Carrot Cake – a Sweet Way to Use the Carrot Harvest

What do you do with a bumper crop of garden-fresh carrots? While most of mine ended up in the freezer or stirred into a comforting carrot ginger soup, I couldn’t resist the urge to bake. After all, carrot cake is a timeless classic—and with so many variations out there, it can be hard to know where to begin. For me, the journey started with my trusty favorite, The Perfect Cake cookbook—but true to form, I couldn’t help putting my own spin on it.

Carrot Cake

Serves 15

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dried cranberries

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 pound carrots, peeled and grated

Orange Cream Glaze

1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease and flour a 9 x 13″ pan

In a medium bowl, whisk flour cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dried cranberries and mix in to flour.

To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugars and oil. Whisk until well combined. Add the flour mixture and and gently stir until just mixed. Add the carrots and mix until just combined.

Add the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread with a spatula until even. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack

Make the glaze: Whip together the orange juice and heavy cream until thickened. Stir in the confectioner’s sugar until combined.

Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake.

How Was the Carrot Cake?

It was delicious; moist, rich and full of delicious spicy flavor. The orange cream glaze added just the right bit of sweetness to balance the cake. I will not mention how many pieces I might have taste tested.

It makes a really lovely snack cake.