Carrot Cake
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Martha Stewart Living, August 2007
- Yield Serves 10
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Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 pound carrots (8 to 10 medium carrots), peeled and shredded on a box grater or in a food processor (about 2 3/4 cups)
- 2 cups pecans (1 cup finely chopped for batter, 1 cup coarsely chopped for decorating sides of cake)
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions
- Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes. Add vanilla, water, and carrots. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.
- Scrape batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen, and turn out cakes onto rack. Turn right side up, and let cool completely.
- Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of 2 cakes. Place one trimmed cake, cut side up, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with second trimmed cake, cut side down. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with remaining cake. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Gently press coarsely chopped pecans onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
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Love this recipe. Made it for Easter this year, again. Shaped it like a carrot! It was a great hit. Its posted here http://flat-footedfoodies.blogspot.com/2012/04/carrot-shaped-carrot-cake.html
Thanks again.
I also bought fresh ingredients and followed the recipe exactly. The cakes didn't rise very well at all. And it only produced two layers not three. Has a pleasant flavor though. I don't think I will try this recipe again.
can this be baked in one pan instead of three?
This is the only carrot cake I'll make! Its perfect!
Ok, so far not impressed!. I bought fresh baking powder, baking soda, flour, sugars, eggs...just about everything new and this did not rise very much at all. Yes, I checked the exp. dates on everything! Haven't tried it yet but so far, no good. Its for my sons birthday so I sure hope it taste better than it looks so far!! The batter was yummy :) so there is a small chance of hope this will turn out. Check back later with the end results. I could be VERY surprised....
Yummy cake. :) Not quite as sweet as most carrot cakes, but the frosting makes up for it. I will definitely bake this again.
Have anyone tried it half of the original amount and with "one" pan?I want to make it, but I don't know how long does it take to bake.
This is the BEST TASTING cake ever! However...it was so moist that it started falling apart when I tried to put icing on it. Yes, I let it cool completely before trying. Not sure what the answer is to cure this. I sent the cake to work with my husband (because it was too ugly to take to the lady's event that I made it for). He literally received tons of e-mails from his co-workers saying how delicious it was! They said that I can send my "mistake" cakes anytime. :)
Best cake ever! SO moist and tasty. I pureed the carrots after grating them which helped make the cake soft. Will definately be making this cake again
Wonderful cake! I made it for my daughters baptism and it was a hit. We had about 20 guests and there was only a small amount left over. The amount of frosting it makes is too much however very delicious.
This cake is most delicious, a family favorite. The ginger is a great touch!
Tried this today but as mini cupcakes and they were a hit. They tasted great, however, a bit light in color and in density for carrot cake.
this recipe is excellent - I always get compliments when I bring this to parties!
The carrot cake was very moist, creamy and heavy. It had a lot of interesting textures and had a profound carrot flavor. After baking the cakes, it took longer than 15 minutes before i could remove it successfully from the baking pan. In addition, I found that it was too heavy to allow it to cool on a baking rack. Rather, I just let them cool for about 2 hours in their pan and then assembled the cake.
This turned out very good. lindakuist has a good suggestion though, when I was mixing it, it looked very odd -- watery/lumpy -- so I had to mix it VERY well in order to get it to look like normal cake batter. Also, the cake was ymmy, but not as most/dense as typical for carrot cakes. The frosting recipe make about twice as much as you actually need as well.
This is a very good cake, good flavor. But when mixing, I found it turned out better if you added the flour mixture first and then the carrots, nuts and vanilla. Then the water last. It just mixed up better.
Also for the frosting, try adding fnally chopped nuts, coconut and raisins, the amount doesn't matter. People tell me that the frosting doesns't taste as sweet. And it makes the cake look fancier!
The best carrot cake I've made, I like the fact that it uses butter making it lighter. The whole family LOVED it.
so I made this yester day it was delious and im acuttally eating a peice while I write this.I cut the recipe in half though seeing from others saying how big it was. it was the perfect amount. The only thing I would change is adding some raisins. It's one of the many carrot cake recipes im trying for my parents aniversy cake.
Good but grainy and HUGE!
This was my first "from Scratch" carrot cake. My family loved it. It does make a large cake. It would be good for feeding a crowd. Very dense and rich. A tiny slice is all you can eat.
This was my first "from Scratch" carrot cake. My family loved it. It does make a large cake. It would be good for feeding a crowd. Very dense and rich. A tiny slice is all you can eat.
I halved this recipe, cut out the nuts ('cuz I'm allergic) and used the maple cream cheese icing recipe from another carrot cake recipe on this site. Really good carrot cake, but it was huge
this carrot cake is delicious i going to share it with my friends
This carrot cake is luscious and divine! My old recipe calls for oil instead of butter, and I think the oil makes a huge difference! I added one cup of raisins that I soaked in warm water for an hour and then drained, and they were a pleasant addition to the cake. The frosting is spectacular. I will definitely be making this again!
Made it for a Parents' Football Dinner and received MANY compliments.