Carrot Cake

Instructions

For the Carrot Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 inch pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then set aside.
2 1/2 cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
(If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.)
10 tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter, softened, 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar, 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
Then add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium then medium-high speed until smooth, pale in color and slightly fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
3 eggs, at room temperature, 2 tsp vanilla
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter mixture a little at a time, until each has been added completely. Mix on low then medium speed just until the batter is combined and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3/4 cup (180 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
Add in the grated carrots and fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula just until combined.
2 cups (220 g) finely grated carrots, at room temperature
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake the cake for 50-54 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake with just a few moist crumbs.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then pull up on the parchment paper to release the cake and continue to let it cool on a wire rack until completely cool.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Add the butter to a large mixing bowl and mix on high speed with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
(If using a stand mixer, use a whisk attachment.)
1 cup (224 g) unsalted butter, softened
Then add in the cream cheese and mix on high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.
8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
Sift in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, and mix on low then medium-low speed until all is combined together.
2 1/2 cups (325 g) powdered sugar
Lastly add in the vanilla and mix on high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, 1-2 more minutes.
1 tsp vanilla
Portion out a few spoonfuls of frosting into two bowls. Mix in green food coloring to one, and orange food coloring to the other until the desired color is reached.
orange and green food coloring

Assembling the Cake

Transfer the cake to a serving plate.
Frost the top of the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting using an offset spatula.
Transfer the orange cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small circular tip, and the green frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small star tip. Pipe mini carrots on the cake with the orange frosting, making sure to space them out. Then with the green frosting pipe a small star at the top of each carrot to be a decorative stem. Sprinkle the cake with chopped nuts and serve!
(If you want to make sure you have the carrots spaced out properly and without having to cut into them, cut the cake into 16 squares, then pipe the little carrots on top.)
chopped walnuts or pecans

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, Easter dessert, Easter recipe, spring dessert

Ingredients

For the Carrot Cake

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

For the Carrot Cake

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Assembling the Cake