Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 313 g
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (140 g)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar 200 g
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar 110 g
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature (180 ml)
- 2 cups finely grated carrots at room temperature (220 g)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (224 g)
- 8 oz cream cheese cold (226 g)
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar 325 g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Orange and green food coloring
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture, mixing until smooth. Fold in grated carrots.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-54 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Whip butter until pale and fluffy. Add cream cheese and mix until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing until light and fluffy.
- Divide frosting into two bowls and color one orange and the other green.
Assembling the Cake:
- Frost the cooled cake with cream cheese frosting.
- Pipe mini carrots onto the cake with orange frosting, adding green stems with the green frosting. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and serve!