Batter Royale

I believe that we’ve covered my baking inadequacies before here at Fresh Parmesan. It’s not that I don’t want to improve my mediocre cake and pie skills, it’s just that, well, other people’s recipes usually turn out so much better than my own. Who has the time to bake something that might not end deliciously?

And end deliciously, this cake did. It also ended with 3 broken nails, 4 bloody knuckles and a scene that looked as though the genocide of carrot race had occurred in my kitchen. Grating carrots on the finest side of the box grater really does make a difference in the lightness of the cake, but damn if it isn’t hard labor on a Sunday evening.

Now, the guys over at Bon Appétit really know their stuff, but I don’t believe that means there isn’t room for improvement. The original recipe called for the addition of raisins and pecans to the batter itself, but I’m something of a carrot cake purist and feel as though nut embellishments are best used as a topping. Oh, and the ground ginger is also my inclusion—I love that very subtly spicy zing it gives the cake and I think you will too.

Triple-layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe courtesy of The Bon Appétit Cookbook Calendar
10 servings

Cake
2 c. sugar
1 ½ c. vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground ginger
1 lb. carrots, peeled and finely grated
1 c. pecans, finely chopped (in food processor for best results)

Frosting
4 c. powdered sugar
16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease 3, 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of wax paper and lightly grease again. Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Gradually add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Gently stir in carrots.

Pour batter into cake pans, dividing evenly. Bake until cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans, about 45 minutes. Cool pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then remove cakes from pans, return to racks and cool completely.

For the frosting, beat all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.
On a cake platter, lay 4 sheets of wax paper overlapping on all sides, leaving the center open. When cakes are cool, place the first layer on the platter and spread the top and sides with ¾ cup of the frosting. Top with another cake and repeat. Top with the final layer and make sure that all of the cake is covered completely with the frosting. Sprinkle liberally with chopped pecans. (After serving, store remaining cake under dome in the refrigerator.)