Ingredients: |
Ingredients: For the Cake:
1 cup walnut halves, about 4-ounces
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1¾ teaspoons baking powder
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2-ounces fresh ginger, about one 4-inch piece, peeled and grated on a medium-hole Microplane, about 1 scant tablespoon
¾ cup vegetable oil
2½ cups grated carrots, grated on the largest holes of a box grater, about 10-ounces or 4 medium carrots
2 cups chopped candied ginger, about 5-ounces
¼ cup drained, canned crushed pineapple
Non-stick cooking spray
For the Frosting:
14-ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
¾ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus ¼ cup for dusting
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or full fat sour cream
|
Directions: |
Directions:1). To make the cake, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 6-cup Bundt or 10-inch angel food cake pan generously with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside until you're ready for it. Set up a cooling rack.
2). Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until they're lightly browned and fragrant, shaking the baking sheet and rotating it from front to back halfway through the cooking time so the nuts brown evenly. Remove the walnuts from the oven and set them aside until they're cool enough to touch. Break the walnuts into pieces with your hands or coarsely chop them.
3). Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves in a mixing bowl and stir to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
4). Combine the brown sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix at medium-high speed for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has lightened in color. Reduce the speed to medium, add the vanilla and ginger, and mix to just combine. Lower the mixer speed to low. Add one-third of the dry ingredients and mix until there is no flour visible. Add one-third of the vegetable oil and mix until it is incorporated. Repeat, alternating between the dry ingredients and oil and mixing until each is incorporated before adding the other, until all the dry ingredients and oil have been added. Turn off the mixer and remove the bowl. Add the carrots, candied ginger, walnuts, and pineapple and gently fold them in with a rubber spatula to combine the ingredients.
5). Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, turning the pan halfway through the baking time so the cake browns evenly. Bake until it is golden brown and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature.
6). To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-high speed until they are combined and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula two or three times in the process. Lower the speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and mix for 3 to 4 minutes until there are no visible lumps. With the mixer running, gradually add the molasses and crème fraîche, and whip to just combine. Transfer the frosting to a medium serving bowl so that it is mounded high above the bowl.
7). To serve, if you used a Bundt pan, run a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pan to release the cake from the pan and put a large plate on top of the pan. Swiftly flip the cake and plate to invert the cake onto the plate. Transfer the cake again onto a large serving plate or cake stand. If you used an angel food cake pan, run a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pan and lift out the bottom to release the pan. Place it on a large serving plate or cake stand with the uneven side of the cake (the side that faced up during baking) facing up.
8). Pour the confectioners' sugar for dusting into a fine-mesh strainer and tap the strainer over the cake to dust the cake lightly with the sugar. Serve the cake with a cake spatula and a knife for guests to serve themselves. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: This is a great dessert to serve for a buffet or family-style meal because instead of serving a frosted cake that starts to look messy after a few people have helped themselves, the unfrosted cake stays nice and neat. You don't have to serve this dessert with forks, but you'll want to serve it with knives for people to slather the frosting on their cake slices.
|
This recipe for Carrot-Spice Cake with Molasses Cream Cheese on the Side is from