I have never heard of Carrot cake before I came to this country. In India, we gorge on our carrot halwa in winters made with pistachios and raisins. Hmm.. hot hot carrot halwa in a chilly winter afternoon and a little bit of gossipping with your friends is all that one needs to make the day perfect. Gossiping, by the way, is healthy for you.. OK..so lets not get into that..We are talking about carrot cake here.
Trying somehting new has always been my passion. But when it goes wrong, that ruins the entire day and what it does to me is another story altogether. But this one is a success story. The ultimate Carrot cake you will ever have in your life. Forget about the store brought. This is easy to make and what else, you can boast about it.. So ready..here it is..
Ingredients:
1 cup All purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
zest of an orange
pinch salt
1 1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp grated coconut
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbsp dried chopped cranberries
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup yogurt
2 eggs
Frosting:
11/2 cup powdered sugar ( I had only granulated sugar. So I powdered it in a mixer)
4 tbsp butter
Two 8 oz cream cheese
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 deg.F. Butter and flour two 8" cake pans.
In a bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, orange zest and salt. In another bowl mix grated carrot, grated coconut, walnuts, cranberries.
In another bowl, mix together the oil and sugar until sugar is well coated in oil. Add the yogurt and mix till the batter is smooth. Add the egg one at a time and mix thoroughly. Now to this add the flour mixture and combine well. Fold in the nuts and coconuts.
Transfer this to the two pans evenly. Bake for 30 min until the cakes are firm. Cool.
Now mix together the ingredients for frosting until smooth. Spread this frosting on one layer and keep in the refrigerator for 30 min for the surface to set. Take it out and spread a little more of the frosting. Top it with the second layer and spread frosting evenly onto the sides and top.
Keep it in the refrigerator overnight.
