Welcome to Illustrator's Kitchen!
Today, I would like to share my rustic carrot cake recipe!
Many people steadily love carrot cake, a delightful and tasty dessert with orange, brown, and white layers.
Unlike other cakes made with soft and airy sponge sheets, carrot cake is made with dense and bumpy texture sheets due to ingredients like carrots and nuts.
Carrot is a charming vegetable.
Orange carrots are sweeter than many other vegetables.
Many food historians believe that carrot cake originated from carrot pudding eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages when sugar and sweeteners were expensive and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar.
Because the carrot itself is sweet, I made a carrot cake recipe with reduced sugar.
This is a great recipe to feed children carrots!
Carrot cake is very easy to make so let’s make it!
"Once upon a time, in Rabbit Land, a carrot was the most beloved vegetable.
Every 5 years, there was a carrot cooking competition.
A rabbit who made the most delicious food with carrots became a king or a queen.
Last year, a rabbit who made a heavenly carrot cake became a new queen!
Here is the delicious carrot cake recipe from her!"
Art by Illustrator's Kitchen
Rustic Carrot Cake Ingredients:
Cake Sheets Ingredients: *Products I used
Carrot 200g *Farmer’s Market
Brown Sugar 160g *Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned brown sugar
3 large eggs *Vital Farms Pasture Raised Eggs
Organic White Flour 200g *Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached Organic White Flour
Baking Powder (No aluminum) 2 tea spoons *Bob’s Red Mill Baking Powder
Cinnamon powder 1 teaspoon *Simply Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Powder
Walnut 30g (or more for preference)
Ground ginger powder 1/2 teaspoon *McCormick ground ginger powder
Grapeseed oil or Avocado oil 150ml *La Tourangelle Avocado Oil
A splash of Vanilla Extract *Morton & Bassett Vanilla Extract
A Pinch of sea salt
Round Cake Pan 6in (15-16cm)
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients: *Products I used
Block style Cream Cheese 30g *Philadelphia cream cheese
A splash of vanilla extract *Morton & Bassett Vanilla Extract
Monkfruit sweetener or white sugar 6 Tablespoon *Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener
Heavy Whipping Cream 2-3 Table Spoon (for density to preference) *Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream
Freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 Table Spoon
Maple Syrup 2 Table Spoon *Deep Mountain Maple Syrup
Decoration:
Rosemary
Nuts (Almond, Walnut, or Pecan)
Rustic Carrot Cake Recipe:
Put eggs and cream cheese to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F
Grate fresh carrots into a bowl (200g)
Chop walnut into pieces.
Put all cake batter ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Place a baking paper on the cake pan. Pour a cake batter into the cake pan.
Bake for 50-55 mins. Test the center with a toothpick. If it comes clean, the cake is good to go.
Put cream cheese, vanilla extract, sweetener, freshly squeezed lemon, and maple syrup. Mix well.
Add Heavy whipping cream if the cream cheese frosting is too thick (I added about 2 Tablespoons).
Remove the cake from the pan and place the cake upside down for about 30 mins until it cools completely.
Cut the cake bread into 3 sheets.
Evenly frost every layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides.
Decorate whatever you like with rosemary and nuts!
Tips:
Refrigerate the finished cake for 30 mins before slicing. It will help to hold shape.
Always cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or freeze up to 1-2 months.
You may replace walnuts with pecans.
Always use freshly grated carrots!
Make sure that eggs and cream cheese are at room temperature before use.
You may put lemon zest into cream cheese frosting for more lemon flavor.
I strongly recommend using "Aluminum Free" baking powder.
Use full-fat block cream cheese for frosting.
Using brown sugar is the key because it will not only sweeten the cake but add so much flavor and moisture.
Carrot cake is easy to make and it is delicious.
It is a perfect cake for those who want to make a cake for the first time!
Try to bake my rustic carrot cake recipe and take a photo of your delicious carrot cake and tag me on Instagram, “@illustrators_kitchen”!
Thanks, everyone!
See you next time with a future post of everything about carrots!
