- Carrot Cake

CARROT CAKE WITH
CREAM CHEESE/WHIPPED CREAM ICING


Cake:

2½ c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp coarse salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1½ c unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 c packed brown sugar
½ c white sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ c water
2¾ c grated carrots
2 cups of either chopped pecans or raisins


Icing:

1 c mascarpone (cream) cheese
2 c whipping cream
4 T icing sugar
4 T piping gel
1 tsp clear vanilla

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Butter (2) 8inch cake pans. Spray pans with Pam and line bottoms with parchment paper.

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 pecans/raising.

Divide batter between the pans. Bake until golden brown about 40 minutes (testing with a cake tester that comes out clean). Let cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the cake to loosen it from the sides of the pan and turn cake out onto racks to cool completely.

Icing:
Combine whipped cream and sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Add gel and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the mascarpone cheese.

Place 1 cake on a plate with the bottom side down, ice the top of that cake and then place the other cake top side down. Ice the rest of the cake and refrigerate until about 45 minutes before you are ready to serve it. Allow iced cake to sit out for that 45 minutes or until you are ready to serve.

Notes:

1. This is a dense carrot cake and combined with this light icing it makes for what I think is a perfect combination.
2. Don’t be scared off by the piping gel and clear vanilla. They can be bought at any store that sells cake decoration supplies and if there is a Michael’s craft store nearby they have them for sure.