Carrot Cake with Chocolate filling and Cheesecream frosting

 

 

 

 



My hubby loves carrot cake. I remember he would always buy a bar of carrot cake from publix and eat it all. I remember once I tried to bake a carrot cake but the cake turned out like a pudding. Very moist, had way too much cinnamon and oil and worst part is after eating it hubby dear fell sick. The recipe I followed off the internet claimed that it was the best carrot cake recipe ever and I realised it wasn't my favourite. After that I never tried to bake a carrot cake and continued making other kinds of cakes. Yesterday, somehow I had a bunch of carrots left in the refrigerator and decided to give one more try. The cake turned out super light, moist and very tasty. It was a great hit among my neighbours too. This is now my favourite carrot cake recipe and I know it will never fail. I made a few changes to the recipe I had followed earlier and the cake turned out perfect. Also, I used light brown sugar instead of white and that gave the cake a lot more depth and flavor. I used chocolate filling and cheesecream frosting. If you want you can just use cheesecream filling and frosting and omit the chocolate filling. Here is the recipe.

 

Ingredients:-

4 eggs- (at room temperature)

1 1/4 cups- vegetable oil (I used canola)

2 cups- brown sugar

2 tsps- vanilla extract

2 cups- allpurpose flour

2 tsps- baking soda

2 tsps- baking powder

1/2 tsps- salt

1 tsps- ground cinnamon

1/2 tsps-ground nutmeg

 3cups- grated carrots

1 cup- chopped walnuts

1 cup-coconut flakes (unsweetened)

1/2 cup -raisins

 

For the Cheesecream frosting:-

1/2 cup- butter, softened

8 ounces- cream cheese, softened

4 cups- confectioners' sugar

11/2 teaspoon- vanilla extract

 

For the chocolate filling:-

3 cups-water

21/2 cup-sugar

1 tblsp- maple syrup

1 1/2 cups-unsweetened natural cocoa powder

2/3 cup-cornstarch

6 tblsp-unsalted butter cut in small cubes

1/2 tsp-pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9x13 inch pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, brown sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
4. Stir in carrots. Fold in walnuts, raisins and coconut flakes. Pour into prepared pans.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Let the cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Cheese cream frosting:-

1. In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. 

For the chocolate filling:-

1. In a big pan combine 2 1/2 cups of water with sugar, maple syrup and cocoa powder and bring it to boil on a medium heat. In another bowl combine cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. Whisk this into the cocoa mixture stirring constantly until the mixture is very thick. 
2. Take off the heat and add the butter, vanilla extract and salt.
3. Transfer the mix in a bowl, cover it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm for about 45 mins 

Set one cake on a cake plate and spread with 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate filling. Top with the second cake and cover with the cheesecream frosting. Spread the cheesecream frosting all over the cake top and sides.


Tips/notes:-If there is any leftover chocolate filling store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It can be used again as a filling and frosting for any chocolate cake.