Author Notes
This is a favorite. It’s not a dessert carrot cake, but a side dish - I’d describe it as a lightly sweet & savory carrot soufflé/cake hybrid. My mother, who gave me the original recipe decades ago, sometimes called it Carrot Kugel (which I guess it is, loosely defined.) She baked it in a ring mold, filling its center with buttered green peas for dinner party buffets. I skip her retro presentation, and have added some spices, but also serve it with roast turkey at Thanksgiving, or roast chicken any time.
The recipe calls for jars of baby food carrots – very 1960’s "hooray for modern conveniences!" You could substitute homemade strained carrot puree, but I actually prefer it made with baby food (though I use the very millennial organic kind.)
—amysarah
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
1 cup
(8 oz) softened butter
-
1/2 cup
brown sugar
-
2
large eggs, separated
-
1 tablespoon
cold water
-
1 tablespoon
lemon juice
-
1 cup
(2 small 4 oz. jars) baby food carrots
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
vanilla
-
1 1/4 cups
flour
-
1 teaspoon
kosher salt
-
1/2 teaspoon
baking powder
-
1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
-
1 teaspoon
ground ginger
-
1 pinch
ground nutmeg
Directions
-
Butter a 2 qt ring mold/Bundt pan very well. Preheat oven to 350.
-
With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the egg yolks, then the water, lemon juice, carrot puree and vanilla.
-
In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and soda, ginger and nutmeg. Add to the wet mixture and blend well.
-
Beat the egg whites to form peaks, and fold them into the other ingredients. Try not to deflate too much – it’s okay if some small white streaks remain.
-
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is lightly brown. Unmold onto a platter. Serve hot.
See what other Food52ers are saying.