Carrot Cake with Ginger Mascarpone Frosting
“Rich carrot cake filled with raisins and nuts may be old-fashioned, but that’s exactly what I like about it,” says Ina Garten, America’s beloved Barefoot Contessa. In this recipe from her cookbook Foolproof, she decided to update the cake by adding Italian mascarpone and some spicy crystallized ginger to the frosting. “What a great combination that turned out to be!” she says. Because it features carrots, this cake will be a fun dessert for an Easter dinner—both kids and adults will love it!
Ingredients:
For the carrot cake:
- 2 cups (14 oz./395 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/3 cups (11 fl. oz./340 ml) vegetable oil
- 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups (8 1/2 oz./240 g) plus 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 lb. (500 g) carrots, grated (see Note)
- 1 cup (5 1/4 oz./150 g) raisins
- 1 cup (4 oz./115 g) chopped walnuts
For the ginger mascarpone frosting:
- 12 oz. (375 g) Italian mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 4 oz. (125 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups (8 oz./230 g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tbs. heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (2 oz./60 g) minced crystallized ginger (not in syrup), plus chopped crystallized ginger for garnish
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease two 9-by-2-inch (23-by-5-cm) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease and flour the pans.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the granulated sugar, oil and eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. Stir in the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the 2 cups (8 1/2 oz./240 g) flour, the cinnamon, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture.
In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, raisins, walnuts and the 1 Tbs. flour. Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
While the cakes cool, make the frosting: In the clean bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the clean paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, cream and vanilla together for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add the crystallized ginger and salt and beat for 30 seconds more.
Place one cake, rounded side down, on a flat serving plate. Spread half the frosting on the top (not the sides). Place the second cake, rounded side up, on top of the first cake. Frost just the top of the second cake. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger and serve at room temperature. Serves 8 to 10.
Note: Grate the carrots by hand on a box grater; if you grate them in a food processor, the carrots will be too wet and the cake might fall.
Reprinted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. Copyright © 2012 by Ina Garten. Photographs copyright © 2012 by Quentin Bacon. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.
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