Carrot Cake

It was my husband's birthday over the weekend so I always use that as an excuse to bake and though his favorite is the Pound Cake since it reminds him of the cakes his mom whipped up for him as a kid, I decided to remind him that he has other favorites which usually take a backstage - once such is the Carrot Cake. He is quite the fan and that is also the reason why these Pumpkin Rolls are such a hit at home. I spread on a rather thin layer of cream cheese frosting and it's sweet-tangy taste is a great combination for this luscious cake that is loaded with shredded carrots, raisins, sweetened coconut flakes and walnuts. I typically add some pineapple too but ran out of it this time so skipped them. I doubled the recipe below to get a 8 inch square pan full of cake but the following measurements should work great for a loaf pan. Since I doubled the recipe, instead of using half cup of oil, i used 1/4 cup oil and put the 4oz pack of pear puree (baby food actually) that thankfully was not past it's expiry date to good use and substituted that for the remaining oil - worked like a charm. You could use applesauce instead.

My decorations are primitive at best and if my daughter were a little older, I could've pretended that she did it and saved myself some embarassment but alas, you all will have to see my handiwork. It's just the same cream cheese frosting to which I added a few drops of food coloring and put it in a ziploc bag and cut the tip of the corner. In a more artistic hand, am sure it would've looked a lot better.


CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING


Ingredients: (the following measurements are for a loaf pan, double for an 8 to 9 inch pan)
All purpose flour - 2/3 cup
Baking Soda - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Cinnamon - 3/4 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup (you could use equal parts of white and brown sugar)
Oil - 1/4 cup (Canola / Vegetable oil)
Egg - 1
Buttermilk - 1/4 cup (I blended homemade yogurt with water)
Vanilla extract - 3/4 tsp
Carrots - 1 cup, shredded
Walnuts - 1/3 cup, chopped
Raisins - 1/3 cup
Sweetened Flaked Coconut - 1/4 to 1/3 cup
If using Pineapple, you could add 1/3 cup of crushed pineapple without juice.


Method:
1) Preheat oven to 350F and grease the cake pan (I used non-stick spray)
2) Sift the flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon or stir thoroughly with a wire whisk. Keep aside.
3) To a big bowl, add the sugar, egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and blend them well.
4) Add in the dry ingredients from step 2 above and beat till well mixed with the liquid above.
5) With a spatula, stir in the toppings - shredded carrots, raisins, coconut & walnuts in my case.

6) Pour this mixture into the greased pan and bake for 40 mins to an hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

I made it the previous day and refrigerated it to let the flavours develop... this gets better with each passing day.


For the Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, click here. I only used 6 oz of light cream cheese and had some leftover after frosting the 8 inch square pan which is double the above. So, if using measurements above, I would think 4oz of cream cheese will be more than enough.

Here's a snap of what I baked last year: It was a layered cake with raspberry jam filling & a chocolate ganache topping. I didn't post about it last year since we were leaving for India a few days after that so it was crazy busy.


Click here to see the Pineapple cake from his 2007 Birthday.

Comments

  1. oh..Forget the decoration..the cake looks darn yummy..The pic of that slice of cake with all that goodness inside..my..I can t stop drooling..:)..n I loved ur spiderman cake as well..(It reminded me of spidy..:D)

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  2. Awww... you bake him something every year! :)
    Please convey my birthday wishes (albeit belated) to A!
    You made good use of that pear puree. And the decorations are just fine.
    The cake from 2008 looks fantastic too.:)

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  3. Happy Bday to your husband... Cake looks great they have come out really awesome...

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  4. That slice of cake looks so delicious! I am drooling over those pics :)

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  5. Laavanya, that cake is a delight. The decoration looks perfect to me ;). Love the layered cake from last year too.

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  6. My belated wishes to him! Ha ha , once grow up, ur daught gonna read those lines, and I want to see her comments or even a post about her mom's piping skills! Looks so pretty and the orange for carrot cake is just perfect!

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  7. Happy Birthday to Arun! The cake looks moist and yummy. And last years cake...oh man, im all over that!

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  8. The cake looks awesome Laavanya...Belated bday wishes to ur hubby...u know what?as varsha said forget abt the frostg....,ur hubby likes ur cake and that is what matters...Each and every time I bake a cake,my DH has some reason to avoid it :(

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  9. Belated wishes to ur hubby! Lovely cake.

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  10. cake looks really good..i loved the last year's cake too..happy bday to your hubby

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  11. awesome awesome cake :)
    love anything with cream cheese :)

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  12. Birthday wishes to your hubby. I love carrot cake, but still havent tried my hand at it. I love the way uy cake looks laavanya, lovely color & texture

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  13. The cake looks moist and delicious. Looks home made and thats the best thing about it, the icing need not be perfect at all:)

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  14. I loved the slice of cake, so nutty textured...

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  15. yummy cake! Don't worry about your decorating skills. I have only 50% of your skills, but still do it anyway! :) Happy B'day to your hubby!

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  16. Hi,
    awe so cute...u bake cakes for him with so much of love :) it looks so well done and soft...that is the best part of any cakes forget the icing...anything is beautiful when v do with love n affection. OOOOO the last year's cake looks fantabulous :) good job girlie! and keep ur spirits high! u are really lovely, kudo's to ur modesty and efforts!B'day wishes to ur hubby. happy celebration :)
    TC

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  17. I am awed by ur baking for him every birthday! Lucky him!
    Looks soooo soft! Most important ingredient I see in the cake is ur love ;D !!

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  18. Cake looks gorgeous..lovely frosting Laavanya..My heart birthday wishes to him...

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  19. Belated wishes to ur hubby! The texture of the cake is soo tempting!!

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  20. looks perfect and yummy...love ur other cakes too

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  21. Wow.. thats yummy! Its my favourite cake! Looks gr8!

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  22. That is one yummy looking cake! I am sure your husband had a great time gobbling it up :)

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  23. Happy Birthday to him, I bet he loved his cake. I LOVE Carrot cake with cream cheese icing, looks delicious, enjoy! :)

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  24. woo looks tempting and nice presented dear..

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  25. what a lovely cake that you baked for him!!! im sure he mustve loved it! :):)

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  26. What a so beautiufl cakes for ur hubby. Send our wishes to him. Tomorrow will be my birthday. It would be great to have ur slice of cake. You can teach ur skills to ur daughter too. I know nothing and want to learn from u.

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  27. A very happy belated birthday to A!!

    Laav...you are so sweet...and the decoration sure beats mine i tell ya...All the cakes look delicious!!

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  28. HI,
    Even i would say just forget about the decoration the carrot cake looks perfectly moist..i am a big fan of carrot cake...wish i could grab it.
    Nice blog.

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  29. wow such a wonderful cake. No doubt ur hubby had a wonderful birthday.

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  30. Belated Happy B'day,Arun!
    What a cake, wish I was invited:)

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  31. wow.. cake looks cute and soft. and lots of nuts in it make it even more tasty.

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  32. My belated wishes to him Laavanya. No one can resist that piece. Viji

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  33. Great carrot cake. This used to be one that used to make quite often by with shifting homes lost my wonderful recipe. Now would make it again. Thks for sharing this recipe.

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  34. Happy bday to ur hubby..forgot to add that :)

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  35. Happy Birthday to your husband! I love carrot cake, but am not fond of cream cheese so I love to make mine with a rum sauce... Your cake recipe looks great with cinnamon, walnuts, raisins, coconut, and pineapple... YUM!

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  36. Thats really a lovely cake for your hubby with loads of your love, no matter how does it look. Last year cake looks too good.
    cheers.

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  37. We are the luckiest persons to taste this Carrot cake. Since both of our family planned to go out on that day, Arun's family came to our home and then Laavanya revealed about Arun's birthday. Yeah... I never keep track of any one's birthday except my wife. They brought this carrot cake for us. It was so yummy.

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  38. Belated wishes to your hubby!Your cake looks superb..Very Nicely decorated,Laavanya :)

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  39. Lovely Cake Laavanya! That picture shows how yummy it would be!

    And belated birthday wishes for your hubby!

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  40. this looks delicious, could you pass me a piece here :)

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  41. Thank you Varsha.. As for the spidey cake that was not the original look I had in mind but after my attempt, that's what I named it :)

    TBC, Yes.. i try. Thanks for your wishes... :)

    Thank you Ramya, Gita & Indo.

    Cham, I know... but after seeing my decorations she will agree why I
    wrote that :)

    Thank you Sala. Yes.. i dreamt of that cake before deciding to make it :)

    Ramya - thanks. Oh why does he not enjoy your cakes? Too health conscious perhaps?

    Thank you Divya, Sowmya, INdhu & Poornima.

    Deesha, thanks.. oh you must try it - very easy to make.

    Prathibha, so true - this is a loaded cake for sure.

    Uma - are you sure.. you are so creative with your recipes.

    Thank you Suparna dear for your sweet comment.

    Raks, thank you so much :)

    Priya, I do like cream cheese frosting as much as a whipped cream frosting.

    Thank you Sharmilee, Shama, Anu, A&N, Asha, Suma & Superchef.

    Rajee, thank you so much. I wish i could parcel more than a slice over
    for your birthday :) Best wishes.

    Thank you Rajitha dear.


    Sharada, thank you so much.

    Jeyashri, yes... he did have a good celebration :) Thanks.

    THank you DelhiBelle, you are always invited.

    Mahima, True.. and i'm always happy to incorporate walnuts in anyway with all their omega 3s

    Thank you Viji :)

    Vandana, yes do try this recipe and see if it fits your bill & thanks for your wishes.

    Thank you Meeso.. Really? I love the tangy taste of cream cheese. Rum sauce sounds interesting.

    Thank you Premyscakes.

    Hey Guna, what a pleasant surprise to see your comment - am so glad that you all liked it.
    We had a fun day with you all.

    Madhu & Sujatha, thank you.

    Mandira - of course.. you are welcome to more than a piece. Thanks :)

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  42. wht a way to celebrate ,.nothin better thn this,..;-)

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  43. loved the spiderman cake.......its so beautiful and stunning!!

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