Today I want to share my new favorite carrot cake recipe with you. I cannot tell you how much I like this carrot cake. I have to restrain myself not to make this carrot cake too often, otherwise I end up eating this indulgent cake every day which I did a few weeks ago.
I used to make a carrot cake batter with vegetable oil but I replaced the oil with butter which gives the cake more flavor. I also used to make a cream cheese frosting but I replaced it with a mascarpone frosting which tastes heavenly. My mascarpone cream frosting is cat approved as well. My cat was quite curious while shooting the photos for this recipe. I suddenly found the cat on the table while taking the photos. It took me some time to convince the cat to take a seat on the chair but the cat was interested in the carrot slices on the plate that was on the edge of the table. I could not figure out why the cat was so interested in the carrot slices which were meant for decoration. It took me a few seconds until I realized that there was a little bit of mascarpone cream on one of the carrot slices and this is why the cat was interested in the carrots. For a second, I thought my cat decided to become a vegetarian.
Enjoy the second half of November and I hope you try out this delicious carrot cake recipe.
Makes 9 mini carrot cakes
CARROT CAKES
- 75 g / 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons walnuts
- 145 g / 1 1/2 cups pastry flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 115 g / 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft
- 145 g / 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg (medium sized)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
- 150 g / 2 cups carrots, finely grated
- 100 g / 6 1/2 tablespoons plain yogurt, full fat
- Preheat the oven to 150 °C / 300 ° F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Distribute the walnuts on the baking sheet and roast the walnuts for 15 minutes. Let the walnuts cool for a few minutes; chop the walnuts roughly.
- Turn the oven to 175 °C / 350 °F.
- Grease and flour a muffin tin or line the muffin tin with paper cups.
- In a small bowl, place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and walnuts and mix the ingredients well.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla sugar or extract and mix well.
- Add the grated carrots, yogurt and the flour mixture and stir until all ingredients are well combined.
- Distribute the cake batter into 9 muffin moulds.
- Bake the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes. If you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean, the cakes are done.
- Let the cakes cool completely.
FROSTING & ASSEMBLING
- 125 g / 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon mascarpone
- 125 g / 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 15 g / 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Place the mascarpone, heavy cream and powdered sugar in a bowl and whisk until thick and creamy. Be careful, not to overmix the cream, otherwise it becomes too thick.
- Place the mascarpone cream into a piping bag with a closed star piping nozzle and pipe the cream onto the middle of each little cake.
- The cakes taste the best fresh but you can also prepare the cakes a day ahead. Keep the cakes in the fridge until consumption.