Carrot Cake

I love carrot cake and have made a few of the box variety over the years.  It never occurred to me to make one from scratch.  Last year I watched Nigella: At My Table on Create TV.  In the episode, she created a beautiful homemade carrot cake.  I looked up the recipe and made it for Christmas.  I left it in the oven slightly too long, so my cake was a little on the dry side on the outside edge, but otherwise, was absolutely delicious.  I thought I would give it another shot this year.

 

Carrot Cake

7 ounces plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 ounces soft light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

7 fluid ounces vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

7 ounces carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

3 1/2 ounces walnut pieces, roughly chopped, plus extra for decorating

2 1/2 ounces crystallized ginger, finely chopped, plus extra for decorating

3 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, softened

3 1/2 ounces confectioner’s sugar, sieved if lumpy

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3 1/2 ounces cream cheese

1 tablespoon coarsely grated fresh ginger

I preheated the oven to 338 degrees.  I greased the sides of an 8-inch springform pan and then lined the bottom with parchment paper.

I mixed the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and salt together and set them aside.

In the stand mixer, I beat the sugar, eggs and oil until they were well blended.  I gradually added the flour mixture, continuing to mix.  Once well combined, I beat in the carrots.  I folded in the walnuts and crystallized ginger by hand until evenly combined evenly.

I poured the batter into the prepared springform pan, smoothing out the top.  The recipe calls for it to bake for 45 to 55 minutes.  As the last cake was drier than I wanted, I baked it for 45 minutes.  The cake will be set and golden brown on top when it is ready, just beginning to shrink away from the edges of the cake tin.  I used a toothpick to test it.  The toothpick came out clean, so I took the cake out of the oven and put it on a wire rack to cool in the cake tin.

While the cake cooled, I started the frosting by beating together the butter and confectioner’s sugar.  Once combined, I beat in the cornstarch and then half of the cream cheese.  After incorporating the cheese, I beat in the other half of the cream cheese.  I was careful not to overbeat the frosting so it did not get too runny.  Finally, I squeezed the juice from the grated ginger into the bowl and mixed it in, discarding the ginger flesh.  I covered the frosting with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator.

I checked on the cake, horrified to see that the center was completely sunken.  Apparently, the toothpick should have had crumbs on it to show that the cake was ready.  We were hosting most of our family for Christmas dinner and I did not have an alternate dessert to offer so Chris jumped right in to help me figure out how to save the cake. 

First, we put it back in the oven, but that didn’t do much.  The outside of the cake seemed fine, but the inside was a gooey mess.  He decided to use a glass to cut the gooey part of the cake out, turning it into a bundt style cake.  

I took the frosting out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 20 minutes and then whisked it briefly to make sure it was smooth.  I took the cake out of the tin and put it on a plate.  I frosted the top of the cake, as best I could, and then sprinkled chopped walnuts and crystallized ginger on top.

It was not at all a pretty cake, but it was moist and the flavor was amazing.