The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (315 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Carrot cake was once heralded for its use of vegetable oil in place of butter and carrots as a natural sweetener. Sure, the carrots add some sweetness, but they also add a lot of moisture, which is why carrot cake is invariably soggy. And oil? It makes this cake dense and, well, oily. We wanted a moist, not soggy, cake that was rich, with a tender crumb and balanced spice.

We started with all-purpose flour—cake flour proved too delicate to support the grated carrots that get mixed in. For lift, we liked a combination of baking soda and baking powder. Some carrot cakes use a heavy hand with the spices; we took a conservative approach and used modest amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. After trying varying amounts of grated carrots, we settled on 1 pound for a pleasantly moist texture. For a rich, but not greasy, cake, 1¹⁄
₂
cups vegetable oil did the trick. We found that the simplest mixing method was actually the food processor. We used the processor fitted with the shredding disk to shred the carrots, then swapped out the blade and made the batter (but if you don’t own a food processor a box grater and mixer will suffice). Cream cheese frosting is the perfect partner to carrot cake—we enriched our version with sour cream for extra tang and vanilla for depth of flavor. Once again, it was easy enough to prepare the frosting in the food processor so that start to finish, we only had to dirty one piece of equipment.

SERVES 15

If you like nuts in your cake, stir 1¹⁄
₂
cups toasted chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter along with the carrots. Raisins are also a good addition; 1 cup can be added along with the carrots. If you add both nuts and raisins, the cake will need an additional 10 to 12 minutes in the oven.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 by 9-inch baking pan, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pan.

2.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in large bowl and set aside.

3A. FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD:
Using food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer to bowl. Wipe out workbowl and fit processor with metal blade. Process granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs in food processor until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With processor running, add oil in steady stream and process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and stir in carrots and flour mixture until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

3B. STAND MIXER METHOD:
Shred carrots on large holes of box grater (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs on medium-high speed until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

4.
Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top with rubber spatula, and gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake cake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

5.
Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, discard parchment, then turn cake right side up onto serving platter. Spread frosting evenly over cake and serve. (Cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

MAKES 3 CUPS

Do not use low-fat or nonfat cream cheese or the frosting will turn out too soupy to work with.

1A. FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD:
Process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.

1B. STAND MIXER METHOD:
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt at medium-high speed until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute.

The Indian tea called chai inspired this variation.

For the cake, substitute ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon pepper for nutmeg, increase cloves to ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon, and add 1 tablespoon ground cardamom along with spices. For the frosting, halve and scrape seeds from 2 vanilla beans and add seeds to food processor along with vanilla extract.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

The problem with spice cakes? Spice. Some variations suffer spice overload, which makes them gritty and dusty. Others are so lacking in spice flavor that it seems as if a cinnamon stick has only been waved in their general direction. We wanted an old-fashioned, moist, and substantial spice cake with spices that were warm and bold without being overpowering, and a rich, but complementary cream cheese frosting. We needed a less-than-tender cake, one with a substantial and open crumb that could stand up to the spices. We found that all-purpose flour, rather than cake flour, added volume and heft, while butter and eggs added richness. Blooming the spices in butter intensified their aromas and gave the cake a heightened spice impact throughout. We used the classic mixture of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, allspice, and nutmeg, but found that a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger and a couple of tablespoons of molasses gave the cake an extra zing. Reserving a little of the spice mixture to add to the cream cheese frosting united the frosting and the cake.

SERVES 15

To save time, let the eggs, buttermilk, and butter come up to temperature while the browned butter and spice mixture cools.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 by 9-inch baking pan, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pan. Combine cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in small bowl; reserve ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon of spice mixture for frosting.

2.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in 8-inch skillet over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is light brown and has faint nutty aroma, 2 to 4 minutes. Add spices and continue to cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

3.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. In small bowl, gently whisk eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla to combine. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat remaining 12 tablespoons butter with sugar and molasses on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium and add cooled butter-spice mixture, ginger, and half of egg mixture; mix until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining egg mixture; scrape down bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, scraping down bowl as needed. Mix at medium speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Give batter final stir by hand.

4.
Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top with rubber spatula, and gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake cake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 32 to 37 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours. Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, discard parchment, then turn cake right side up onto serving platter.

5.
Stir reserved spice mixture into frosting. Spread frosting evenly over cake, sprinkle with walnuts, if using, and serve. (Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.)

Add 1¹⁄
₂
teaspoons grated orange zest to frosting with vanilla. Substitute slivered almonds or coarsely chopped hazelnuts for walnuts.