![\"This](\"https:\/\/tasteasianfood.com\/mystaging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Easy-carrot-cake-recipe.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n1. Start with combining the vegetable oil and sugar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let’s start by mixing the vegetable oil and brown sugar in a large bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are different opinions on whether vegetable oil or butter <\/strong>is more suitable for carrot cake. Most of the recipes are using a vegetable oil which is milder to let the flavor of the carrot, nuts, and raisins come through. Besides, the cream cheese frosting does contain butter, and so it will be overkill to use butter in the cake recipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tend to agree with this reasoning. However, I will use butter to replace the vegetable oil if I intend to serve the carrot cake without the frosting<\/strong> to give it a richer flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I use 72g of brown sugar for every 100g of flour in our easy carrot cake recipe. This quantity is by far the lowest<\/strong> among all similar recipes we have researched before deciding the formula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The demand for carrot cake with less sugar<\/strong> keeps increasing over recent years. However, too little sugar can affect the softness of the cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, we need to strike a balance for this reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Base on our testing, 70 percent sugar<\/strong> yield an acceptable level of sweetness and yet produce the cake that remains soft and tender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This reduced sugar formula works well for our customers, who are a bunch of more health-conscious people. It will not be too sweet even after adding the cream cheese frosting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mix the oil, sugar, and eggs until homogeneous. You do not need an electric mixer for a small amount. A wire whisk <\/a>is ideal as there is no prolonged mixing required<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I prefer to combine oil and brown sugar first, then add the eggs. Once it becomes homogeneous, it is done. Why? Because the cake will rise because of the use of baking soda or baking powder, not the air trapped in the batter by using the creaming method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I find that sieving all the dry ingredients<\/a> together yields a better result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following are the benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question of why using both baking powder and baking soda in most of the easy carrot cake recipe bewildered me. I prefer to simplify the recipe by using either one if the result is satisfactory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is only baking powder in this recipe. Since there are several solid ingredients in the batter, I have decided to use 3g of baking powder for each 100g of flour<\/strong> the get the maximum leavening effect. The result is identical to when I use a combination of baking powder and baking soda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since brown sugar is acidic, you can use baking soda as the leavening agent (which will react with the acid to form carbon dioxide) instead of baking powder. If you want to use baking soda, the quantity should be one-quarter <\/strong>of baking powder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t be stingy on the carrot. The flavor of carrot is subtle, which is unlikely to be excessive even if you add a significant amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I always use a reliable kitchen scale for all my measurements, rather than a cup of spoon unless it is a tiny amount. There is 170g of shredded carrot (net weight after shredding) for every 250g of flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can grate the carrots by hand with a box grater,<\/a> or use the shredding attachment on a food processor<\/a>. The outcome is the same base on my experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Add some walnuts and chocolate chips if you like rich cake. These ingredients are especially important if you intend to serve the easy carrot cake without frosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The size of the cake depends on whether you want to apply the cream cheese sandwiched in between the topping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can either bake two identical cakes<\/strong> to sandwich the frosting in between or only use the cream cheese frosting as the topping. Alternatively, bake a cake and cut it horizontally into half. The disadvantage is that it can be quite crumbly after cutting. You are likely to require to apply a crumb coat (mentioned in the following section) before applying the final coat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bake the carrot cake at 175\u00b0C\/350\u00b0F for forty-five minutes, <\/strong>or until the surface turns golden brown. It is quite easy to decide when to stop baking by looking at the cake if you are using an oven with a glass door with light inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please take note that the actual temperature of different ovens is not the same. If you are baking it with a new oven, pay more attention to the cake once it passes the thirty-minute mark. The top of the cake will burst and crack if the temperature is too hot.<\/strong> Conversely, the center of the cake may not rise adequately to form a dome shape, if the temperature is too low<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remove the cake from the oven to let it cools for ten minutes. Use a spatula to loosen the cake from the cake pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can serve this easy carrot cake right away as it is full of flavor, but if you choose to frost it, below is how to make a simple cream cheese frosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have sold our carrot cakes without cream cheese topping in the past few years. Our cake is enriched with butter instead of vegetable oil, together with walnuts and chocolate chips. That makes it a delightful cake without any frosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do we do that? Asians, especially the older generation, do not enjoy cakes decorated with a large amount of frosting. It is a familiar scene at a birthday party that the older Asian people will remove those frosting and eat only the cake. (You see, that is very hard to claim which is the best carrot cake recipe. It is all depends on individual palates.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, since our cream cheese frosting is relatively less sweet, it seems that my customers started to enjoy it when I reintroduce it with a lesser amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is why we do not frost the whole cake, only the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can decorate the cake more creatively. I only add a few walnuts and chocolate chips for my delightful home-style carrot cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you like thid cake recipe, check out our most popular article on how to make butter cake- the complete guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\nUse only brown sugar <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Combine the wet ingredients – oil, sugar, and eggs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Sieve all the dry ingredients together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Baking soda or baking powder?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Add more ingredients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use lots of carrots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Enrich with nuts and chocolate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Baking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The shape and the size of the cake <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The baking temperature <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/tasteasianfood.com\/mystaging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Carrot-cake-rcipe.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n6. Cream cheese frosting <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few tips to make the cream cheese frosting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n