Last week I found a stockpile of carrots in the vegetable bin of my fridge. Before setting to work slicing and dicing, staining my cutting board, dulling my knife, and tearing up my uncalloused hands, I paused and, for once, used my brain.
Out came the shredder attachment to my food processor and in about 30 seconds, my pound of carrots had transformed into perfect little shreds. I didn’t even peel them. After a little scrub, down the chute they went. Magic.
With prep work done, I turned to a carrot cake recipe I had saved for years. It appeared in Fine Cooking magazine in 2004 in an article called “Carrot Cake, Perfected.” Why I waited five years to give the recipe a go is beyond me. It is called Ultimate Carrot Cake for a reason. I hope you love it as much as I.
How to Make the Ultimate Carrot Cake, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients:
Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl:
Whisk them together:
No need to peel the carrots, but trim the ends away.
Shred the carrots using the shredder attachment of your food processor or a box grater:
Add them to the bowl and toss to coat:
Then add the beaten eggs and oil:
Stir together until you have a smooth batter:
Transfer to a greased and parchment-lined 9×13-inch pan or two 8-inch pans:
Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean:
Let cool completely before frosting. Meanwhile, make the frosting:
First, place cold cream cheese, sugar, and a pinch of sea salt in a stand mixer.
Beat until light and creamy:
Then add the cold heavy cream and vanilla:
Beat until thick and creamy:
Once the cake is cool, you can frost it:
Here are some old photos of the cake baked in round pans:
Description
For the cake:
- Softened butter, for the pan
- 1 lb. carrots
- 2 1/4 cups (295 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ( 7 g ) salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups ( 315 g ) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g ) packed brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 1/4 cups ( 264 g ) vegetable or grapeseed oil
For the frosting:
- 8 oz ( 226 g ) cream cheese, cold
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g ) sugar
- 2/3 cup ( 140 g ) heavy cream
- pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Make the cake:
- Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch heavy-duty metal cake pan or two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a food processor, using the shredder attachment, shred the carrots.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugars. Add the grated carrots and toss to coat. Add the beaten eggs and oil, and stir with a spatula until evenly mixed.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared 9×13-inch pan or divide the batter among the two 8-inch pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 – 50 minutes for the 9×13-inch pan, about 30 minutes for the round pans. Let cool on a rack to room temperature.
- If you baked round pans, halve each one crosswise to make 4 round layers total.
- To make the frosting: Beat the cold cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream, a pinch of salt, and the vanilla. Beat again until light and fluffy.
Frost the cake:
- If using a 9×13-inch pan: Scrape the frosting onto the center of the cake. With an offset spatula, if you have one, spread the frosting evenly over the surface.
- If using round pans: Set one layer on a plate or cake platter. Top with one quarter (roughly) of the frosting, spreading to cover. Top with another layer of cake and repeat this frosting-spreading-layering process until each layer of cake has a nice layer of frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Last week I found a stockpile of carrots in the vegetable bin of my fridge. Before setting to work slicing and dicing, staining my cutting board, dulling my knife, and tearing up my uncalloused hands, I paused and, for once, used my brain.
Out came the shredder attachment to my food processor and in about 30 seconds, my pound of carrots had transformed into perfect little shreds. I didn’t even peel them. After a little scrub, down the chute they went. Magic.
With prep work done, I turned to a carrot cake recipe I had saved for years. It appeared in Fine Cooking magazine in 2004 in an article called “Carrot Cake, Perfected.” Why I waited five years to give the recipe a go is beyond me. It is called Ultimate Carrot Cake for a reason. I hope you love it as much as I.
How to Make the Ultimate Carrot Cake, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients:
Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl:
Whisk them together:
No need to peel the carrots, but trim the ends away.
Shred the carrots using the shredder attachment of your food processor or a box grater:
Add them to the bowl and toss to coat:
Then add the beaten eggs and oil:
Stir together until you have a smooth batter:
Transfer to a greased and parchment-lined 9×13-inch pan or two 8-inch pans:
Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean:
Let cool completely before frosting. Meanwhile, make the frosting:
First, place cold cream cheese, sugar, and a pinch of sea salt in a stand mixer.
Beat until light and creamy:
Then add the cold heavy cream and vanilla:
Beat until thick and creamy:
Once the cake is cool, you can frost it:
Here are some old photos of the cake baked in round pans:
Description
For the cake:
- Softened butter, for the pan
- 1 lb. carrots
- 2 1/4 cups (295 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ( 7 g ) salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups ( 315 g ) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g ) packed brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 1/4 cups ( 264 g ) vegetable or grapeseed oil
For the frosting:
- 8 oz ( 226 g ) cream cheese, cold
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g ) sugar
- 2/3 cup ( 140 g ) heavy cream
- pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Make the cake:
- Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch heavy-duty metal cake pan or two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a food processor, using the shredder attachment, shred the carrots.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugars. Add the grated carrots and toss to coat. Add the beaten eggs and oil, and stir with a spatula until evenly mixed.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared 9×13-inch pan or divide the batter among the two 8-inch pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 – 50 minutes for the 9×13-inch pan, about 30 minutes for the round pans. Let cool on a rack to room temperature.
- If you baked round pans, halve each one crosswise to make 4 round layers total.
- To make the frosting: Beat the cold cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream, a pinch of salt, and the vanilla. Beat again until light and fluffy.
Frost the cake:
- If using a 9×13-inch pan: Scrape the frosting onto the center of the cake. With an offset spatula, if you have one, spread the frosting evenly over the surface.
- If using round pans: Set one layer on a plate or cake platter. Top with one quarter (roughly) of the frosting, spreading to cover. Top with another layer of cake and repeat this frosting-spreading-layering process until each layer of cake has a nice layer of frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
For the cake:
- Softened butter, for the pan
- 1 lb. carrots
- 2 1/4 cups (295 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ( 7 g ) salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups ( 315 g ) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g ) packed brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 1/4 cups ( 264 g ) vegetable or grapeseed oil
For the frosting:
- 8 oz ( 226 g ) cream cheese, cold
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g ) sugar
- 2/3 cup ( 140 g ) heavy cream
- pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Make the cake:
- Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch heavy-duty metal cake pan or two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a food processor, using the shredder attachment, shred the carrots.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugars. Add the grated carrots and toss to coat. Add the beaten eggs and oil, and stir with a spatula until evenly mixed.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared 9×13-inch pan or divide the batter among the two 8-inch pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 – 50 minutes for the 9×13-inch pan, about 30 minutes for the round pans. Let cool on a rack to room temperature.
- If you baked round pans, halve each one crosswise to make 4 round layers total.
- To make the frosting: Beat the cold cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream, a pinch of salt, and the vanilla. Beat again until light and fluffy.
Frost the cake:
- If using a 9×13-inch pan: Scrape the frosting onto the center of the cake. With an offset spatula, if you have one, spread the frosting evenly over the surface.
- If using round pans: Set one layer on a plate or cake platter. Top with one quarter (roughly) of the frosting, spreading to cover. Top with another layer of cake and repeat this frosting-spreading-layering process until each layer of cake has a nice layer of frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2009/07/09/carrot-cake-carrot-soup-an-anniversary-dinner-at-izza/
My mother recently described a sandwich an old man prepared for her at a bed and breakfast in Barcelona: toasted bread, rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, moistened with a squeezed tomato and topped with jamón Iberico. In the mornings, the man tops this concoction with an egg fried in olive oil. Holy cow.
These pigs, the man told my mother, feast on acorns, which impart a nutty flavor into the meat while also making the fat composition of the meat high in monounsaturated fat, the good kind that, like olive oil, helps lower bad cholesterol. I believe it. When Ben and I visited Polyface Farm , Joel Salatin told us roughly the same thing. He described his pork as “olive oil pork” because his pigs’ diet consisted of acorns and other nuts from his forest.
I wasn’t able to find jamón Iberico at any shop near me, and depending where you live, you might have difficulty, too. Jamón Iberico made its first appearance in this country in December 2007, when the U.S. finally approved a producer in Spain to export the delicacy. LaTienda.com gives a more extensive history about jamón Iberico and jamón Iberico de Bellota, which is the acorn-fed variety. According to La Tienda, the black-hoofed Iberian hog is a prized animal whose lineage stretches back to Christopher Columbus who is said to have had a few of these hogs aboard the Santa María when he set out to discover the New World.
Oh how I long to get my hands on some of this ham. Prosciutto di Parma is a fine substitute but jamón Iberico sounds so exotic and divine. To my sandwich, I added a few slices of Mahón, a cow’s milk cheese produced in Menorca, an island off the eastern coast of Spain. Manchego would be nice in this sandwich as well.
Pigs at Polyface Farm:
- two slices of bread , bakery-style bread (French, Italian)
- 1 clove garlic , gently smashed and sliced in half
- 1 tomato
- extra-virgin olive oil , use a good one (Temecula Olive Oil Company Citrus Reserve)
- nice salt
- a few thin slices of jamón Iberico or prosciutto di Parma or Serrano ham
- a few thin slices of cheese , such as Mahon or Manchego or Zamorano
- Toast or grill the bread. I grilled it, but that was mostly to get the pretty grill marks for the picture. Toasting would be simpler and just as effective.
- Rub each slice of bread with the cut garlic.
- Cut the tomato in half (or cut off one-third of it). Squeeze the tomato over each slice making them nice and juicy. Drizzle each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Top with a few slices of the ham. Lay each piece down one at a time, allowing the meat to sort of form ripples so air pockets form between the layers. Top with the cheese. Close the sandwich and eat.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
