cakes and tortes: not my mama’s carrot cake

ever since i was little, my mom would make this incomparably moist, sweet carrot cake with tangy, rich cream cheese frosting when the holidays arrived. the cake would sit in the fridge after the holidays had ended, and whenever my sister or i passed through the kitchen, we’d grab a fork and slice off a large bite in line with previous slices to hide the evidence. needless to say, we would easily finish half the cake this way, so our stealthiness didn’t make much of a difference anyway. when i learned in baking and pastry class that i’d be making (gasp) a different recipe from my mama’s–with marzipan carrots to top it off, no less–i thought i would drop it off at sean’s family’s thanksgiving instead of my own, to avoid comments about how my cake “couldn’t possibly replace mom’s.” families can get quite protective over their holiday recipes–i’m not one to trample on them, hence the title of this post. still, this recipe, an alton brown original, is lovely, slightly tangy and very moist. i love the addition of the yogurt.

carrot cake

yield: 1 nine-inch, two-layer cake

12 oz. all purpose flour
12 oz. grated carrots, medium grate
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
10 oz. sugar
2 oz. dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
6 oz. plain yogurt
6 oz. vegetable oil
cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. butter and flour a nine-in. round and three-in. deep cake pan. line the bottom with parchment paper. set aside. mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. toss them in the carrots. whisk together sugars, eggs and yogurt. the yogurt will quickly make the batter turn runny. with the mixer running, slowly drizzle oil into this mixture.

fold the egg and oil mixture into the dry ingredients.

now divide the mixture evenly between two pans. bake for 45 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes, until the cake springs back resiliently with the touch of your finger. allow the cakes to cool completely before you overturn them to coax them out of their pans and then frost.

cream cheese frosting

8 oz. cream cheese
2 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 oz. powdered sugar, sifted

combine the cream cheese and butter and whisk just until blended. add the vanilla and beat until combined. add the powdered sugar in four batches (to discourage a powdered sugar snow shower all over your face and clothes) and beat until smooth between each addition. if possible, refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes before using.

with a long, sharp serrated knife (like a bread knife) cut a thin layer off the top of each cake to be sure the cake is flat on top. frost one cake, placing an extra thick layer on top. carefully set the other cake on top of the first, pressing gently down on the top cake to coax some of the frosting out of the sides. don’t worry about making this look perfect–cream cheese frosting tends to sag a bit. frost the whole outside of the cake, starting with the very top. when you get to the edges, allow the extra frosting to start oozing down the sides and use that to start pushing frosting down and around the outside of the cake. use more frosting than you think you need, to prevent crumbs from coming to the surface.

store this cake in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

if you are interested in learning how to make marzipan carrots, leave a comment letting me know and i’ll include an entry about it!