Intro: Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Today I will be walking you through the process of baking and decorating a carrot cake! This recipe is really simple and creates a cake thats just the right size to enjoy for a few nights. After finding a few recipes online for baking carrot cakes I modified the ingredients a little and minimized the amount that needs to be used so that this cake wont go to waste. I reccomend warming up your cake for a few secods before eating to take you back to your childhood with a warm freshly baked dessert. I hope that you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as my family did, happy baking!

STEP 1: Prepare the Pan and the Ingredients

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2) Take out a loaf pan and spray pam along the bottom and the edges

3) Place a strip of wax paper on the bottom of the pan

4) Prepare to start mixing the dry ingredients by getting out flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon

STEP 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients Together

1) Whisk the ingredients from the previous step together until homogenous

STEP 3: Combine the Sweet Ingredients

1) Get the sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla out

2) Place all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together until homogenous

STEP 4: Prepare the Filling

1) Get a grater out and start to shred carrots until you fill up 1.5 cups or more (I used 4 carrots but the amount will vary depending on the sizes of your carrots)

2) Once your carrots are ready get a measuring cup for "1/4 cup" and scoop up some raisins

3) Place both the carrots and the raisins aside for later use

STEP 5: Create the Batter

1) Grab the bowl that holds all the sugar and place an egg into it

2) Whisk the batter together with the egg until a wet batter forms

3) Next, grab the rest of the dry ingredients and slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet batter (I did 1/4 cup of the dry ingredients at a time)

4) Fold the batter until all of the flour is just incorporated

STEP 6: Mix the Filling With the Batter

1) Place the carrots and the raisins into the newly made batter

2) Then fold the carrots and raisins into the batter until fully mixed

3) Once the batter is fully mixed, pour it into the loaf pan previously prepared

STEP 7: Bake

1) Place the cake into the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted in the middle and come out clean

NOTE: if the top of the cake cooks too fast you can add aluminum foil for the last few minutes

2) Once the cake is finished baking, allow it to rest for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan

3) Once the cake is removed from the pan, allow it to reach room temperature before icing

STEP 8: Prepare the Cake for Icing

1) Once the cake reaches room temperature, cut the edges off and then slice the cake in half(I used a slicer that is made for cutting cakes but any knife will work)

2) Once the cake is cut in the middle, place both halves facing up for the icing process

STEP 9: Make the Frosting

1) Allow the butter and cream cheese to reach room temperature

2) combine the cream cheese and butter with the paddle attachment

3) Halfway through this process, stop the mixer and scrap the ides down with a plastic spatula

4) Next, continue combining the butter and cream cheese for a minute or until there are no lumps and the mixture is creamy

5) Then, add the salt and vanilla extract and beat it with the cream cheese and butter mix until homogenous

6) Lastly, put the mixer speed on low and gradually add the powdered sugar to the mix

if you have a cover for the stand place it over while mixing with the powdered sugar for a less messy area

STEP 10: Separate Colors

1) In two bowls, place separate amounts of the newly made cream cheese frosting (one bowl should be larger than the other)

2) In the bowl with less frosting, add the green food coloring to act as the stem/leaves of a carrot

3) The other bowl should have orange food coloring mixed into it to act as the carrot

STEP 11: Icing the Middle

1) Returning back to the cake, place the cream cheese frosting on the bottom loaf

2) Once the desired amount of frosting is in the middle, place the top loaf onto the bottom one

3) Next, place the cake into the fridge so that the frosting can harden

this makes the icing process easier, compared to the top loaf sliding around

STEP 12: Crumb Coat and Set

1) Once the frosting in the middle of the cake is firm, add a messy layer of frosting over the cake to add as a base coat

2) Next, place the cake into the fridge again to allow for a harder frosting

3) Once the frosting is set, take the back edge of a knife and slide it across the cake to smooth out the frosting

4) Next, add a thicker layer of frosting over the cake

5) Lastly, place the cake into the fridge once again to let the frosting set

STEP 13: Smoothing Out the Top Coat

1) First, fill a mug up with water and warm it up

2) Grab the cake out of the fridge

3) Dip a metallic knife into the hot water and use the back end to smooth out the cake

the heat will give you smooth and neat results

4) Clean off the knife and redip it into the hot water when needed

5) Once the frosting is as smooth as you desire it to be, set the cake to the side for the next step

STEP 14: Adding Details

1) Grab a plastic bag or a pipping bag and place the desired pipping tip into the bag

If you're using a plastic bag, use scissors and make an incision on the tip so that the pipping tip is able to fit snuggly
A round pipping tip is recommended for the carrot shape and a squiggly shape is recommended for the leaves

2) Using a plastic spatula scoop the orange frosting into the pipping bag of your choice and create the carrot shape that you want (the line does not need to be perfectly straight since all carrots are unique)

3) Next, either clean your pipping bag or using another bag place the green frosting into the bag

4) Create multiple leaves facing in different directions

5) Then, grab a toothpick and trace lines along the middle of the leaves for a more realistic/detailed look

STEP 15: Cut and Enjoy!

Either store your cake for later or enjoy it as it is right now! Let me know if you have any questions and if you bake the cake tell me how it goes. Happy baking!