Spring Celebration Carrot Cake
This recipe guides you through baking a moist two-layer carrot cake featuring fresh carrots, walnuts, and pineapple, complemented by a rich and tangy cream cheese frosting with lemon zest and vanilla. It's a delightful dessert perfect for spring celebrations or any special occasion, yielding 12 servings.
Equipment
- 1 Electric Mixer Stand or hand-held
- 2 8-inch Square Cake Pans
- 3 Mixing Bowls Assorted sizes
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Wire Rack For cooling cakes
Ingredients
Main
- 1 1/2 cups grated fresh carrots about 2 large
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple see Cooks Note
- 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
- 2 4-ounce jars pureed carrot baby food
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (1 pound), at room temperature
- 12 tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest about 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple
Instructions
- For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) square cake pans, line them with buttered parchment paper, and dust with flour.
- Toss the carrots, walnuts and 1/2 cup pineapple with 3/4 cup of the flour in a small bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In another large bowl beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and light, about 5 minutes. While continuing to beat the eggs slowly, gradually add the oil, and then the pureed carrot.
- Scatter the dry ingredients over the wet and then gently fold them together to make a loose batter. Gently fold the nuts, carrots, and pineapple into the batter. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake the cakes until firm to the touch and a cake tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on a rack for 25 minutes. Turn cakes out of pans and cool completely on the rack.
- For the icing:
- Beat cream cheese in a large bowl, with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in the butter until smooth. Sift the sugar over the cream cheese, and beat until smooth. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy. Refrigerate to set slightly for about 20 minutes.
- To assemble the cake, place a cake layer on a cake stand, plate, or cake board. Spread about half of the icing over top, but leave the sides bare. Sprinkle icing with about half of the pineapple. Top with a second cake layer, and repeat with remaining icing and pineapple. Serve.
Notes
1. Ensure all dairy ingredients for the icing (cream cheese, butter) are at true room temperature. This is crucial for achieving a smooth, lump-free frosting. Softened butter and cream cheese emulsify properly, preventing a grainy or separated texture. If they are too cold, the frosting will be clumpy; if too warm, it can be greasy.2. Avoid overmixing the cake batter once the dry ingredients are added. Overmixing develops gluten, leading to a tough, dense cake. Fold gently until just combined.3. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before icing. Attempting to frost warm cakes will cause the icing to melt and slide off. For quicker cooling, you can wrap cooled layers in plastic and chill them in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.4. When using fresh pineapple, ensure it is finely chopped to integrate well into the cake and icing without creating large, wet pockets. If using canned, drain it exceptionally well to prevent adding excess moisture to the batter or thinning the frosting.