Well, it has certainly been a while since I posted a recipe. I originally intended to post about this carrot cake a couple of weeks ago. The best laid plans…
At least it gave me time to think a bit more about this recipe and to make it again. It is a tough job to eat two delicious carrot cakes in the span of as many weeks but I am making the sacrifice.
Actually, I really want to speak a bit about where I found the original recipe. You see, a little over a year ago, my husband and I were married. We moved across the country a month later with all of our belongings in boxes and shoved in every available space in our car. All of the lovely wedding gifts we received were also stashed in that mess. Most of them I found and used but a few of the have reemerged from unknown hiding places (most likely some boxes I was too busy to unpack straight away). And one or two did not surface again until half a year later when we came back to Minneapolis. Alice’s Cook Book (given to me by a talented, wonderful baker and friend) by chef Alice Hart was lost in a random box for nearly a year. I am so glad I found it again.
The book is not organized by recipe type. Instead, Hart favors menus based on the season and sometimes events (parties, picnic, etc) although each recipe can easily stand alone. She uses interesting flavor combinations (I made the butternut squash and sage strata last week and it was excellent) and, as Hart states in her introduction, balances rich and light so that the recipes and menus provide contrast.
I was immediately drawn to her carrot cake recipe because, well, I really do not like cream cheese frosting. This version just sounded so grown up! And then I realized I was being kind of silly because no one has to eat carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (or any frosting for that matter). It also has a lot of ginger (love!), has a delicious filling that includes mascarpone (double love!) and a caramel glaze (you get the point).
I took a few liberties with the original and adapted it a bit more for my tastes. I am not a fan of preserved ginger in syrup (or candied for that matter) which Hart calls for, so I replaced it with some fresh ginger. I also upped the amount of ground ginger and added some nutmeg and cloves for a more diverse spice experience. If you are not a fan of spice cakes or ginger, this recipe is probably not for you as both versions call on the almighty powers of ginger. I also adjusted the filling slightly but the glaze I left untouched. It’s too good to play around with.
Alice’s Cook Book, is definitely worth a read and, if you are able, some kitchen time. The recipes are inventive and the photography is amazing. I plan on making more from this in the future. I love that I have cooked and baked from this book and both recipes have yielded fantastic results.
Carrot Cake
Adapted from Alice’s Cook Book
Cake:
1 ½ all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup canola or light olive oil (I was a dummy and bought extra virgin instead—it worked but was not the best choice).
4 large eggs
2 ½ cups carrots
1 cup walnuts (you can chop these but I leave mine whole)
1-2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated (this is optional)
>Preheat oven to 350 ° F and line the bottom and sides of two 9 or 10-inch round cake pans (use what you have).
>Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and dry spices into a bowl.
>In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, oil and eggs until combined. Stir in nuts, carrots and fresh ginger (if using).
>Divide between the pans and bake about 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then unmold onto a wire rack.
Filling:
1 cup mascarpone
1-2 tablespoons sugar
>Briefly beat the mascarpone and sugar together. Be careful not to overbeat. I did the first time I made this. It looked terrible and the texture was grainy and watery. Don’t walk away from your mixer!
>Once cake has fully cooled, set one cake layer on a plate or cake platter and spread with filling, set other layer on top.
Glaze:
½ cup and 2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup mascarpone
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
finely chopped walnuts
>Put sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and heat until dissolved (you can stir a bit if need be).
>Bring the syrup up to a boil and heat until the mixture is a deep caramel color.
>Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons water. Whisk in mascarpone, cinnamon and lemon. Whisk until smooth (and, just like with any caramel making, everything will sputter at this stage which is totally normal).
>Let it cool a bit and then pour it all over the cake. Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top for garnish. Enjoy!
