Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1-1/4 cups canola or other vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups peeled and grated carrots (about 5 to 8 medium carrots)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup raisins
Creamy Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (let soften at room temperature for 30 minutes)
- 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then grease the pan sides and the top of the paper. Or, grease and lightly dust the bottom and sides of both pans with flour.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In another bowl, whisk together oil, sugars, and vanilla.
- Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each one.
- Using a large rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, gently stirring until the batter is smooth.
- Stir in carrots, nuts, and raisins.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake until the tops of the cake layers are springy and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
- Cool cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, and then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely. If you find a layer is sticking to the pan, turn the cake pan upside down onto a rack and allow gravity to do its thing.
- Make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Beat in sugar 1/4 cup at a time until fluffy.
- Pour in whipping cream. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until frosting resembles whipped cream. Chill, covered, until ready to frost.
- When the cake layers are cool, frost the top of one layer, and place the second layer on top. Add frosting to the top and sides of the carrot cake, and use a butter knife or small spatula to swirl the frosting around. Finish with a handful of nuts on top. Refrigerate the cake until you’re ready to consume it.
Try baking a purple carrots recipe to tap into purple carrots nutrition to benefit from it’s natural anti-inflammatory antioxidants that blue, purple, and red hues have to offer.
Purple Carrots Nutrition
Purple and orange carrots have slight nutritional differences: Purple carrots contain additional anthocyanins, which are anti-inflammatory antioxidants responsible for the blue, purple, and red hues of fruits and vegetables. Orange carrots instead take their color from beta carotene, a different antioxidant that’s converted to vitamin A in the body. All carrots, no matter their color, are a good source of fiber, potassium, manganese, and vitamins.
While you can use purple carrots in the same recipes in which you’d use orange carrots, you’ll have to make some adjustments. Purple carrots tend to have a more peppery taste and sometimes don’t taste as sweet as orange varieties. If you’re making a sweet baked good, you may have to adjust the sugar to compensate. The texture of a purple carrot can also be woodier, so purple carrots may require additional cooking time to soften.
All carrots are a voyage into wonder and flavor. Recently, I spoke at Meadowlark Hearth seed company about seed sovereignty, and I was able to taste a colorful assortment of carrots, from orange to purple.
I became well-acquainted with the ‘Scarlet Nantes’ carrot, which is a uniform, medium-long, bright-orange carrot that’s blunt-tipped at the root. It’s sweet and juicy and able to keep its quality through storage for a long period of time – perfect for selling at farmers markets and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs.
The ‘Cosmic Purple’ carrot has purple skin and yellow-to-orange flesh with stunning deep-purple roots – an extraordinary color combination. It has a peppery taste and is slightly tougher and less sweet than orange varieties.
The ‘Purple Dragon’ carrot has a purple-reddish exterior with an orange interior. Its lycopene content is equal to that of a tomato. Balanced, sweet, and pungent with a slight spicy flavor and excellent earthy undertones, it’s a great pick for farmers to create a buzz at the market. The carrots may lose some color if cooked or dye the dish purple.
I experimented with baking purple carrots into a carrot cake, resulting in a delicious dessert packed with the nutritional boost offered by these vibrant root vegetables.
