Carrot Cake Tips
What's the trick to a moist cake?
Cakes made with oil tend to retain more moisture than cakes made with butter or shortening. Ingredients such as sour cream or buttermilk are also key ingredients to a moist carrot cake because they contain acids that tenderize the developing gluten in the flour.
What is a good substitute for cream cheese frosting?
Instead of cream cheese frosting, use a traditional
buttercream frosting or try your hand at
Swiss meringue buttercream frosting.
What's the best oil for carrot cake?
Canola oil is best for this cake because it has a nice, neutral flavor which doesn’t interfere or clash with any of the other flavors going on in the cake. If you prefer a butter-based carrot cake, check out our recipe for
three-layered carrot cake. To convert oil measurements to butter, the general rule is 1 cup butter to ¾ cup oil.
How do I make the frosting less sweet?
To keep the frosting from becoming too sweet, cut back on the confectioners’ sugar slightly (a few tablespoons may be enough to make a difference). As you prepare the frosting, add a little sugar at a time and taste as you go. Also, you could add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the frosting because the acidity in the juice counters the sweetness of the sugar. If the frosting still seems too sweet, simply decrease the amount you use on your cake.
How do I prevent my frosting from getting runny?
Because it is made in a mixer, cream cheese frosting can become runny if overmixed. Mix just until all of the confectioners’ sugar has been incorporated, and you have whipped in some air for stability. To thicken your frosting, pop the bowl in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes. This will allow the butter and cream cheese to firm up a bit more.
Reviews
This cake was delicious but I did make a few adjustments based on the reviews. I cut the sugar to one cup white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. I only had 1/2 cup of veg oil so I added a 4oz cup of Siggis full fat plain yogurt. I increased the carrots to 3 cups. As others did I added cranberries, raisins and also 3 rings of pineapple cut small and some Shredded coconut. The icing was I stick of butter, one package of cream cheese, vanilla and confectioners sugar to my taste. I baked in two 8 inch metal pans for 40 minutes at 350. The result was a moist, carroty cake with luscious cream cheese frosting.
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Cake is wayyy too sweet.
I bake this cake for my daughters birthday every year and we also have it for our Easter dinner. It is the most light, moist, flavorful carrot cake I have baked. I bake it in a 13 x 9 deep baking dish. I do have to bake just a tad bit longer than recipe calls for. I never have leftovers.
Cake was nice and moist, but the frosting is terribly. WAY too much sugar and not enough frosting. About 6C of sugar in a cake?! Ridiculous. Save yourself and use a better frosting recipe with more cream cheese and less sugar
So, before I made this recipe, I read the comment section and I want to say it off the bat – the cake I made following this recipe was not dry. Moving on, I didn't have two 9" pans, so I baked all the batter in a single 9" pan for about two times the baking time. Once it cooled I halved the cake from the middle and made two layers. It turned out okay/good, but it's not extraordinarily good. I also added walnuts to the batter and didn't add any to the frosting. For the frosting I added my confectioner's sugar tasting it after every tbsp, and I have to say 3-3/4 cups of sugar for the icing seems A LOT! I only added a couple of tbsp to mine... All in all, people liked it, but would I do it again or recommend this recipe to my friends ? I don't really think so.
Everything a carrot cake should be!
I eliminated the nutmeg
This is my favorite. It’s a perfect recipe. I do not understand why anyone would want to cut the sugar...altering the recipe. Just don’t make it if you that picky. Find a recipe that uses sugar substitutes. When you alter a formula you destroy the essence.
DO NOT ADD MILK TO THE FROSTING. It makes it way to thin. For me it ruined the entire batch of frosting. It baffles me why the recipe says to add milk because without it the consistency would be perfect.