Freshly Milled Carrot Cake
This carrot cake is wonderful! It has a super moist crumb, is made with lots of fresh carrots, is high in fiber from fresh whole grain flour, and and it's finished off with a dreamy cream cheese icing. The best part is that it is also easy and versatile. You may choose to make it into cupcakes, round layered, Bundt, or even a very quick 9x13-inch cake- all you have to do is simply adjust the pan and baking time. This recipe is also versatile to suit your personal taste preferences- I prefer no nuts or raisins so the recipe is listed as such, but we've included many options as mix-in ideas.
This carrot cake is also very convenient, because it tastes just as good or better on day two. This means you can prep for your dinner guests ahead and not sacrifice ANY of the taste! Simply frost the cake and then store in the refrigerator (it's amazing chilled regardless!). Lastly, in my humble opinion, the creamy icing really puts it over the top. The hint of almond mixed with the moist tenderness of the carrot cake is 100% worth making this cake for any occasion.
We'd love to know what you think if you try the cake! Please leave a comment below or tag us on Instagram @unsifted.kc
Happy Unsifted Baking!
- Keira
Unsifted Carrot Cake
**Prefer a hard copy? Checkout the beautiful professionally printed recipe card for Carrot Cake HERE**
PREP: 30 mins
BAKE: Depends on pan size
YIELD: 9x13-inch, 3x9" circles, 24 cupcakes, 1 Bundt
Cake Ingredients:
| 3 cups | carrots, peeled and finely grated (6-7 whole carrots) |
| 1 1/3 cups | Dessert Blend |
| 2 tsp | baking powder |
| 2 tsp | baking soda |
| 2 tsp | cinnamon |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 2 cups | organic cane sugar (alt: white sugar) |
| 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) |
unsalted butter, room temperature |
| 4 large | eggs, room temperature |
Additional Cake Mix-in Options:
(add with carrots):
- 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped pineapple, drained
Icing Ingredients:
| 3 cups | powdered sugar |
| 8 oz | cream cheese, room temperature |
| 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) |
unsalted butter, room temperature |
| 1 tsp | vanilla extract |
| 1 tsp | almond extract |
| 1 tbsp | whole milk |
| Topping Ideas: - Toasted shredded coconut - Pecans |
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
-
Grease pan(s) - i.e. 9x13-inch rectangle, 3x9-inch circles, 24 cupcakes
Pro-tip: If not using USA Pans, its very helpful to grease and add a parchment paper liner to ease removal from the pan after baking. Simply trace the pan shape onto the paper, cut, spray the pan, and place the paper on top. -
Peel and grate carrots until they yield 3 cups. Lightly press your grated carrots with paper towels to remove some of the excess juice.
Pro-tip: I prefer to grate into fine pieces so they melt into the cake batter. - Mill 1 1/3 cup Dessert Blend on "Pastry" setting (will yield approx. 2 1/2 cup Unsifted flour)
- In a small bowl, combine the milled Unsifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Then, set aside.
-
In a large bowl, use a mixer (stand or hand) to cream the butter and sugar together (1-2 minutes)
Pro-tip: Soften butter or warm to room temperature, but do not melt the butter entirely. This can cause the cake to sink in the middle when baked.
Pro-tip: Once creamed and smooth stop beating the mixture. Over creaming is also a common cause of cakes falling in the middle. - Add eggs one by one, each time mixing only until combined
-
Slowly mix in dry ingredients
Pro-Tip: Don't over mix here! - Add prepared carrots (+ any mix-ins) and fold into batter by hand with a spoon.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared pan- batter will be thick
-
Bake cake using the following approximate times, but be sure to insert a tester into the center of the cake to ensure it comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. The internal temperature of cake should be 200-210 degrees F.
- 9x13-inch pan: approximately 45 minutes
- 9" circle pan: approximately 20-25 minutes
- Cupcakes: 18-20 minutes
- Bundt cake: 1 hour - After removing from the oven, place pans on cooling racks for 15 minutes. Then use a knife to loosen around the edges of the pan, and flip onto the cooling racks. Let the cakes cool (out of the pans) until cool but don't forget about them or they will slowly dry out.
- Beat the icing ingredients together and frost the cake as desired. You can also decorate the top with toasted shredded coconut or pecans to add pretty garnish!
- Refrigerate and enjoy!!!
Pro Tips:
- To toast shredded coconut simply pour 1-2 cups coconut into skillet on medium-low heat for 3-6 minutes stirring continually for even browning. This is delicious and beautiful sprinkled on top!
- Resist the temptation to open the oven and check on your cake, because the change in the temperature can cause the cakes to drop.
- I like the cake best chilled and I even think it tastes especially wonderful two days after it's made. This makes it very convenient to be able to make it ahead of when you want to serve it!
- Storage: Iced and/or uncut cake should be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week; Leftover frosted cake may also be frozen to save for later; Unfrosted cake layers may be wrapped in plastic and frozen for 2-3 months then you can frost the cake frozen, but let it thaw for 2 hours before serving.
