Carrot Cake Recipe Nyt

SAVORY SPICED CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 425 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, white sesame seeds, turmeric, cayenne, baking powder and baking soda.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, feta, carrots and scallions. Lightly butter a 9-inch cake pan.
• Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and beat well to make a thick batter.
• Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When butter is hot, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds and cook until fragrant (seeds will begin to pop a bit). Adjust heat so butter does not burn; it's O.K. if butter browns a little.
• Whisk hot butter mixture into batter and beat well to combine. Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and smooth top with a spatula.
• Bake on the middle rack for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack, then invert onto a plate. (Cake may be baked several hours or up to a day in advance.)
• To finish cake, beat crème fraîche with a fork to loosen, then spread with a metal spatula or knife to coat top and sides. Decorate with cilantro sprigs and reserved scallions. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds, if desired, and crushed red pepper. Cut into wedges and serve.

FLOURLESS CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil a 9-inch springform pan, and line it with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment.
• Combine the almonds and the turbinado sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend until the almonds are finely ground. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest, and pulse together.
• Beat the eggs until thick in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with an electric beater. Add the organic sugar, and continue to beat until the mixture is thick and forms a ribbon when lifted from the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the vanilla. Add the almond mixture and the carrots in three alternating additions, and slowly beat or fold in each time.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Place in the oven, and bake one hour until firm to the touch and beginning to pull away from the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and carefully remove the spring form ring. Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic.

ONE-BOWL CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, and spray again.
• Make the topping: Whisk the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt, and stir slowly with a whisk until no traces of sugar remain, then whisk rapidly until smooth. Add the egg and whisk until fully incorporated, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip or a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, and set aside. Reserve the bowl, whisk and spatula without washing.
• Make the cake batter: Combine the eggs and granulated sugar in the reserved bowl and beat with the whisk until evenly combined. While whisking, add the oil in a steady stream and whisk until emulsified. Add the flour, spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and use the spatula to fold into the wet ingredients just until the dry ingredients disappear. Add the carrots and fold until evenly distributed.
• Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. If using a plastic bag, snip a 1/2-inch hole in a lower corner. Pipe the topping gently and evenly over the batter to completely cover it. It's OK if it looks bumpy; it will even out in the oven.
• Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with bits of the topping but no cake batter, 50 to 60 minutes. (If your cream cheese layer doesn't take on very much color by the time the cake has finished cooking, you can broil it until the top is browned in spots, 1 to 2 minutes.)
• Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut directly in the pan to serve, or slide out of the pan using the parchment paper to cut into squares. The cake can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

CARROT TOP CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use one tablespoon of the vegetable oil to grease a 9- by 11-inch sheet pan.
• In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, sugar, carrots, walnuts, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine, then add eggs and mix well. Pour the batter into the pan and cook for 45 minutes or until the cake is springy to the touch. Remove from oven and cool, in pan.
• To make the frosting, cream the butter, vegetable shortening and cream cheese with a wooden spoon or hand mixer. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Add the confectioners' sugar and stir until smooth. When cake is cooled, frost.

CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-inch round, 2-inch deep cake pans, flour the insides and tap out the excess.
• Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.
• Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in 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, if you're working by hand switch to a large rubber spatula, and gently stir in the flour mixture - mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. Just as gently, stir in the chunky ingredients.
• Divide the batter among the baking pans and slide the pans into the oven. Bake the cakes for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cakes are properly baked when a knife inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean; the cakes will just start to come away from the edges. Transfer the pans to cooling racks, cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool to room temperature. (At this point, the cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; thaw before frosting.)
• For the frosting: Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
• If you'd like to have coconut in the filling, scoop out about 1/2 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.
• Serving: The cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper, overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and, while it's good plain, it's better with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or even some lemon curd with a little whipped cream folded in.
• Storing: Covered the cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen, uncovered, and then, when it is firmed, wrapped airtight and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.

CARROT LOAF CAKE WITH TANGY LEMON GLAZE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and set a rack in the center. Oil a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment paper that hangs over the two long sides. Oil the paper, too.
• Add the light brown sugar and eggs to a large bowl and whisk vigorously until pale in color, about 2 minutes. Add the oil, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Whisk until well combined and smooth.
• Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and whisk, starting slowly to incorporate the flour without spilling it, until well combined and smooth, switching to a rubber spatula if necessary. Fold in the grated carrots. The batter will be very thick.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any big air bubbles.
• Bake the cake until golden and puffed and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan and set on the rack over a baking sheet to cool completely.
• When the cake is cool, make the glaze: Finely zest the lemon into a medium bowl. Juice the lemon, and set aside lemon juice. Add the confectioners' sugar and finely grated carrot (if using) to the bowl with the zest, along with 4 teaspoons of the lemon juice. Whisk vigorously until smooth. Add more lemon juice as needed to make a thick but pourable glaze. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and let it set for a few minutes before slicing. Store the cake well wrapped at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

TEFF CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to grease two 9-inch cake pans, line each with a round of parchment paper, and grease paper as well.
• Using electric beaters or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip granulated sugar, coconut sugar and eggs until thick and light in color, about 4 minutes on medium speed. When you lift up the whisk, the beaten egg mixture should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon. Add applesauce, carrots, coconut oil and lemon juice, and mix well to combine.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together teff flour, sweet rice flour, oat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Add to egg mixture, using a rubber spatula to fold just until combined. Gently fold coconut and walnuts into batter.
• Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of each pan and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
• Make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until fluffy and light, about 3 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and salt and mix until smooth.
• Place one cooled cake on a serving platter. Spread about half the frosting evenly across the cake, place the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting. Decorate with clean, seasonal flowers, or leave plain and smooth with a palette knife. Cut into slices and serve.

CARROT CAKE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the upper third of the space. Oil or butter muffin tins.
• Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Using a whisk or a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the raisins or pecans and the carrots.
• Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.