Best-Ever Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe - ZoëBakes (2024)

FAQs

Why not use butter in carrot cake? ›

Carrot cake is oil-based, rather than butter-based. This keeps it moist and helps it last for days. Unfortunately, it also means you lose the leavening power that creaming butter and sugar would bring. (Creaming, or beating together the two ingredients on high speed, aerates the butter.)

The key to a soft and fluffy carrot cake is to have the carrots bake into the crumb. If you coarsely grate the carrots, then they will not bake as quickly and will stay as threads through the cake which can get stuck in your teeth. For maximum flavor and the best texture, you'll need to grate them finely.

This is because too much batter in one cake tin may result in the weight of the batter being too much for the cake to support, causing the cake to collapse and sink in the middle as it bakes. This is especially true for cake recipes which have a more softer, delicate structure to them, which many of my cake recipes do.

Vegetable oil contributes moistness far more reliably, a result of the fact that oil remains liquid at room temperature while butter solidifies. Liquid contributes to the sensation of moistness, and therefore cakes made with oil often present as moister than their butter-based counterparts.

Why does oil give cake superior texture? Butter is 18% water, so when the batter is baked, some of its liquid evaporates. Replacing the water from the butter with oil means there's more fat left in the cakes to ensure tenderness.

Think thin

It's true that carrots are the star of the show, but aim for finely grated pieces rather than chunky. The finer you grate the carrots, the more evenly they will be distributed throughout the cake (for the perfect texture), and the more evenly the cake and the carrots will bake.

It is a carrot cake, after all. Pecans and Raisins: These add texture, but they are optional. Reading through the comment section, it is clear that some people love nuts and raisins in carrot cake, while others cannot stand them. I love them, but add what you love!

The most crucial tip? Instead of buying an entire box of cake flour, simply incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch into 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. This blocks the formation of gluten in the flour, which produces a lighter, fluffier cake.

The idea behind this test is you can insert a toothpick or paring knife into the center of the cake to see if the crumb has set. If the tester comes out clean, it's done. If it comes out gummy or with crumbs clinging to it, the cake needs more time in the oven.

Why does carrot cake have to be refrigerated? ›

Even when the cake is baked, bacteria can still grow, so everything still needs to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage and foodborne illness. Carrot cake and frosting are also easier to tame when they're cold, so unless it's time to serve up some slices, keep your cake in the fridge.

Place a box grater on a cutting board. Using a downward motion, scrape the pointed end of the carrot along the large holes of the box grater. Be careful to keep your hands and fingers out of the way! Repeat this shredding motion until you reach the last 2 inches of each carrot.

Once cool, remove from the tin and make the icing. With an electric whisk beat together butter, cinnamon and icing sugar until it comes together and is smooth. It takes a little while to come together (will look like breadcrumbs for a bit). Add the cream cheese and beat briefly until soft and smooth.

In addition to the cleanliness of an unpeeled carrot, the skins can have a bitter flavor that no amount of scrubbing can eliminate which would be offputting in a cake.

Melted butter in a batter behaves the same as any liquid fat, such as cooking oil. The texture of the baked cake will not be as fine as a cake made by creaming a solid fat with the sugar. Cakes made with oil have a coarser crumb.

The job of butter in baking (besides being delicious) is to give richness, tenderness and structure to cookies, cakes, pies and pastries. We alter the way butter works in a recipe by changing its temperature and choosing when to combine it with the other ingredients.

Replacing Butter with Oil

Depending on the type of oil, it can add complex flavor and welcome moisture to your baked goods. A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.)

However some cakes, such as Nigella's Ginger And Walnut Carrot Cake use oil, or a combination of oil and butter. Butter is only 70-80% fat and the rest is water and butter solids. Using oil in cakes reduces the amount of water in the mixture and can mean a moister cake with a tender crumb.