Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting...is there a better dessert topping?!?! Okay, maybe chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache or fresh whipped cream. I guess cream cheese frosting doesn't stand alone but it's up there as one of the most decadant and delicious dessert toppings. And what better to spread it on than a fresh carrot cake? I'm not a super frequent baker as there are only 2 of us and we can't (and shouldn't) put down a whole cake so I saved this recipe for a lovely Easter dinner. It was from one of my favorite spots - the crew over at America's Test Kitchen - and so worth the wait!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Serves 10-12

Have it:

Carrot Cake:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (nutmeg grinders are pretty common to find and great to have around)

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 lb. carrots (6-7 med.), peeled
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 c. safflower, canola, or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese softened but still cool

5 tbl. unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 tbl. sour cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. confectioners sugar

(This ingredient list is if you make the cake as directed in the original recipe and put in a 13" x 9" baking pan. However I wanted a pretty cake so I went with 2 8" x 1.5" round cake pans. You won't need any more cake batter but I did another half recipe of the frosting to get it in between the layers and then around the cake.)

Do it:
For the cake:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 350 degrees. For a pretty cake like mine, spray 2 8" x 1.5" inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. The original recipe calls for then using parchment paper and spraying that but I did not use it and had no problems.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. In a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred the carrots (you should end up with about 3 cups);

add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside. Wipe out the food processor and fit with the metal blade. Process both sugars with the eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until the mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking time. Be careful with the smaller pans. I checked at 25 minutes and they were done around 30 but every oven is different. Cool the cakes to room termperature in the pans on a wire rack, about 2 hours.

For the frosting:

4. When the cake is cool, process the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in a clean food processor until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down the workbowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the confectioners sugarand process until smooth about 10 seconds.

5. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pans. Invert the cake onto a wire rack and use the paring knife to gently even the tops of each cake to make them level.

Eat the uneven parts as they are delicious. Place a cake on a serving platter and use parchment paper to tuck under the edge of the cake so as not to get frosting all over the serving platter. You'll remove once the cake is frosted and it will look so pretty!

6. Using a spatula, spread frosting on the top of the bottom cake and carefully place the second cake on top.

Use the spatula to frost the now layered cake. Spraying the spatula with a little nonstick cooking spray will help smooth the frosting and keep from glopping on your spatula.

Serve. Devour. Enjoy.

Some additional notations. America's Test Kitchen rocks. Not only does every recipe taste amazing but most of their cookbooks have an intro to every recipe explaining the trial and error process and how this recipe came to be. I love it! The second notation would be that food processors are a must in the kitchen. There isn't much they can't do and with this recipe they shred the carrots in a matter of minutes. Last but not least, if you are like me and without a proper cake platter, don't worry. Use a wide dinner plate and an inverted bowl, voila! Instant cake platter. Now stop reading and start baking.

Source: The New Best Recipe cookbook by the fabulous folks at America's Test Kitchen and the editors of Cook's Illustrated