This recipe is a keeper if you love a rich, flavorful carrot cake–we made the cake and a bunch of cupcakes for a birthday and it worked out well–with some healthy swaps that no one noticed–I’d recommend it for your thanksgiving dessert table!!
Last weekend we celebrated Ambrose’ 2nd birthday with family, and some extra special family members (puppies) who were with us as part of my mom’s Lake Joy Goldens fall litter. The puppies were just 2 weeks old, the perfect age for lots of squeezing and cuddles from my kids, with their eyes opening, and beginning to move around on their own. Ambrose knew how special it was to be celebrating his birthday after watching his sisters make a big deal out of theirs over the summer, he was ready for his turn. We had a wonderful gathering of sisters, cousins and friends to help us celebrate our favorite little guy with a simple birthday brunch.
I’ve had my eye on this carrot cake recipe to try, thanks to discovering it on the Helena Daily list, and knew this was a great occasion for it.
The recipe is from Beneath the Crust–we know some of the ladies and their recipes look fab. I wanted to see if I could adapt for cupcakes, and to do a few swap outs. So I replaced the flour with Einkorn to make it friendly for folks with gluten sensitivities (not celiacs!), regular sugar easily replaced with coconut sugar (and the recipe calls for alot), and coconut oil for regular vegetable oil. We doubled the batch of cake batter to make a set of 18 cupcakes, which worked out great, and didn’t need to double the frosting (or filling) quantities—apparently original recipe makes alot of frosting!
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups coconut sugar
- 1 1/4 cups coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour (Einkorn is a wonderful consistency, but without the strong effects on our bodies that most gluten flours have…try it!)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pound peeled, shredded carrot (I got bags already shredded, and we ran them through a blender to make them even finer).
- 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely (can also buy these already chopped, shortcuts for busy people, zero guilt).
Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely
- 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 flour
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoon sized pieces
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature and cut into tablespoon sized pieces
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans.
- For cupcakes, if you cook those first, oven will be at 400, baked for 10-15 min.
- Toast the pecans (make your life easier and toast the cake and filling pecans all at once!): spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast 8-10 minutes or until fragrant and toasty. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt and whisk well to combine.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the whipping attachment, whip together eggs and sugar on medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn speed to low and slowly drizzle in the oil in a thin stream – this actually takes a while, about a full minute or a little more – until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and stir just until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in dry ingredients until almost fully combined with only a few streaks of flour. Add carrots and pecans and gently fold in until evenly distributed.
- Divide batter evenly between the three pans. Bake for 25 minutes for 9 in pans – or until the top springs back when pressed lightly or a tester comes out clean.
- Let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.
Filling
- If you haven’t already, toast the pecans (step 2 above); let cool and chop coarsely.
- Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk well. Gradually whisk in the heavy cream until incorporated. Stir in the butter and set over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil.
- Turn heat to low and let mixture simmer for 5 – 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly combined and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans. Set aside and let cool completely.
Frosting
- Combine flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt and whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in milk, being careful to combine thoroughly with no lumps. Set over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for about 5-6 minutes, still stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and harder to whisk. Remove from heat and transfer to a clean bowl to let cool completely.
- When mixture is *completely* cool, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whip attachment. Add vanilla and mix on low just briefly until combined. Add butter one piece at a time, allowing each to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Do the same with the cream cheese. Once all the butter and cream cheese has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Let stand for an hour to firm up (I wasn’t this patient, but it still turned out OK).
- Place one layer of cake on a platter. Spread enough of the filling to generously coat. Add the second layer, repeat with the filling. Top with the final cake layer.
- Frost top and sides with frosting.
- Top with toasted coconut, candied pecans, a sprinkle of cinnamon, blue sprinkles for a little boy’s birthday, or anything else that sounds good! Keep in fridge if you’re in a warm climate and take out an hour or so before serving.
*Note the baking times may vary according to your oven…
Here’s a few more pics of our October 28th birthday brunch. These 2 years have absolutely flown by, and this guy is such a staple part of our family dynamics that it’s almost impossible to remember life before his joyful, funny, cuddly, exploratory presence in it. This time around it was fun to see how much the girls could do to help with not only the cupcakes and food prep, but also making signs for him, and helping me pick out the decor, hang streamers, etc. Emma is such a party planner, my dad commented she may have a future in it, after she designed and orchestrated an elaborate “trampoline show” that same day:) Something about being the eldest, and she totally dotes on her little brother.
Grateful to my parents for hosting us, and that everyone came together to celebrate Ambrose, and to make sure the puppies could be included, tiny party hats and all!
What a memorable birthday for all of us, and hopefully Ambrose the dog lover will remember his “puppy party” when we talk about it with him.