Speckled with chocolate eggs and whimsical dots
of Magic Frosting, our best and prettiest carrot cake sweetens up Easter in the most delightful way.
- Total time 3 hours & 30 minutes
- Portion size 16 servings
- Credits : Canadian Living Magazine
Ingredients
Magic Frosting:
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mist two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment paper and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In separate bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until smooth; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Stir in carrots, pineapple and pecans until combined. Scrape into prepared pans, dividing evenly; smooth tops.
Bake until cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto rack; remove pans and parchment paper. Let cool completely.
Magic Frosting Meanwhile, in sauce-pan, whisk together sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt until combined. Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until mixture comes to boil, 6 to 8 minutes. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is bubbling and resembles thick paste, about 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
Remove from heat; scrape into shallow bowl. Place over ice bath; let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold.
In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; gradually beat in flour mixture, 2 tbsp at a time, for 2 minutes. Scrape side and bottom of bowl. Increase speed to medium; beat until very fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Remove 3 cups of the frosting, dividing among 2 or 3 small bowls. Tint each bowl with food colouring to desired colour. Refrigerate.
Assembly Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with 1 cup of the plain frosting; top with remaining cake layer.Using large offset palette knife, spread remaining plain frosting all over cake.
Place each coloured frosting in separate piping bag fitted with small to medium tips in assorted shapes. Pipe dots and shapes on side and top of cake, refrigerating frosting if it becomes too soft. Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes; decorate with chocolate eggs.
Test Kitchen Tip: Store plastic-wrapped cake layers at room temperature for up to three days or freeze for up to two weeks.
Did You Know? Magic frosting is a classic icing known by many names and has a combination of flour, milk, butter and sugar. Magically, this cooked flour mixture whips up into the most velvety, fluffy flour buttercream.
Nutritional facts PER SERVING: about
- Fibre 2 g
- Sodium 370 mg
- Sugars 50 g
- Protein 5 g
- Calories 629
- Total fat 37 g
- Potassium 176 mg
- Cholesterol 84 mg
- Saturated fat 14 g
- Total carbohydrate 71 g
%RDI
- Iron 10
- Folate 23
- Calcium 10
- Vitamin A 55
- Vitamin C 4
