Carrot Cake
This carrot cake is super moist and delicious.
Makes one 9-inch layer of cake or about 15-18 cupcakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- Pinch of cloves
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or oil or melted unsalted butter)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2-2 cups shredded carrot (I prefer more, some people prefer less)
- Optional add-ins: chopped nuts, shredded coconut, raisins.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix oil, applesauce, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. These ingredients will not mix fully.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time and mix until fully combined.
- Add the shredded carrot and any optional add-ins and stir until evenly mixed throughout the batter.
- For cake, grease cake pan or line with parchment paper and pour in batter. For cupcakes, grease the wells of a muffin tin or add cupcake liners and fill to about 2/3 full.
- Bake about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Finishing Touches
If you are making a cake, you may wish to make two layers. If you make two layers, cut the top off of the bottom layer to make it flat, spread on a layer or cream cheese frosting, and then add the top layer of cake. I like to create two layers by making one layer of cake and cutting it in half horizontally and spreading cream cheese frosting in between. Spread cream cheese frosting over the rest of your cake and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
If you are making cupcakes, you can spread cream cheese frosting on top of your cupcakes and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon. For added decadence, you can fill your cupcakes with frosting by coring the center of your cupcakes about halfway down. Top with crumbs from this New York style crumb cake recipe from Sally’s baking addiction. (I made a quarter of her recipe and added a pinch of nutmeg and cloves for extra spice and baked in the oven at 350 F for about 5 minutes.)
