Tuesday, April 22, 2008

TWD: Bill's Big Carrot Cake


Well, I've still got some mild sniffles and it took a few days for me to be able to use my hand again without too much pain, but I'm happy to report that I'm better now. You don't realize how much you grasp things in day to day life until you lose the ability to do so (I wasn't even able to turn a door knob or start my car engine!). So needless to say, I'm happy to be back in the kitchen and baking again :) Thank you to all who left me comments with get well wishes.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Amanda of Slow like honey: Bill's Big Carrot Cake. Who's Bill you ask? Apparently he was one of Dorie's friends. Not a baker, but a jeweler... with a recipe so good that Dorie calls it "perfect."

I was eager to try this recipe, because after deeming the Pastry Queen's carrot cake the best carrot cake ever, I wasn't sure how Dorie's (err, Bill's) recipe would compare. I have to say that the jury's still out--my husband and I can't come to an agreement. Don't get me wrong; this was a very good carrot cake. It did not last very long in our household. It was completely consumed by five people within a twenty-four hour period! (It was great for breakfast!) It had a nice, chunky texture, as all carrot cakes should, with the dried cranberries and nice big pieces of shredded carrots and coconut (I omitted the nuts). The cinnamon spice was probably one of the more prominent flavors in this cake. It was moist, but very dense. My husband said that this carrot cake was better, but I still feel that the Pastry Queen's carrot cake is the best. Her carrot cake has pineapple in it, which I really love. It's also more moist and light. I really feel that the coconut cream that is in both the cake and the frosting are what make that carrot cake special. I really enjoyed the dried cranberries in Dorie's version, however, so the next time I make a carrot cake I think will use the Pastry Queen's recipe and just add the dried cranberries to it.


I did run across a small problem with this cake. My layers sunk quite a bit in the middle. I'm not sure exactly why. Initially they were only slightly sunken, but after I opened the oven midway through baking to rotate the cake pans, they seemed to sink even more. So I had to even out my cakes with a serrated knife before assembling the whole cake. As a result, the layers wouldn't have looked as pretty if I had only frosted between the layers (as depicted in the cookbook) so I frosted the entire cake and the decorated it with toasted coconut.


Thanks Amanda, for picking this week's recipe. I've been curious to try this recipe. While it was indeed a very good carrot cake, I think I will stick to the Pastry Queen's recipe. Make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's beautiful cakes.


Bill's Big Carrot Cake
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater) (I bought a 10 oz bag of pre-shredded carrots and it was enough)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I omitted these)
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries (I used cranberries)
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth.


Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother.


Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear.


Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.


Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
(I used a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even out my cake layers before assembling the cake.)
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving: This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing: The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Yield: 10 servings

40 comments:

  1. Your cake looks great! I love the toasted coconut on the outside. Good job!

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  2. Looks wicked good to me! I loved the cranberries too. I am so going to try Pastry Queens carrot cake. My husband loves it!

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  3. I'm siding with the Pastry Queen's recipe, but your cake pics are gorgeous.

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  4. Looks great to me, sunken layers and all!

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  5. Looks delicious! I just got Dorie's book and I'm so anxious to dig right in!

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  6. Oh, it looks wonderful! I love the idea of the cranberries!

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  7. Hey there, I'm glad you enjoyed it! My cake sunk in the middle too, and I'm not sure why but it made 10 times more difficult to frost my layers.

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  8. I think your cake looks yummy! The toasted coconut really makes it look chique!

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  9. Beautiful slice picture. I love seeing all the bits and pieces. Great job!
    Clara @ I♥food4thought

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  10. Your cake looks stunning, Jaime. I have never made a carrot cake like that. And when I read "Bill's", I thought of Bill Granger. :)

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  11. The toasted coconut makes it look so fluffy, it's beautiful!

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  12. That looks fabulous! I Love the toasted coconut. I have the Pastry Queen's book but have not made her cake. I Just might have to try it out now at your suggestion!

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  13. Your cake looks luscious! I wanted to take a bite out of my laptop screen!

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  14. Your cake looks like pure awesomeness! I need to try one with cranberries. :o)

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  15. Carrot Cake, along with Lemon Drizzle, is one of my favourites. This looks beautiful.

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  16. So pretty! You can't tell the layers sunk, but, my cupcakes sunk too--more room for frosting. Thanks for the Pastry Queen recipe tip--I just love her, but never tried that cake. Next time!

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  17. I looks great! And cake for breakfast...mmmmm!

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  18. those pictures are great! I'm not talented enough to manage process pictures, but I love to see others! Your cake looks amazing!

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  19. Carrot cake is my all time favorite, even more than chocolate! Last time I had one in my house I nearly made myself ill eating so much of it...I was like a crack addict with that thing. Your pictures are giving me a wicked craving tho'! Nicely done, it really was a gorgeous cake.

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  20. Looks wonderful. I'll have to do the layers sometime...it just looks too good to skip.

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  21. I was rather curious how you might feel about the carrot cake competition. I am tempted to make the other one you posted to compare. Great job and I am so glad you are feeling better!

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  22. Glad to hear that your hand is getting better! That carrot cake looks really good. Carrot cake for breakfast sounds like a great idea!

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  23. The cake looks great! I love the toasted coconut.

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  24. I'm glad you're feeling better Jaime! That cake looks delish!

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  25. Your cake looks moist and delicious!

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  26. Your cake looks so pretty! It seems as if a lot of people have really good recipes to compare this too and it was interesting to see the results. I'll have to give the Pastry Queen's recipe a try as well.

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  27. Glad to hear your hand is getting better.

    It's hard to tell which one is better by looking at the two carrot cake options. Both look really good.

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  28. Yeah, I like pineapple in my carrot cake too. I have yet to make that one so I will have to give it a try.
    Your cake turned out lovely though.

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  29. This looks SO good...just melt in my mouth!

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  30. WOW! You should have some cake with your coconut! Seriously, that's a buttload of coconut! I love coconut so it looks great to me!

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  31. Heh... I'm glad I'm not the only one that turned to Bill's carrot cake for breakfast. :)

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  32. Have you tried using this recipe for cupcakes? I was thinking about it but wondering if there was anything to watch out for. Thanks!

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  33. I think this is about the best recipe I've seen for carrot cake and trust me - I know my carrot cake.

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  34. Your carrot looks stunning! So tasty, wish I had a nice slice with some milk!

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  35. Oh, that cake looks remarkably moist and dense!

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  36. That looks soooo good. I could use a piece of that right now.

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  37. Rebecca - several others in the TWD group made this into cupcakes, and as far as I know, there were no problems, so go for it :)

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  38. That first picture is just gorgeous! Beautiful job!

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  39. wouawww a wonderful cake!!!

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