A couple months ago, at her 1920s themed cocktail party, Bottomless Pit broke out the best carrot cake I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve been craving it for months, and since it’s summer, I thought it would be a good way to sneak in more vegetables to my diet (just kidding).
When I saw the recipe, it became clear why this cake is so delicious: it contains as much sugar as it does flour, in addition to 1 ½ cups of oil…yep! It’s totally worth the calories, though. I mean, if you’re going to splurge, you may as well SPLURGE.
So, without further ado, here’s how to make some mind blowing carrot cake…
Cake Ingredients:
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
- 3 cups grated carrots (about 6 carrots)
Steps (I like to use my stand mixer, but you could easily use a hand mixer or whisk):
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the dry ingredients well.
- Add and mix the eggs and oil.
- Add the carrots and beat.
- Pour the batter into 3 greased and floured cake bans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Allow to cool on cooling rack. (If you don’t give enough time to cool, you’ll end up with some melty icing when you go to frost the cake.)
Icing Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter (softened)
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- 1 box (16 oz) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Steps:
- Cream the butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar (Don’t dump it all in at once. You’ll end up with a huge mess on your hands—I learned the hard way the first time I made icing.)
- Add and mix in vanilla.
Then assemble your cake. I suggest putting the first layer directly onto your cake carrier or plate on which it will be served, rounded side down. Then, using a rubber spatula, slather a generous amount of icing on top. Carefully align and place layer two on top, rounded side up. You may need to slice off the rounded top to make it flat (This cake cooked flat for me, so I could skip this step. However, if it does have a rounded top and you don’t flatten it out, the cake will get a big crack in it.) Generously ice the top, and then carefully align and stack layer three, rounded side up. Ice the top and sides of the cake.
You’ll likely have some extra icing. If you have the time and patience, maybe add some food coloring to it and use a piping bag to decorate your cake. Perhaps, save it and dip some Teddy Grahams in it as a snack (remember Dunkaroos?). Or, you could just throw it away…
I found some beautifully colorful trail mix in the bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods (pistachios, almonds, dried cherries and raisins). I thought this would make a lovely topping to my cake, as well as add a little crunch , and you know, make it more healthy (again, just kidding).
Voila! My masterpiece!
