SUPER NON-DRY CARROT CAKE
Not a great name for a cake, I know, but I just can’t bring myself to say it. You know which word I mean. Starts with “M”, rhymes with “hoist”. I, like many others, have a very strong aversion to that word, and avoid saying it at almost all costs. I can’t even bring myself to type it (clearly). Non-dry works, right? It’s not an altogether inaccurate description.
You know what else I dislike? Cake. Not all cakes. Just most cakes in general. I strongly suspect it stems from having worked in an office that celebrated every single birthday with the same birthday cake (not a great one), and effectively being urged to eat said cake about once a week for five years, sometimes at 10am. (The Seinfeld episode where Elaine loses it from being subjected to too many office birthday cakes really struck a chord with me.)
So why would I make cake at all, unless I were a masochist? (I’m not.) The first time I made this, it was out of necessity. The vegetable garden was overflowing with carrots, and The Roommate had been haranguing me about making a dessert for days. Carrot cake seemed like an efficient way to get rid of both the excess veggies and the annoying questions. Funnily enough, it was the dreaded “M” word in this recipe’s title from Inspired Taste that drew me to it- if I’m going to have to eat cake, it better not be dry. I’ve made this cake several times since, most recently for a neighbourhood luncheon that we hosted. If luncheon sounds fancy it’s because it was - these people know how to put on a spread. I felt like I was auditioning to be a Real Housewife of Canberra. Thankfully, the cake was a hit (people went back for seconds!) and even prompted some very generous comments about featuring it on a catering menu. So a very big thank you to Inspired Taste and your delicious recipe for helping me make a good impression!
I did make some minor changes to the original recipe: there are no raisins or nuts in this cake itself, as neither The Roommate nor myself are fans of textured cake in general, and I used pistachios instead of pecans for the topping, for a pop of colour. I also decided to (had to) do one thicker cake instead of having two layers, mostly because I don’t have two cake pans.
Besides producing a mouth-wateringly delicious and non-dry cake, the other reason I love this recipe is because it really is SO easy. Including the frosting! The most labour intensive part is grating the carrots. Everything else is just…combining stuff in a bowl. It’s practically fool-proof, and made me look like I knew what I was doing when it came to desserts (my Achilles heel in the kitchen - plus artichokes and croissants).
If you’re looking for a dessert recipe that ticks all the boxes - delicious, easy, non-dry, contains vegetables, can silence annoying requests (not really requests) - look no further. (But do look further down for the recipe).
Somewhere under the pistachios, there is a cake.
Ingredients:
For the cake
2 cups all-purpose/plain flour
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups grated carrots (5 to 6 medium carrots)
For the frosting
1 block (250g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered/icing sugar
1/3 cup thickened/heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line or grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform cake pan.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon in a bowl until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugars, and vanilla extract until well combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, until well combined.
4. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl of the sugar mixture, then add the dry ingredients to the bowl in 3 parts, folding in gently until combined. Mix in the grated carrots.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes, testing at 40 minutes with a toothpick in the centre of the cake - if it comes out clean, it’s ready. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool. You can leave it covered overnight once cooled as well.
6. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer on medium speed (or using a handheld mixer) for about 1 minute, or until creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until it becomes fluffy. Pour in the cream and beat for another minute or two. Using a spatula, frost the cake (the frosting will be quite soft if used right away, but that’s okay, it won’t run!) or chill until ready to frost. Top with the chopped pistachios.