Carrot Cake (with Claire, Rose, and Stella)

Carrot Cake Inspired by Claire Saffitz, Rose Levy Beranbaum, and Stella Parks
00:00 Intro
03:46 Toast the Walnuts and Brown the Butter
05:56 Grate the Carrots and Ginger
07:02 Prep the Baking Sheet
07:27 Dry Ingredients
08:55 Wet Ingredients
10:29 Bake the Bake
10:56 Cream Cheese Frosting
12:45 Assembling the Cake
15:49 FAQ
Useful equipment (commission earned):
Sifter amzn.to/42s1UhP
Grater amzn.to/3SywRfJ
Serrated Bread Knife amzn.to/42CpcSg
The base technique for this cake is from Claire’s book, Dessert Person:
amzn.to/49n4ZBY
Solid Mix-ins:
==========
130g walnuts
70g golden raisins
2 tsp unbleached all-purpose flour
680g (1.5 Lb) carrots (you’ll only need 454g for the cake)
2 inches peeled ginger
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a 13x18 baking sheet with parchment. Add the walnuts. Place in the oven for 10 min. Cool completely and chop. Move to a medium bowl. Add the raisins and flour and toss well. Butter the baking sheet you used for walnuts. Top with parchment. Butter the parchment and the sides. Reserve for cake.
Peel, trim, and shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater to get 454g (you might have some carrots leftover). Grate the ginger on a microplane zester and measure out 2 tsp.
Brown Butter for Frosting:
====================
226g (2 sticks) unsalted butter
Cook the butter in a small saucepan, stirring frequently. When the butter has lots of brown specs, take off heat and pour into a heat proof bowl. Cool to room temperature. Alternatively, let butter come to room temp and skip browning.
Dry Ingredients:
============
300g unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or 1 tsp Table Salt
1 Tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom (optional)
1 tsp powdered ginger (optional)
Grating of nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp) (optional)
Sift all the dry ingredients 3 times (or sift once and then whisk for a long time to get everything evenly distributed).
Wet Ingredients:
=============
4 large eggs at room temp (200g)
2 tsp vanilla
300g granulated sugar
100g light brown sugar
20g pomegranate molasses or 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
220g neutral oil
60g sour cream or Greek yogurt
Put eggs, vanilla, both sugars, and molasses into a bowl of a mixer and beat with a whisk attachment on high for 5 minutes until very thick and pale. Slowly stream in the oil while whisking. Whisk in the sour cream. Beat until the mixture is completely emulsified (all the oil is absorbed).
Switch to a spatula. Stir in 2 tsp grated fresh ginger that you prepared earlier. Fold in the dry ingredients just until the flour streaks disappear. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Pour into the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly. Pick up the pan a few inches off the counter and drop it to release large air bubbles. Bake in the middle of the oven at 350F (180C) until the knife comes out clean, about 25 min. Put on a cooling rack and cool completely. While the cake is cooling, get the cream cheese out of the fridge to bring it to room temp for at least 1 hour.
Cream cheese frosting:
==================
454g (1 Lb) cream cheese, at room temp for 1 hour
226g granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla
Cooled browned butter (see above)
Put the cream cheese, sugar, and salt into a bowl of a mixer and beat with a paddle attachment on high speed for 1 min. Scrap down, and beat another 30 seconds or until creamy. Let sit for 15 min for the sugar to dissolve. Mash the butter with the back of a spoon until creamy. If too warm, put it in the fridge for 5 min and mash thoroughly. The butter and cream cheese should be of similar texture and temperature. Switch to a whisk mixer attachment. Whip the cream cheese on high for 1 min. Add the butter and vanilla and whip on high for 4 min, scraping down halfway through.
Cut the cake into 3 layers of the same size and ice as desired. See the video for ideas. Serve right away, or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring to room temp for at least 2 hours before serving.
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[@rumbleinthekitchen_Amy]

I love that you reduced the sugar! You once helped me reduce sugar in your pastry cream recipe and it's now my go to for so many things! People who don't usually like desserts like the stuff I make because I reduce the sugar in a many places as possible. Like you said, you can't always reduce the sugar in places like cakes but you can in the fillings & frosting. It's all about balance.

[@Jupiter0ne]

Helen, you have no idea how much the level of detail that you put into your recipes and videos is appreciated. You are a gem. I am so excited to try this recipe! I really dislike frostings made with powdered sugar...it must be the added cornstarch. And thank you for making the raisins optional. 😉

[@ptanyer]

This video was in my KZbin feed this morning and because I love carrot cake and I recognized the names of Claire and Rose I played it. 4 minutes in and I subscribed to your channel for all notifications 😊 I am 69 years old born and raised in the south. I have made a lot of carrot cake recipes over the years. When I started my home custom cake bakery 16 years ago I used a carrot cake recipe that came from Collette Peters, which was much loved and requested often. Later I found Rose’s cake book and have used her recipe as well. But your recipe is a true “best of the best” recipe. My only regret is that I have to leave out the nuts because my granddaughter is allergic to tree nuts because there is no substitute for them. I cannot wait to make this recipe. I’m going to order the pomegranate ingredient so I can make it exactly as your recipe calls for. Being able to weigh the ingredients is a true blessing as I can make a smaller cake for me and one for my granddaughter! I loved everything about your video and can’t wait to watch many more and start my newest playlist t for you and your videos. Thank you and God bless you😊

[@helenrennie]

Thank you for your kind words. One of my kids is allergic to nuts too, but pumpkin seeds work really well in this cake.

[@violetviolet888]

@ptanyer: Did you make the carrot cake?

[@shaun_the_sheip2775]

I just made Claire's carrot cake recipe yesterday! And one of your past videos inspired me to do it on a sheet pan the same way you did it in this video. What a coincidence.😅

[@helenrennie]

Great minds think alike ;)

[@paula2691]

My grandson’s favorite cake is carrot cake, so for his 24th birthday yesterday, I made your carrot cake with your frosting. OMG, I have been receiving so many raves that this is the absolutely best carrot cake they have ever had, even those who don’t like cream cheese frosting said the frosting was fantastic. Thank you so much! You helped make my grandson’s birthday extra special!

[@DianaEve65]

I made a gluten free carrot cake for Easter. I used as much of your recipe as I could. The Brown Butter Cream Cheese frosting was hands down the best cream cheese frosting I’ve ever had! Everyone who had a piece of the cake agreed.

[@MelvisVelour]

When I was growing up in the Mid-Atlantic, our much beloved (and missed) neighbor made an extraodinary Carrot Cake that no one could figure out what her secret was. Shockingly, she also used Cocoa Powder and Pomegranate Molasses which was only revealed many years later once she finally revealed "the secrets" to her much appreciative daughter-in-law.

[@MD-hd1cp]

This is many people's favorite cake. I'm enjoying my new endeavor in the kitchen. Appreciate your vlogs

[@TheSimArchitect]

God save the metric system! 🥳 I always look for your versions of whatever I am cooking first because I really like your approach (and precision). I'll love to take one of your courses if I every fly to Boston and stay there long enough. 🙂

[@kateweber4037]

Just made this, it’s perfection!

[@christianecote2860]

This recipe is amazing! Thank you Helen!

[@yosoysandoval6769]

I truly enjoyed this tutorial. I'm anxious to try this recipe. You made my mouth water! YUM!

[@MariaMavridoglou]

Was so happy to see your latest recipe posted. I was searching for a carrot cake that had more depth in flavour, as well as a technique that greatly minimises the chance of under cooking (happens to me when using a loaf tin). Will try your recipe later this week.

[@Mixxie67]

My favorite carrot cake is from a cookbook called *Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine” by sisters Norma Jean and Carole Darden. I am intrigued by the pomegranate molasses. I have some in my fridge that I made at least a year ago. I’ve used it a few times in some Middle Eastern recipes.

[@annalockwood3021]

This recipe was perfectly timed. Thank you. (Also, love finding interesting ways to help use up obscure bottles in my pantry.)

[@spqr0a1]

Made this for the first time recently, one of the tasters said it was the best carrot cake they'd ever had! All who tried it spoke well of the size and texture of the grated carrot.

[@manxology]

My favorite cake! Haven't had one in years. Oh, this looks so delicious, I must make one. Thanks! Great production!

[@tweebie]

I made this carrot cake for my Greek Easter lunch. It was a 3-tier long cake, it turned out really nice in texture and flavour. Although I had anxiety a bit after dividing the cake into 3 for stacking. It was so soft, I was afraid it would break a part when I was stacking the cake, it didn't. I substituted the cream cheese frosting for Greek yogurt and honey, strained overnight in the fridge instead. Thanks for sharing the recipes! All the details and info were very helpful.

[@helenrennie]

I love the greek yogurt and honey idea!

[@charlottekearn5185]

Thanks for your answer to the cupcake question, I am going to make these today. I know they will be delicious like all your recipes.😊

[@grogu8236]

That looks amazing! Def trying this.

[@mrchin7562]

Wow I like this video a lot. I love carrot cake, and I feel encouraged to try baking this again.

[@beethovenjunkie]

in my (German) experience, carrot cake batter is based on ground hazelnuts. You put in a little cinnamon and some chopped chocolate, as well. The frosting is just lemon juice mixed with powdered sugar. It's one of my favourite cakes! Lately, the American version has taken over bakeries here and I find it cloyingly sweet. But I trust you so much, I will certainly try your recipe because it looks delicious!

[@nursejanainholland1978]

Do the German bakers make the American version with cream cheese frosting? In The Netherlands many places serve carrot cake with a creamy white frosting but it's just not the same. I understand it can be too sweet to a German or Dutch taste. By the way, I must say loudly that German cakes are THE BEST in Europe in my humble opinion!

[@beethovenjunkie]

@@nursejanainholland1978 in my experience, if it's a "hip" bakery, they use cream cheese.

[@insertname9554]

It's 400g of sugar it's going to be extra sweet regardless.

[@beethovenjunkie]

@@hollandsemum1you can certainly get cream cheese here, even Philadelphia. I like Quark as an alternative because it's more tangy, but it's also softer.

[@rosezingleman5007]

Fascinating. Thanks Helen. I’ve sent this to my pastry chef son, but I’ll likely make it myself.

[@themodernshoe2466]

5:01, some wisdom from Alvin Zhou's 100hr brownie recipe. Instead of moving the hot browned butter to a different container, you can drop an ice cube in to cool it. Which he made a coffee ice cube for in that case. I'm not sure what kind of "flavored" ice cube would work for a brown butter carrot cake, but I'm pretty sure a plain ice cube would work fine

[@gricinda3830]

I’m excited to try this recipe in a quarter sheet pan !!

[@luanmagioli]

I dream of the day I will be in Boston to join your class!!! 🫂

[@luanmagioli]

Looking forward to make this recipe as soon as possible, hehe...

[@readyplayer2]

This looks wonderful, and I can’t wait to try it soon! I’m happy to learn about the baking sheet method, I don’t have cake pans (or insulated sleeves for them).

[@MaryanaMaskar]

It isn't a Chef John's recipe if it doesn't have cayenne in it, and it isn't Helen's recipe if it doesn't have pomegranate molasses 😀

[@Ntyler01mil]

I actually really like chilled carrot cake, stiff-icing and all.

[@notesfromleisa-land]

I make a pineapple curd filling and add coconut and nuts. Reserving part of the curd for the icing creates a wonderful tang. Keeping base layers (no nuts or raisins) not so sweet allows for nice combo of flavor and texture.

[@leslieherring381]

Carrot cake is my husband's favorite birthday cake, and he also loves ginger. I add a combination of powdered and fresh grated ginger to the cake ( to taste) and it is really delicious, it goes really well with carrot cake. (Edit: I added this comment before seeing the whole video 😅).

[@rachelblack9545]

My favorite carrot cake recipe is also a combination of other recipes. I look forward to trying this recipe out (especally the reduced sugar frosting), but with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

[@aeropb]

This looks great! I can't wait to make it for my moms birthday. She loves carrot cake and I've never made it

[@nyckolaus]

Fabulous!

[@chinoyhealingfoodstravels8888]

Greetings from Redondo Beach CA 🇺🇸. I finally found a good carrot cake recipe. I made this while I watch your video and my family loved it. Cheers 🥂

[@helenrennie]

so glad it worked well :)

[@scrane5500]

Looks great--love carrot cake! Going to try this plant-based as I have a family history of Cancer so need to avoid the estrogen and possible BLV in dairy and choline and lead in eggs. Thank you for sharing

[@GunnyArtG]

We get lots of compliments on our old family recipe but this looks way better!

[@eleanorladybradbrooke2304]

Greetings Helen, Of all the carrot cake recipes that I've seen and read, before and after yours, I will make yours. Regards, Eleanor

[@nikoharkins-hm7eh]

The sheet pan cake method makes me feel like I could make a cake with less effort. My roommates birthday is soon, so this information is invaluable. (He also loves carrot cake 🥕)

[@charlesmnadeau]

More please!

[@vanci3449]

Oh god that batter looks so good DAMN!

[@heidid2346]

I’m fairly new to your channel and am hooked. I especially appreciate your inclusion of substitutes, or things you can leave out, if you don’t like or have them on hand.

[@Erydanus]

I am almost choking with laughter because I did manage to say Pomegranate Molasses! out loud before Helen did. Also, props for a less-sweet frosting. But I do have an ingredient question though, what do you do when you sample a carrot and it's just bitter, almost soapy?? Is it a sign of a too old carrot, or a bad carrot, or something else?

[@helenrennie]

Veggies are unpredictable, but in this application you don't need particularly sweet or tasty carrots -- there is plenty of sugar.

[@VnAbreu]

Here in Brazil, our version of carrot cake is really simple and is served with chocolate frosting. The thought of that much labour for a "simple" carrot cake seems absurd. I tried the recipe, it's not a "simple" carrot cake, it's more of nuts and spices heaven. Really delicious and worth making for special occasions. All your recipes are spot on, I appreciate them greatly.

[@helenrennie]

Thanks for giving this cake a shot. It's definitely a special occasion cake :)

[@Aylover]

Yay i just recently bought rose water and pomegranate molasses!!! Cant wait to try this because ive been craving carrot cake. ❤ now here is to hoping you teach me how to use rose water 😊😅

[@donaleen]

I made this recipe. I didn't brown the butter because I don't like the taste of browned butter. I did love the granulated sugar in the frosting. And I loved how it all turned out. Thank you so much.

[@helenrennie]

So glad you liked it :)

[@tinekecarlson1220]

I love Claire's recipe. I always do it with pecans, which I prefer over walnuts. I think the browned butter is what makes the frosting. Personally, I have no problem with the amount of sugar she uses, but I think I will try reducing it.

[@Stella_V777]

Hello! I’m so glad to have found your channel. I had been looking up Claire and Stella recipes for carrot cake and other desserts and seeing this video so well explained while comparing and contrasting got me hooked, and I am subscribed. I can’t wait to search through your other videos. I wanted to ask your opinion on if you think there is a better kind of butter to buy specifically for browning. I usually buy unsalted Irish or New Zealand. But for browning perhaps it doesn’t matter as much if it’s high quality. Thank you for sharing your cooking techniques. I will be sharing your content with friends.

[@helenrennie]

Any butter works for this. Just buy unsalted. A lot of the differences in butter is how much fat vs water content it has. Most American is 80% fat / 20% water. European style is 82-84% fat. In some applications, like croissants, it makes a difference. here it doesn't.

[@VelvetCrone]

I am ALWAYS looking for more things to do with pomegranate molasses! thank you.

[@indeedgrasshopper]

This looks delicious! I have a love-hate relationship with carrot cake. I love carrot cake with cream cheese icing but I absolutely hate pineapple so I pretty much never buy it at restaurants or grocery stores. Thanks for sharing! I'll be making this soon.

[@RowlandGosling]

Love that you point out ChatGPT has its limits. Fun topic Helen! Now I'll bake it :)

[@dagnolia6004]

yum

[@zanuda5274]

I like cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, white chocolate and a bit of butter. It's not so sweet and has a nice texture. If cream cheese is 100 %, we need 65 % of chocolate and 15% of butter. I wonder if you have try smth like that. Carrots are schreded in food processor to small pieces - much easier and I like the result more.I use fresh ginger as well, cinnamon and chinese 5 spices powder it contains cinnamon. cloves, star anise, sichuan pepper, fennel seeds and sometimes ginger

[@mau5fan4lyfe]

I'm going to try this tomorrow! I don't have a half baking sheet though 😅😅😅

[@TheOriginalKallenda]

Your recipes for both the cake and the frosting look fantastic. There were so many appealing characteristics about the cake recipe that I don't even know where to start pointing them out! And I love the idea of using browned butter because I love the scent of it. However, I have been using a whipped cream cream cheese frosting of my carrot cakes lately because the frosted cake can be stored in the frige but eaten immediately upon removal since, without butter, the whipped cream cream cheese frosting stays soft in the frige, and as with your frosting, the sugar (I use granulated) content can be reduced drastically. I'm curious what your opinion is on a comparison of the two types of frosting!

[@bogmaerke]

Two sticks of butter is a weird way to use grams, Helen! 😄

[@tuhkathri9126]

You're on the front lines of the rectangular cake revolution 🙂👍🏻

[@stephano6793]

I put crushed pineapple into mine. But I consider it to be a mix-in like the raisins. The pineapple caramelizes and becomes 'chewy' like the raisins.

[@PookyMo100]

Would love to try making this, now if I only have an oven 😂

[@jwillisbarrie]

Thanks for adding actual captions for the Deaf - I like your version better than Chat-GPT

[@ksoman953]

♥♥♥. Great. Perfect. Amazing. I'd not change anything or opt out of optional and keep it where you had it. Good thing you are on the east coast. I don't know what the issue is, but the west coast has absolute crap desserts and the worst carrot cakes & cheese cakes... I don't know why I'm complaining on your channel... but putting it out there. Flame me people.

[@kilroyscarnivalfl]

Helen, I always get new ideas from you! Carrot cake is my partner’s fave but I’ve yet to make one I’m happy with. Have you seen a fellow KZbinr’s channel called Sugarologie? She reminds me of your approach and is baking focused. Her carrot cake batter has grated and mashed roasted carrots!

[@insertname9554]

I make a frosting made of cream cheese, whipping cream, powdered sugar and lemon juice for it; it balances the sweetness of the cake.

[@ladybugsarah6671]

I always prefer real butter in carrot and apple cake. Much better imo than oil. Never heard of pomegranate molasses. But I love pomegranate.

[@user-mn4yb8ve7h]

I mean, you didn't even try with that prompt, Helen! Basic prompt, basic answer. Detailed prompt, detailed answer.

[@charlottekearn5185]

If I want to make into cupcakes how long do you think they should bake? Also I'm assuming freezing without frosting is okay.

[@helenrennie]

it depends on the size of cupcakes. Check with a knife after 25 min. I haven't tried freezing, but I am pretty sure that's fine.

[@jugnoothelight8662]

wow nice recipe thanks for sharing look delicious💐💐💐💐💐💐🙂🎁👍👏😋👊😱🏆🎀

[@jonathanhaehnel5421]

I suggest orange juice instead of pomegranate one half for the dough other half for the icing

[@YahyaSiddiq]

Maybe you could also whisk in a couple of ice cubes into the browned butter to cool it down so the solids don't burn and also add back in some of the evaporated water to help dissolve the incoming sugar?

[@aneta5196]

I made a carrot cake using a method from Sugarologie, where she roasts carrots with butter and I’m never going back!

[@meb3153]

I had a whole thing going, had split a base recipe into 12 and messed with additions, baked them all in muffin cups... problem was they were all good, so no help in narrowing things down! -rum (coconut) soaked raisins -walnut or pecan oil etc

[@paraalso]

If cocoa powder makes the cake better, I wonder if a little coffee or espresso powder would be interesting to try, since they go well with cocoa.

[@helenrennie]

yes, it would be :)

[@southbug27]

“the cake’s underwear” = crumb coat 😂😂😂

[@michaellupu2080]

This amazing! The real question is, can you do it without a stand mixer? 😀 I have great whisks and a powerful arm!

[@helenrennie]

You can definitely use a hand mixer. They are pretty cheap. You can also just whisk by hand, but the texture of the cake will be denser. Cream cheese frosting by hand might be tricky, but maybe you have strong arms ;)

[@michaellupu2080]

@@helenrennie thank you for the great looking recipe and advice! Take care

[@rafaelluciano]

We need a video dedicated to pomegranate molasses on how to use it. I want to try it but I have no clue whay to do with it

[@r8chlletters]

You could have asked for the ingredients in metrics

[@adrianfletcher8963]

3:30 real ones knew what she was going to say 😅. This also highlights an important point: use whatever you have in your pantry! If you have molasses that can also work, but try a small batch and see how it tastes. I used to think "if I dont get the pomegranate moalasses like Helen, then I didn't do the recipe right." Nonsense. She uses it so much because it's useful in other things that *Helen* cooks. Figure out what cuisine you like and use the equivalent thing there. If you blindly follow all these food tubers, you'll be stuck with a bunch of useless ingredients. Hopefully this helped someone who is just starting out cooking

[@helenrennie]

Great advice :)

[@annchovy6]

I like making carrot cake with brown butter rather than oil and as a sponge cake with the eggs whipped as they are here. I don’t really like cakes made with oil except for sponge cakes, but carrot cake works especially well with brown butter. A lot of carrot cakes are too sweet. Stella Parks in particular is guilty of an absurdly sweet carrot cake. Her carrot cake was one of my worst failures because the sweetness made it inedible. Generally I’m pretty indifferent about carrot cake because they ultimately turn out the same as classically made. They’re always moist (too much honestly), sweet, and heavily spiced. The sponge cake version I make with brown butter tastes distinct. I am curious to try this out though I admit I generally don’t look toward Helen when it comes to baking because she seems to hate baking and baked goods save for a very small number of things. I don’t find most cakes dry as she has claimed is the case and I quite enjoy baking. Nor do I find oil in place of butter an upgrade as she often seems to, like in the oatmeal cookies which frankly tasted like oil and lacked the flavor of butter. Still, I have most of the ingredients for this, so I might give it a shot, though a half version as I usually go for.

[@MrWnw]

Do you think the cake and frosting would be suitable for multilayered cake? Thanks for the molasses tips. For me I love coconut inside :P PS: I would be very happy for every ingredient in grams.

[@helenrennie]

Isn't what I made a multilayered cake? If you want, you can cut it into 4 layers. Below the video is a recipe with every ingredient in grams (at least the ones that your home scale can measure accurately). once we are talking about teaspoons, it's too small for a regular scale.

[@MrWnw]

I thought more of a 2 tier cake, so that would be like 6-8. In my country the special measuring spoons are not common, so I have a microscale :)@@helenrennie

[@prawncrisp5951]

Helen, I’m not sure I’ve seen your comments looking so ill-tempered (and daft) before. Maybe I usually come to them later, once the more useful or additive comments have made their way to the top? In any case, I’m writing to say thanks, in part for this recipe, which looks quite exciting (agree the pomegranate molasses addition sounds 🤌🤌🤌), and more broadly for the approach to cooking / thinking about cooking that you share with us. I am, unfortunately, a pretty terrible cook. I’m hoping that with work I can change that, learning to enjoy cooking, and most particularly, nourishing and supportive others by making food. I really appreciate your extensive knowledge, thoughtful pragmatism, charm, good humour, and enormously effective style of instruction. Cheers ☺️

[@osoniye4209]

Oh, I was hoping you were going to make the Chat GPT cake as well and do a comparison! 😅

[@annchovy6]

I expected this cake to be excessively sweet and I was right. There’s just no need for more sugar than flour by weight in carrot cake. Equal parts is enough. I wanted to reduce the granulated sugar, but for the sake of leaving a recipe alone on the first try, I didn’t. There’s also more oil than necessary, and I never really get the use of buttermilk or sour cream or similar ingredients in carrot cakes, which aren’t suffering from dryness due to being oil-based and having quite a high amount of sugar. This cake is moist to the point of off-putting wetness, which is a problem that plagues many a carrot cake and why I have never understood anyone being concerned about a carrot cake recipe being moist- every carrot cake is moist. Cook’s Illustrated’s carrot layer cake features roughly equal parts sugar to flour (Claire btw who is cited here also doesn’t use more sugar than flour - Stella does and her carrot cake is inedible to me and one of the most disappointing cakes I’ve made), and less oil and makes a tastier cake. In the event I want a classic oil-based carrot cake I’d simply make that one. Otherwise I still prefer my brown butter or olive oil sponge carrot cake. Since this carrot cake should freeze really well due to the high sugar content and being oil-based, I’ll use it for ice cream sandwiches, which will also tame its sweetness. But truthfully the more I taste it the more I dislike the clear taste of oil and how overly moist it is, so I may just scrap it altogether.

[@gizmo7877]

Although I love carrot cake very much, I doubt if I would take all the time it needs to produce it. It’s very laborious! Isn’t there an easier, faster way to get a decent carrot cake?

[@helenrennie]

the only laborious part of this is grating carrots. I am not sure how you'll get homemade carrot cake without that :)

[@BobBuddy_]

I like your channel a lot, I learned a lot from you and also picked up a lot of ideas like "caramelized onions" or "Olivier with salmon". However, there are some things that I can't understand. I don't understand why everyone uses butter for frosting? I simply use cream cheese, whipped cream, some sugar and/or stevia, vanilla and/or cocoa powder. It tastes less greasy and less unhealthy My cakes have 1/3 the sugar and butter content as this carrot cake and they have always tasted good so far. Maybe these should be dishes that you don't eat often and therefore don't have to be healthy, but why not just make them less unhealthy and enjoy them more often?

[@helenrennie]

given how much sugar this cake has, I doubt butter is the biggest unhealthy problem. this is once a year indulgence for me. even if this was healthy, I wouldn't want to eat it regularly. i just don't love sweets. do what tastes good to you. it's like me saying "I don't understand why Claire uses so much sugar in her icing" She does that because it tastes good to her. Most people in US like things way sweeter than I do. You might like things way leaner than I do :)

[@emead528]

Humans are incredible.

[@ppw8716]

This looks delicious, but even with the adjustments like decreasing the sugar it is still A LOT of sugar. I can’t imagine how much sugar the original recipe had. I may try this, but again I’ll try decreasing the sugar in the frosting. The raisin are sweet n even carrots has some sugar. I’m usually put off many times by the quantity of sugar that many desserts contains. I know the amount of sugar more often than not is essential for the finished product, but so far I’ve been successful in the ones I’ve tried. Thank for efforts.

[@readyplayer2]

It’s cake! If you want a very low sugar dessert, have a piece of fruit with some cheese. 🍏 🧀

[@FutureCommentary1]

When I make American recipes I start with 25% less sugar. Except for King Arthur Baking recipes. But then again I mostly make their breads and biscuits, not cake.

[@helenrennie]

breads and biscuits -- you can reduce sugar all you want. cakes -- no.

[@Topol60]

Running to grocery store 🏃‍♀️ to pick up some 🥕…….

[@brianjennings7644]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ !

[@michaelvictoriareese]

If you could make a gluten-free, vegan version that was delicious, that would be true mastery.

[@kleinebre]

Here's a recipe in grams: 300g flour, 1 pound carrots, 2 sticks of butter, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt, 1 tsp Dutch cocoa powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cardamom, 1 tsp powdered ginger and a grating of nutmeg (1/4 tsp). Is it me or did someone drop the ball here?

[@readyplayer2]

A typical home kitchen scale is not going to provide consistent, accurate weights of spices and salt in sub tbsp volumes. That’s why almost all recipes use volume measurements for these ingredients. Helen could have provided grams for the butter, but is 226.8g easier to measure than simply unwrapping two sticks? I’m not sure why carrots were in pounds but perhaps because the scales at supermarkets in the US are not in metric units.

[@AuroraClair]

Anyone tried this recipe?

[@annchovy6]

Yes and I didn’t like it at all. If you click to view newest comments you can see comments from people who’ve made this cake.

[@llamallamaduck4450]

Pomegranate molases 😅

[@crdeyalsingh]

😂 I don’t know why I was surprised but it’s actually a reasonable addition

[@AmedeeBoulette]

GPT…. 3.5 or 4? World of difference…..

[@BS-j1965]

There still are people that prefer to use U.S. measurements ie: cups and spoons!!!

[@NJPoolboy]

if the accredited chefs made a carrot cake recipe with horseradish, then that would be a recommended recipe by AI chat

[@calvinsweet3400]

So glad you didn't use pineapple. I love pineapple but NOT in my carrot cake!!!

[@stevef.8708]

Baking powder and baking soda can’t be too old? Wonder why that is…

[@helenrennie]

they lose potency with time. people who don't bake often (like me) don't replace them enough. well, now I do. I get new ones each year, but when I baked with 4 year old powder and soda, things didn't work as well.

[@stevef.8708]

@@helenrenniethanks Helen! Darn…I bought several in bulk as I hate running out. That was about 3 years back. Time to replace them! 😅

[@tibitibi9417]

oh helen dont end chat GPT like that

[@normalizedaudio2481]

Eggs are too expensive. How can we cook without them?

[@thummumcrysanth]

Try looking for snack cake or "wacky" cake recipes. They don't give the fine results here, but they use vinegar and baking soda instead of egg and don't need dairy.