Carrot Cake (Yellow Farmhouse)

UPDATED 2020

I made this again this year (posted originally in 2009) for Tom's birthday, and unfortunately, I have to say that it is not as good as I remembered.  It is a lot of work.  So I think I'd use one of our other carrot cake recipes going forward.  But if you enjoy making a more complex cake, then you would enjoy this one:  the butter is browned before using, the carrots are sugared then drained in a colander, the nuts are toasted, and unsweetened coconut is used, not the traditional kind.

I prefer the Barefoot Contessa cream cheese frosting recipe to this one, too.  Here a link to the one I like: https://feasteveryday.blogspot.com/2019/09/cream-cheese-frosting.html

---Barbara

Yellow Farmhouse Carrot Cake
from The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook by Christopher Kimball

Makes 24 cupcakes or 2 9-inch round layer cakes or 1 9x13 oblong cake

For the cake:
5 cups coarsely grated carrots, about 6 large (1 lb.)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 8-ounce crushed pineapple, drained well
2 2/3 cups cake flour
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
2/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, optional

For the cream cheese frosting:
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 T. butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 T. sour cream

sweetened coconut (optional)

toasted chopped pecans (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the cake pans.  (Flour well, so they don't stick or use paper liners for the cupcakes.)

Grate carrots (a food processor with the grater disc makes this job easier) and toss with sugar and let them drain in a colander over a bowl while you do the rest. Drain pineapple. 

Whisk together the next 5 ingredients(cake flour through salt)in a medium bowl.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until the butter turns golden brown, about 10 minutes, and has a nutty aroma.There should be small brown flecks on the bottom of the pan. Do not let these flecks turn very dark, otherwise the cake will have a burnt, bitter flavor. As soon as I saw the brown flecks, I removed my pan from the heat. The nutty smell happened just before the brown flecks showed up.

Pour the melted butter into a large bowl and let cool for 2 minutes. Whisk in the brown sugar.

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and whisk for 10 seconds. Add the flour mixture and whisk until it is three-quarters incorporated. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the carrots, pineapple, pecans, and optional coconut until the batter is well mixed.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth top surfaces with the rubber spatula. Bake until cake feels firm in the center when pressed lightly, about 40 to 50 minutes. The mini-muffins were done in 12 minutes and the cupcakes in 22.  The oblong cake was done in 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and run an knife around the perimeter of each cake/cupcake. Invert cakes onto a plate and then put them on a cooling rack right side up. Cool completely before frosting.

To frost, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together on low speed until homogeneous, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and sour cream and beat until well blended, up to 2 minutes longer.  Garnish with pecans or  coconut, if you wish.

Love this cookbook for my homey recipes like muffins and cakes. And techniques. Found it in a used bookstore. If you run across it, buy it!

B