Friday, November 12, 2010

Tasty Carrot Cake

So there was a little confusion on exactly how "mini" my mini carrot cakes were that I posted about the other day.    I hope this picture helps.  




That cake is on a 6" cake board.  So I think that constitutes as a "mini" carrot cake. Right? Now on to the recipe!!


What you will need:
3 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
4 1/8 cups of cake flour
3 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
It's really specific I know.  Let's continue
2 1/3 teaspoons of baking soda
2 1/3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
a little over 1 teaspoon of iodized (table) salt
3 1/8 cups of light olive oil
8 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 
1 pound of shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts
Can this recipe end already?
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup shredded coconut


This recipe makes a lot.  I got it from my culinary On Baking book.  The original yield is 8 cakes, but I chopped the recipe in half.  4 cakes is still plenty...so chop in half again if you need to.  But then you might get into some fractions that I last discussed in like 6th grade.  


The first step in this recipe is to blend the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and oil together.  Scratch that, the first step is to get a really BIG bowl.  Then put all those ingredients in the really BIG bowl.  Mix on a low speed for about a minute.  Increase the speed to medium and mix for another 4 minutes.  Reduce the speed and gradually add in the eggs and vanilla.  Once the eggs are incorporated, fold in the carrots, walnuts, pineapple, and coconut.  


Divide the batter into prepared cake pans and bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.  If you are going to use the clean tomato cans, only fill about half way.  The cakes are done once you can pull a toothpick out clean from the center.  


Let cool completely and then you can frost with the cream cheese icing found here. If you have trouble frosting cakes, like me, then apply a thin layer of frosting over the carrot cake. Place the cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes.  This is called a crumb layer.  The crumbs should now be frozen in place so you can apply a clean layer of frosting on top.  Decorate and enjoy!



3 comments:

  1. Heather. Did NO YES eat all your mini Carrot cakes. He loves Carrot cake.

    Leo

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  2. Crazy question .. but is it hard to get the cake out of the tomato can ?

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    Replies
    1. It really isn't hard at all. You need to make sure you properly prepare the can just like you would any cake pan. You can either grease and flour the can or use the Baking Pam like I do sometimes which incorporates a little flour into the spray. Another thing to consider is to not let the cake sit in the can too long after baking. Let it cool off to the touch and remove. If you let it sit any longer, it will stick! Hope this helps!!

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