Next up in our baking kits series, we introduce to you the classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
The Inspiration
We wanted to create a recipe that provides the excitement and joy of handling an ingredient which deviates from the usual baking formula (Flour, eggs and sugar). Carrots was a clear winner. First off, its healthy, common knowledge that does not require a dietitian or doctor to inform. Your parents told you so, and you’ll probably be telling your kids the same thing too. But it’s not only the health that got us, just the pure joy of peeling and shredding the carrots gives that lively touch to baking. It’s always exciting to see different vibrant colours combine into one delicious batter.
The Invention
We won’t pretend like we invented this classic recipe from scratch although we did tweak and innovate. The classic recipe involves shredded carrots, vegetable oil and ground cinnamon for flavour. The Cream Cheese Frosting is where the innovation occurred. This recipe spurred us to invent and produce our very own Batterful Cream Cheese Frosting which we are extremely proud of. We decided that we absolutely wanted our frosting to be 100% made up of real ingredients. Definitely not watered down cream or cream filled with preservatives: If we were going to do it, it would have to be fresh, rich and delicious.
The Experimentation
We sat down with chef Matthew from OnlyKai. He specializes in cupcakes and he was our top choice when it comes to making cream frosting. Icing sugar is key to the sweetness of the cream and also the factor that is most subjective based on the varying taste buds. We didn’t want our frosting to be too sweet but at the same time the right level of sweetness would compliment well with the slightly spicy after taste of the carrot cake. When it came to applying the cream onto the cake we failed to let the cake cool to room temperature and the cream melted slightly when applied. This was all solved after leaving the cake to refrigerate for a couple of hours. The result was an amazing, classic cake. This is why we tell all our followers to chill their cakes for at least an hour before applying frosting so that it is easier to manage
Our Thoughts
The end result was satisfying to say the least. The shredded carrots gives the whole cake a slightly crunchy texture which is different from what we’re normally used to. It’s also a good way to ingest some of those healthy greens especially for kids who go “yuck” when it comes to eating the vegetables since its taste in this recipe is subtle (Although we actually used 2 whole carrots). Great recipe that all bakers should know.
If you have any thoughts or would like to contribute stories to your own bakes, feel free to write in to us at enquiry@batterful.com.
