New York Times Carrot Cake Recipes

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 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 CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of one 13x9-inch pan or two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans with shortening; lightly flour. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt; beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into pan(s).
• Bake 13x9-inch pan 40 to 45 minutes, round pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangle in pan on cooling rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost round layers with frosting. Sprinkle nutmeg on frosted cake, if desired. Store in refrigerator.

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 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.