Easy Carrot Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to use oil or butter in carrot cake? ›

Vegetable oil produces a more moist, tender cake than butter. Yes, butter generally tastes better, but it makes the cake come out a little firmer than I like. Don't worry—there's plenty of butter in the frosting to make up for it. Should carrot cake have raisins?

Carrots: My #1 tip for carrot cakes is to grate whole carrots at home. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry. Oil: If using melted coconut oil, make sure all of the other cake batter ingredients (carrots included) are room temperature.

Think thin

It's true that carrots are the star of the show, but aim for finely grated pieces rather than chunky. The finer you grate the carrots, the more evenly they will be distributed throughout the cake (for the perfect texture), and the more evenly the cake and the carrots will bake.

If your carrots turn inexplicably green with a recipe you've used many times before, the likely culprit is that the baking soda didn't get fully dispersed throughout the batter. If your carrots are turning green every time you make the recipe, the ratio of baking soda in the recipe is probably off.

Baking a cake in a too-hot oven for the recommended time will dry it out. And baking a cake in a not-hot-enough oven will dry the crust before the center is fully baked.

Carrot cake is oil-based, rather than butter-based. This keeps it moist and helps it last for days. Unfortunately, it also means you lose the leavening power that creaming butter and sugar would bring. (Creaming, or beating together the two ingredients on high speed, aerates the butter.)

Ingredient: Grated carrots - 3 cups (2 large carrots)

Our answer

The green flecks are carrot but the colour has been changed by the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the mixture. Some pigments are sensitive to pH balances and will change colour if they are in a very acid or very alkaline environment.

"Prepare, bake, and cool the cake completely. Then, wrap each cake layer in cling film, nice and tight, and place in the fridge for at least two hours," he says. That's right, you won't be frosting your cake at room temperature; a chilled cake is essential before applying any frosting. "This step is the most important.

Even when the cake is baked, bacteria can still grow, so everything still needs to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage and foodborne illness. Carrot cake and frosting are also easier to tame when they're cold, so unless it's time to serve up some slices, keep your cake in the fridge.

Why is my carrot cake not cooked in the middle? ›

The most common reasons a cake sinks in the middle include the following: The pan is too small. There's too much liquid. Opening the oven or moving pans during baking.

always go for fresh carrots. and you'll want to trim off the stems and then peel them using a vegetable peeler. then using the fine shred side of your box grader. scrape the carrot down the box grader. to get nice fine moist little shavings that are perfect for baking.

Carrots should be finely shredded for baking carrot cake. They should appear as small, thin, short strands of carrot. Large shreds of carrot will add noticeable bits of firm carrot within the cake. Finely grated or zested carrot will disappear into the cake.

Butter substitute for baking

Most cake mixes call for oil, but butter will bring in amazing flavor. To substitute butter for oil in baking just melt the butter, measure it, let it cool, and add it as you would the oil. Compared to oil, butter will create a cake with a firmer, cakeier texture.

Replacing Butter with Oil

Depending on the type of oil, it can add complex flavor and welcome moisture to your baked goods. A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.)

Where butter is sweet, milky, and often in the background of a cake's flavor, olive oil is earthy, grassy, and bold. An olive oil cake will always have a savory edge, sometimes even a backnote of bitterness, that a butter cake will lack.

Not using enough baking soda

You're aiming for that light, airy texture in your carrot cake, and then it turns out dense. What's the culprit? Well, it could be too little baking soda. It might seem like a simple ingredient, but baking soda provides a lot of the lift and fluffiness in your cake.