Layered Carrot Cake Food

THREE-LAYER CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly butter and flour the cake pans.
• Put the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cocoa in a mixing bowl, and whisk together to blend. Put the sugars in a large mixing bowl, and whisk in the peanut oil. Then whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the vanilla. When fully blended, add the flour mixture all at once, and mix just until smooth. Stir in the grated carrots and the pecans. Divide the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans. Drop each pan sharply onto the counter from a height of about 6 inches to remove any air pockets. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the center springs back gently when touched. Remove from the oven and place on cooling racks until completely cooled; then unmold.
• Place 1 of the cake layers, bottom side up, on a cake plate or pedestal. Spoon approximately 1/4 of the frosting onto the layer, and spread it over evenly. Place a second layer, bottom side down, on top of the first, and spread with an equal amount of frosting. Place the final layer, bottom side down, on top of the others and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Store in a cool but not refrigerated area until ready to serve.
• Place the butter in the mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium speed just until the butter begins to become malleable, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese, in pieces, and mix until thoroughly blended. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and mix until blended. Increase mixer speed slightly, and continue mixing for 2 to 3 minutes, until the frosting becomes light and fluffy. Remove from the mixer, and fold in the pecans.

CARROT LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in cream; add butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Cool and set aside. , In a large bowl, beat oil and sugar until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in carrots, raisins and nuts. , Pour into 3 greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, in a small bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Spread filling between layers. Frost sides and top of cake. Store in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

THREE-LAYER CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Brush three 9-inch-round cake pans with vegetable oil and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then pulse in a food processor until very finely chopped.
• Combine the pecans, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and granulated sugar in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, lemon zest, eggs and 1/2 cup marmalade. Stir in the carrots, then fold the carrot mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Divide among the prepared pans and spread evenly (it won't look like a lot of batter, but the cakes will rise in the oven). Put 2 pans on the upper oven rack and the third pan on the lower rack. Bake until the cakes bounce back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, switching the position of the pans halfway through. Transfer the pans to racks until cool enough to handle, then invert the cakes onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment.
• Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a bowl with a mixer until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt until smooth.
• Put 1 cake layer on a platter. Spread with 1 tablespoon marmalade, then spread about 3/4 cup frosting over the marmalade. Top with another cake layer, marmalade and frosting. Spread the final cake layer with a thin layer of frosting. (This is the crumb coat; it doesn't have to be perfect.) Refrigerate 1 hour, then cover with the remaining frosting. Swirl some marmalade into the top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Photograph by Con Poulos

CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
• Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes. Add vanilla, water, and carrots. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.
• Scrape batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen, and turn out cakes onto rack. Turn right side up, and let cool completely.
• Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of 2 cakes. Place one trimmed cake, cut side up, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with second trimmed cake, cut side down. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with remaining cake. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Gently press coarsely chopped pecans onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

TRIPLE-LAYER CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Lightly grease waxed paper. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and vegetable oil in bowl until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into sugar and oil mixture. Stir in carrots, chopped pecans and raisins.
• Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, about 45 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature.)
• For frosting:
• Using electric mixer, beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth and creamy.
• Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with another cake layer. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Using icing spatula, spread remaining frosting in decorative swirls over sides and top of cake. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.) Serve cake cold or at room temperature.

FANTASTIC 3-LAYER CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8" or 9" round cake pans.
• Mix flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Make a well in the center. Add sugar, oil, applesauce, egg, and vanilla. Mix until just smooth; do not overmix.
• Use a food processor or blender to puree pineapple. Stir pineapple, walnuts, and coconut into batter. Pour into pans.
• Bake 35-40 minutes. Use a toothpick to make sure the centers are cooked through.
• Cool on baking racks. The centers may sink a little.
• Once thoroughly cooled, level the cakes. You may want to freeze them for a few minutes to make icing them easier.
• Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth, and add the powdered sugar. Start with 3 1/2 c and add more if necessary.
• Place the cake layers cut side down to frost. If you have problems with the cake crumbling, put it back in the freezer until it's harder.

TRISHA YEARWOOD'S 6-LAYER CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 350°F Grease the bottom of three 9-inch, round cake pans with cooking spray, line with circles of parchment paper, and grease the paper with cooking spray.
• With an electric mixer, cream the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Add the walnuts, coconut, carrot puree and pineapple. Beat until smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350°F or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool the layers in the pans for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers out onto wire racks that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cool the layers completely before frosting. (Note: After the layers have cooled, cutting will be much easier if you wrap each cooled cake layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.).
• CREAM CHEESE FROSTING: Combine the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and continue beating until fully combined. Add the vanilla.
• Slice each cake layer horizontally in half using an electric knife. Ease a piece of parchment between the layers and lift off the top portion. Frost the bottom slice then add the next layer. Continue until the entire cake is frosted.
• Press the chopped walnuts into the sides of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

VERTICAL CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 greased 15x10x1-in. baking pans with parchment; grease paper. Set aside. Sift flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves together twice. Place pecans in a food processor; pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl; toss with carrots, fresh ginger and zest., In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until slightly thickened. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar, beating on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Fold in flour mixture, then carrot mixture., Place egg whites in another large bowl. With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold a fourth of the whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. Transfer to prepared pans, spreading evenly., Bake until golden brown and top springs back when lightly touched, 18-22 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Invert cakes onto tea towels dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off paper; trim ends. Roll up cakes in towels jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack., For the frosting, place 1 cup butter in a small heavy saucepan; melt over medium heat. Heat until golden brown, 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool until thick and creamy, but not hard, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl of stand mixer, whisk egg whites, 1 cup sugar and salt until blended. Place over simmering water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of stand mixer, beat on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 7 minutes. Using the paddle attachment, gradually beat in remaining 1/2 cup butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla and cooled browned butter until smooth; transfer to another bowl. Add cream cheese to mixer bowl, beat until smooth. Gradually add buttercream back to bowl; beat until combined., Unroll cakes; cut each into two 15x5-in. strips. Spread 1 cup frosting on each strip to within 1/2-in. of edges. Refrigerate until frosting is firm, at least 20 minutes., To assemble cake, tightly roll up 1 strip jelly-roll style, starting with a short side, lifting slightly as you roll. Carefully align seam of roll with short side of another strip. Continue to roll, jelly-roll style, adding remaining strips; seal seam. Carefully stand rolled cake on its end on a serving platter. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before slicing.