A Cake for All Occasions

My boss, Don, loves carrot cake. More specifically, he loves the carrot cake that I bake. Don’s wife and son have also come to love the carrot cake that I bake. I made a cake to share with the office for his birthday last August, and a few slices made it home with him. 

Decorated with a little help from the pastry kitchen at work

Next thing I knew, his wife was requesting my carrot cake for their Thanksgiving desert! Unfortunately, I was traveling and was not able to make it happen. This week, as a thank you to Don for his generous Christmas gift, I decided to bake an entire cake for him to enjoy at home. No sharing with the vultures that are the hungry employees in our department. Just Don, his family, and the Layered Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting… and probably a few NFL games.

 My less professional decorating skills

Layered Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

Cake

1 ⅓ c. Sugar

1 c. Canola Oil

3 large Eggs

1 ⅓ c. Flour

1 ⅓ tsp Baking Powder

1 ⅓ tsp Baking Soda

¾ tsp Salt

¾ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Nutmeg

2 c. Carrots, Peeled and Finely Grated (about 4 large carrots)

½ c. Walnuts, Chopped

Frosting

4 c. Confectioners Sugar

8 oz. Cream Cheese

¼ c. Unsalted Butter

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Extra Walnuts, Chopped, for topping

Method:

Cake

Lightly grease two 9” diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper as well. Preheat oven to 325°F. Blend sugar and oil in a large bowl with mixer until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add carrots and walnuts and stir until evenly distributed. Pour batter into cake pans, dividing equally. Bake about 45 minutes, or until cake is firm and begins to pull away just slightly from the sides of the pans. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks and cool completely.

Frosting

Using mixer, blend all ingredients until completely smooth.

Assembly

Place one layer of cake on platter. Using spatula spread ½ cup of frosting over the top, making sure frosting reaches all the way to the edges. Place second layer of cake on top. Adding generous amounts of frosting near the center of the cake, spread toward edges until top of cake is covered. Next, frost sides of cake, being very generous with the frosting so as not to get cake crumbs caught in the icing. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts as desired for decoration. Refrigerate when completed. Cake can be served cold or at room temperature.

Even for a novice baker, this cake is very simple to make, yet it tastes absolutely delicious. Just try it- you will be glad that you did! And…if you still need more motivation, just tell yourself it is a good way to get your daily dose of vegetables :)