The Scoop
Carrot cake is proof that vegetables can absolutely belong in dessert.
This moist, cinnamon-spiced classic gets layered with tangy cream cheese frosting and crunchy walnuts for the kind of old-school cake that never needs an update.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
- 2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 ground nutmeg
- 2 cups carrots, grated
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk, 2%
- 1 cup walnuts, optional, chopped
- orange food coloring, to taste
- green food coloring, to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, and canola oil.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- Beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
- Stir the carrots into the batter.
- Pour the batter evenly between the two prepared baking pans.
- Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes cool, in another large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese until it is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Beat the vanilla into the cream cheese mixture.
- Gradually beat the confectioners' sugar into the cream cheese mixture.
- Add enough of the milk to achieve the desired consistency.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the frosting for decorating, if desired.
- Stir the walnuts into the remaining frosting.
- Place one of the cakes onto a cake stand and spread with the frosting, covering the sides and the top.
- Place the second cake on top of the first cake and repeat with the frosting.
- If decorating the cake, use the orange food coloring and the green food coloring to tint 1/4 cup of the reserved frosting orange and 1/4 cup green.
- Cut a small hole in the corner of two pastry or resealable plastic bags; insert a #7 round pastry tip into each bag.
- Fill one of the bags with the orange frosting and the other with the green frosting.
- Decorate the cakes with carrot designs or as you see fit.
- Serve and store in the refrigerator.
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