Spiced Rum Carrot Cake
The Irish inspired, Spiced Rum Carrot Cake makes a two or three layer cake full of fresh grated carrots made incredibly moist by the addition of applesauce. A little rum and spice add another layer of flavor, while the spiced cream cheese frosting flows like a creamy dream in an updated and easy to make version of a carrot cake and cream cheese pairing made in heaven.
Equipment
- Food processor if you want easily grated carrots
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsps ground ginger
- ½ tsps ground nutmeg
- ½ tsps ground allspice
- ¾ cup canola oil (spray the measuring cup with cooking spray)
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 1½ cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 rind of an orange
- 4 oz. applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp dark rum
- 3 cups (300 grams) grated carrots, packed (I found I used a little extra since my food processor grated quite finely.)
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1-3 tbsps whole milk
- 3 - 3½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsps ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 12 oz bag of walnuts, ground for decoration
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray two to three 8 inch cake tins or three to four smaller cake tins--I like to cut rounds of parchment paper at the bottom of each tin to ensure easy removal.
- In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt). Set aside.
- In a mixer, beat oil, eggs, sugars, applesauce, rum, and vanilla. Add in the carrots, making sure to incorporate into the other ingredients. Add in the grated rind of 1 orange.
- Slowly spoon the dry ingredients into the batter until fully combined. Pour batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
- Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centers of the cakes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring from pans to wire rack. Once cakes have cooled completely on wire rack, you can pop into the refrigerator for a good hour before frosting, or, if time allows, into the freezer overnight.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In either a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese and cubed softened butter until smooth. Add in a tablespoon of the milk, vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
- Slowly add in the confectioners sugar and keep beating until the frosting thickens to the desired consistency. You can add in more of the milk or additional sugar to adjust the thickness.
To Assemble/Decorate
- When the cakes are out of the refrigerator/freezer, start adding a good layer of filling on top of each layer. For the top and sides, apply a nice thin crumb coat to seal in the cake. Freeze for an additional 30 minutes.
- Cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting or as much as needed to properly frost the cake.
- My decorative style is listed above--read: flowers--but if finely ground walnuts suit yours, cover the sides of the cake and a little bit around the edges of the top. Add in any real or piped or formulated carrot or autumn representation you like. The cake will speak for itself.I miss you, Bewleys.
