Carrot cake is the most famous cake in the pastry world. Every time autumn hits, you really start to crave those spicy, warm, cinnamony flavors, and carrot cake is the first that comes to mind. This recipe for autumn carrot cake is not the easiest to make, but I can assure you that when you try it, it will be your favorite for all your life. This carrot cake is super moist and packed with great flavors like cinnamon, orange, vanilla, nutmeg, and ginger.
Autumn Carrot Cake Recipe
Autumn Carrot Cake Recipe
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Persons: 8
- Difficulty: Easy
- Carrot cake
- 190 g All-purpose flour
- 70 g Walnuts, ground to flour
- 5 g Baking powder
- 3 g Baking soda
- 5 g Cinnamon
- 3 g Ground nutmeg
- 3 g Salt
- 150 g Eggs(3x), room temp
- 80 g White sugar
- 40 g Brown sugar
- 120 g Neutral oil
- 250 g Carrots, grated
- 20 g Fresh ginger
- 150 g Orange juice
- 150 g Pineapple, cut into small cubes
- Cream cheese frosting
- 300 g Cream cheese
- 100 g Heavy cream
- 80 g Icing sugar
- 2 g Vanilla extract
- Instructions
- In the food processor, add the walnuts and turn them into a meal. Then add flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt. Mix to combine. Then transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.
- Shred carrots and ginger. Then, to break them down even more, transfer them to a food processor and pulse for a minute.
- Take off the zest of 2 big oranges in a separate bowl. Then, in another bowl, squeeze the juice.
- Add carrots with ginger to a pan along with the orange juice. Cook down on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the moisture is gone. Add cubbed pineapples.
- Meanwhile, in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with sugar at high speed for 10 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Add orange zest and vanilla extract.
- Slowly add to the egg mixture oil, gradually folding with a spatula
- Then add dry ingredients, after that, carrots with pineapples.
- Distribute carrot batter between two 20 cm/8-inch cake pans, previously greased with oil and lined with baking paper on the bottom.
- Put it in a preheated to 180ºC oven for about 20 min or until the toothpick comes off dry. After the cakes are ready, cool completely then put in the fridge, ideally overnight, but 2 hours is also fine.
- To make cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese with icing sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer at medium speed. Then add the cold heavy cream and beat until fluffy for about 7 minutes. Add vanilla. Keep the frosting in the fridge before using.
- To assemble the cake, put one layer then add half of the frosting. Then put another layer on top and frost with the remaining frosting. You can decorate the cake using a piping bag or just by adding crushed nuts.
My tips for the best carrot cake
* It is unusual to cook carrots before adding them to a carrot cake batter, but I find it really helpful to get the best result, which is super moist and flavourful carrot cake.
* Pineapple is not mandatory, you can skip it if you don`t like it or don`t have one. But I really recommend adding it because it’s another great texture and even more flavor which puts this cake on an even higher level.
* You can substitute pineapple with soaked raisins, and walnuts with pecans.
* For better results, always try to consider temperature conditions. Eggs are better beaten when at room temperature, and heavy cream should be very cold (use it right after it’s taken out of the fridge).
* Never put frosting on a warm cake, not even at room temperature. You really need to make sure that your cake is completely cooled off or, even better, cold before frosting it. This will ensure that when you layer your cake, it will be stable, round, and beautiful.
Carrot cake is perfect for various occasions, from casual gatherings to celebrations, and it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser with its delightful blend of sweetness and warmth.
My hubby’s review on the autumn carrot cake
If THIS is how autumn tastes like, then I LOVE autumn! Carrot cake is not my first choice at a coffee shop. I usually find it dry and blend. Especially if you get one that is not really fresh. After a couple of disappointments, I just gave up. I haven’t had carrot cake for a while, so when my wife made this one – I was excited to refresh my memory. And this is just SO MUCH better than what you can get in your usual coffee shop. This one is moist and creamy! The combination of spices (is it spices?) makes the flavor very reach. And the pineapples inside are so cool! They taste like juicier raisins. Does this make sense? 😀 I don’t know. All I can say is that this is the best carrot cake I ever had!
