Ann’s Spiced Carrot Cake

Chuck’s birthday was last week, and I wanted to make it special somehow.  I decided to bake a dessert from his childhood—his mother Ann’s spiced carrot cake.  While carrot cake seems like it would be difficult to put together, this one is quite simple.  Gently spiced, tender, and moist, the cake is just lovely.  With the addition of its cream cheese frosting, it becomes dreamy.

Ann’s approach to food

Over the years that I’ve known Ann, I’ve enjoyed exploring recipes with her.  We share a love of seasonal foods that are tasty yet uncomplicated to prepare.

Ann and Chuck’s father, Walter, regularly entertained in their home.  Whenever we visited, Ann would always have an array of appetizers ready for cocktail hour, and the prep work for the meal completed. She made throwing a dinner party look easy.  Ann collected favorite recipes for a family cookbook she created in the late 1980s, and self-published a book of soup and sandwich recipes a few years ago.

Ann has a knack for finding recipes that are relatively easy to put together, but very beautiful to look at, and very satisfying to eat. Her recipe for carrot cake fits those descriptions.  It is enshrined in Talk About Good!, the beloved cookbook from our hometown.

Called “a mainstay in almost every Cajun kitchen,” Talk About Good! was published by the Junior League of Lafayette, Louisiana, over 50 years ago. Ann was not a member of the Junior League, but a friend of hers was on the committee in charge of gathering recipes for the League’s cookbook project.  When this friend happened to come to Ann’s house one day and see a freshly made carrot cake on the counter, she asked Ann to submit the recipe for consideration. It’s been in the “Cakes and Trimmings” chapter since that first edition in 1967.

Friends tell us that Ann’s carrot cake has become their family favorite, requested regularly for celebrations.  Chuck’s birthday qualified as a very special occasion, so I got to baking.

Making the carrot cake

I slightly altered the method for putting the batter together. I beat the first of the wet ingredients, oil and sugar, for a while to make sure the sugar had dissolved.  Then I added eggs one at a time, blending after each to help the batter become light and airy.  Next I added vanilla extract to the mix.  As I set out to measure the dry ingredients, I decided to amp up the spices in the cake, adding ground cardamom and ginger to the original recipe’s cinnamon.  After blending in the dry ingredients, I added the grated carrots and mixed the batter well for the whole two minutes that the original recipe specified.

Instead of trusting my instincts, I used a kitchen scale to make sure the batter was evenly divided among 3 cake pans. Now the three layers were ready to go into the oven.

Scents of spicy goodness filled our house as the cake layers baked and then cooled.

Once the layers had cooled completely, I made the simple frosting.  Room temperature cream cheese and butter whipped up to a fluffy consistency after a few minutes.

Instead of the whole pound of confectioners sugar that original recipe called for, I used just 1  1/3 cups.  Once the powdered sugar was incorporated and the frosting was light and fluffy, I divided it into thirds and began to assemble the cake.

I like the way that Ann’s recipe calls for the cream cheese frosting to be a filling between the cake layers and a covering on top, but not on the sides.  It makes a simple, rustic presentation.

When we served the cake, we found each slice enhanced with warm spices, each bite moist and flavorful.  The frosting had just the right level of sweetness.  We toasted Chuck’s birthday and toasted Ann, too.

Ann’s Spiced Carrot Cake

Dawn Dobie

A family favorite updated just a bit

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Cooling time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups neutral vegetable oil such as canola
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated carrots

For the frosting

• 8 ounce package of Philadelphia cream cheese room temperature
• 4 ounces unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar sifted

For carrot decorations

• 1 carrot
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• fennel fronds or rosemary leaves

Instructions

 

For the cake

• Prepare 3 9-inch cake pans. Butter sides and bottom of each pan. Line bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Use a mixer to blend the oil and sugar, beating the mixture for about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat 2 minutes. Add vanilla and blend in.
• Dividing flour mixture into thirds, add to wet ingredients, blending well after each addition.
• Add grated carrots and beat 2 minutes.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
• Allow baked cakes to cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes.
• Run a knife around the edge of each cake, transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

For the frosting

• Blend the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with hand or stand mixer until smooth and light, about 5 minutes.
• Add in vanilla extract and blend in.
• Slowly add in confectioners sugar, mixing about 2 – 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Place one cake layer on serving plate and spread 1/3 of frosting on top of cake. Place second layer on top of frosting and spread another 1/3 of frosting on top of it. Place final layer on top and spread remaining frosting on top. Do not frost the sides of the cake.

For carrot decorations (optional)

• Peel a carrot. Trim the top and bottom to make straight edges. Cut a couple of thin planks of carrot lengthwise from the middle of the carrot, about 1/16-inch thick.
• Placing knife at an angle at one side of the carrot plank, trim the carrot into a triangle shape. Continue to create 12 or more triangle shaped carrot chips
• Combine the water and sugar in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat.  Add carrot chips and cook for 1 minute., stirring now and then.  Add baking soda and cook another two minutes, continuing to stir.  Transfer carrot pieces to a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper and allow to drain and cool, flipping once.
• Place carrots around outer edge of top of cake (I used tweezers).  Place pieces of fennel fronds atop carrots to mimic greens.

Notes

Adapted from “Spicy Carrot Cake I” submitted by Mrs. Nic. Broussard, Mrs. Walter Dobie, and Mrs. C. Thad Montgomery, Sr. in Talk About Good!

Ann’s recipe gives the option of adding 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans to the icing.

Carrot chips adapted from Nancy Birtwhistle 

The cake can sit at room temperature for a day. Beyond that cover and refrigerate it, placing wax paper against cut sides.