Carrot Cake, Joy of Cooking

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The carrots.  Sweet lord, the carrots.  

(for the record, this is like 1/20 of the number of carrots I have!)


The CSA box is overflowing with carrots, and I love me a good project.  So I am embarking on a carrot cake challenge:  I have four cookbooks with carrot cake recipes, and I am endeavoring to find the best one.



Cookbook #1:  Joy of Cooking.  If you're going to bake, always go back to the basics, right?  And you cannot get more basic than Irma Rombauer.  



This carrot cake is a snap to make, and it comes out just fine in the cupcake paper cups, which is of course tricky.  I passed these around at bookclub last week, and by and large the agreement was that they are more of a spice cake than a carrot cake.  They were a little oily that first night, but they were actually quite good the next day (and the next)--the oil helped them stay moist.  So if you're looking for a long-lasting spice cake with some carrots and raisins, this one is it.  However, if you're looking for a bold carrot taste, this is not quite the one for you.




One Year Ago: German Apple Pancake

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Carrot Cake
Adapted from  Joy of Cooking

Yield:
Serves 12

Ingredients:  
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups peeled and finely grated carrot 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 freshly grated or ground teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt     
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped 

Instructions:
1. Have all ingredients at room temperature, 65F to 70F.   

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3. Grease and flour two 9×2-inch round pans or two 8×8-inch pans or one 13×9-inch pan, or line the bottom with wax paper.  Or, I used cupcake paper cups.

4. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, all-spice, and salt.

5. Add the vegetable oil and eggs, and stir together well with a rubber spatula or beat on low speed.
 
6. Stir in the carrots, walnuts, raisins.
 
7. Scrape the batter into the pans or cups and spread evenly.
 
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes (pans), 20 to 25 minutes (cups).

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