This is a favourite cake of ours. Carrot cake simply tastes amazing! And it is also very healthy with no butter or margarine. So go ahead try making one! If you follow this recipe exactly, the cake is likely to be very dense, with a kueh-like consistency.
Make 1 10″ tube or Bundt cake (16 servings)
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ vegetable oil (corn or canola)
- 1 tbsp finely-grated orange zest (optional)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled, grated carrots
- 1 10″ tube or Bundt pan, sprayed with vegetable cooking spray or thinly coated with oil/butter
- Reduced-fat cream cheese (optional)
- Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
- Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together thoroughly. Sift once.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and egg whites to break them up. Whisk in the granulated and brown sugar. Then whisk in the applesauce and oil, followed by orange zest and vanilla. Make sure that the applesauce is sufficiently cooled before adding to the eggs to avoid heat denaturation at this stage.
- Fold in the carrots using large rubber or wooden spatula.
- Fold in the flour mixture. Don’t overmix!
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake the cake for about an hour, or until it is well risen and firm, and a toothpick inserted halfway at the centre of the pan comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold it to a rack to cool completely.
- Optionally, spread a slice with cream cheese. For less healthy choice, slather the entire cake with cream cheese.
For advance preparation, double-wrap the cake in plastic and freeze for up to a month. Bring to room temperature before serving.
We have no idea what is a Bundt pan too. We used a disposable aluminium tray and it works too!
To make the apple sauce, cut two large apples into small pieces and place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. If the apples get very dry before that, add some water. Use a potato masher or fork to break any large pieces.
Baking powder is DIFFERENT from baking soda. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, baking powder is sodium bicarbonate with a leavening acid and a filler (usually starch). An interesting experiment would be to try different proportions of the baking soda and baking powder. Do drop us a message if you get any interesting results!
Acknowledgment: This is a slightly simplified recipe from Perfect Light Desserts (Nick Malgieri & David Joachim).
cream cheese??!! go all the way! mix cream cheese with icing sugar
[...] 50g of finely grated carrots (about 10cm of a medium carrot) — carrots inspired by Chris & Ying’s delicious looking carrot cake! [...]