bottom of each pan.
- In a med. saucepan, melt the butter over med. heat until the butter is a dark golden color and the solids begin to separate. This process will probably take 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the butter cool (not in the fridge) for about 30 minutes. Yard said the butter should be cooled to about 70 degrees. Basically, it should still be in liquid form but not hot. (I did not cool it down all the way to 70)
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift your almond meal, other gluten-free flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, and baking powder. Turn the paddle on and make sure it is mixed well.
- In a separate bowl, mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together. Add the powdered sugar and then blend in the brown sugar.
- In yet another bowl (you may have quite a mess to clean up), whisk the eggs and add vanilla. Stir into the sugar mixture and whisk until incorporated.
- At this point, turn your mixer on and pour the sugar/egg mixture in the bowl until combined. Then slowly add your cooled melted butter (including any brown bits). Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl and combine well. This will probably take 3-4 minutes.
- The next step is to mix in the pineapple, shredded coconut (ground a little in food processor first) and carrots with a balloon whisk. You can also add nuts but my husband isn?t a big fan, so I omitted them entirely. I did put sliced almonds on the sides of the cake once I had frosted it. **I did not use the coconut or the nuts
- Pour into the baking pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean- it took my cakes approximately 35 minutes to bake. Yards original recipe calls for a 45 minute baking time.
- Once the cake has cooled, frost the cake with the most decadent cream cheese frosting you can find. This cake is extremely fat and sugar-filled, so those on a diet should not eat this cake. Looking at this cake might even make you gain a pound?
- This cake is best made the night before and chilled in the refrigerator before serving. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
Unlike a traditional sponge cake built on a foundation of standard wheat flour and neutral oil, this spiced carrot cake relies on a complex matrix of alternative flours and browned butter. Browning the butter over medium heat drives off its water content and toasts the milk solids, imparting a nutty aroma that balances the earthiness of the root vegetables. Integrating almond meal alongside brown rice and sweet rice flours introduces proteins and starches that mimic gluten structure when bound with xanthan gum.
The moisture in the batter comes from a deliberate combination of crushed pineapple and grated carrots, which release water into the crumb during baking. Pulverizing the shredded coconut in a food processor ensures it distributes evenly without creating pockets of dense texture. Meanwhile, baking soda reacts with the acidic components in the brown sugar and pineapple juice to provide the necessary lift for a dense batter.
Timing and sequencing require strict attention to temperature management. The melted butter must cool to around seventy degrees Fahrenheit before incorporation to prevent coagulation of the three room-temperature eggs. Baking pans must be lined with parchment paper and greased thoroughly, as alternative flours adhere more aggressively to metal surfaces than all-purpose wheat flour does.
Chilling the finished dessert in the refrigerator overnight allows the starches to set fully and lets the high-fat cream cheese frosting firm up. The cake remains stable for up to three days when stored cold, though the crumb softens significantly as moisture migrates from the carrots and pineapple into the surrounding crumb structure.
