Carrot Cake

It's hard to find a good carrot cake recipe that is your go-to, you will never need another recipe again. This carrot cake has a great balance of the perfect amount of carrots to make a moist cake, delicate cream cheese frosting, and crunchy candied carrots to top it all off. Soaking the carrots in buttermilk before adding to the batter, adds a great tang to the carrots and cake. This recipe is from Bon Appetit Magazine.

Ingredients Include:

Cake:

• 1 pound carrots, peeled, coarsely grated

• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

• ¾ teaspoon baking soda

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¾ cup (packed) dark brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• ¾ cup of vegetable oil

Icing:

• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Generous pinch of kosher salt

• 4 cups powdered sugar

Candied Carrots (Optional):

• 2 medium carrots, scrubbed, very thinly sliced on a mandoline

• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more

Steps to Follow:

For the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat two 9"-diameter cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; lightly coat rounds with nonstick spray.

2. Combine carrots and buttermilk in a medium bowl.

3. Whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and thick, about 4 minutes.

4. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually stream in oil. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with carrot mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; mix until smooth.

5. Bake cakes, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–45 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cakes cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around sides of cakes and invert onto wire rack; remove parchment. Let cool completely.

For the Icing:

1. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla extract and salt. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in powdered sugar. Increase speed to high and beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

For the Candied Carrots:

1. Bring carrots, 2 Tbsp. sugar, and ¼ cup water to a simmer in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring to separate carrots. Cook until carrots are soft, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, until liquid is reduced to a thick syrup (if syrup starts to color, reduce heat). Add several generous pinches of sugar, tossing constantly, then cook, tossing, until carrots are coated. Spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let cool.

2. Separate carrots with your fingers and toss each piece in more sugar to coat.

Assembly:

1. Place 1 cake, domed side down, on a platter. Spread ¾ cup frosting evenly over top. Place remaining cake, domed side down, on top. Spread top and sides with 1¼ cups frosting and chill 30 minutes to let frosting set. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides, swirling decoratively. Top with Candied Carrot Coins, if desired.