Bake
Chocolate-Carrot Snacking Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
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94 Reviews
Martin
October 2, 2024
I'm torn about this recipe. The cake is pretty straightforward, and together with the frosting, is well balanced and yummy. It is also not too sweet. But the frosting is a disaster. I can't say if it's me, or inherent to the recipe, but it gets gooey as I start to add the sugar. And when the second cup comes around, it breaks.
I did this once, and thought it was cause I mixed too much, even though I followed the instructions to a t. Made it a second time, and this time, I mixed the cream cheese and butter on low speed, not even medium like it said here. And just a bit, mixing with a rubber spatula to make sure it mixed well. At this point, as in the first time, it looked beautiful, like frosting. Then I added 1 cup of confectioner's sugar, and folded it with the spatula, to make sure it wouldn't overmix. Again, this is when I started to notice things going south. I folded slowly and carefully, but again, when I added the second cup, it started separating. It was not as bad as last time, but not really appetizing to look at. I also know I didn't overmix in the beginning as there were still small balls of cheese that hadn't been properly mixed in.
What is going on? Should I mix it even more at the start? Should I use the whisk attachment instead? Should I cool the mixture before adding sugar? I'd like to try it again, as the frosting does taste good, but a cake is defined by its looks and like I said, it looks gooey.
I did this once, and thought it was cause I mixed too much, even though I followed the instructions to a t. Made it a second time, and this time, I mixed the cream cheese and butter on low speed, not even medium like it said here. And just a bit, mixing with a rubber spatula to make sure it mixed well. At this point, as in the first time, it looked beautiful, like frosting. Then I added 1 cup of confectioner's sugar, and folded it with the spatula, to make sure it wouldn't overmix. Again, this is when I started to notice things going south. I folded slowly and carefully, but again, when I added the second cup, it started separating. It was not as bad as last time, but not really appetizing to look at. I also know I didn't overmix in the beginning as there were still small balls of cheese that hadn't been properly mixed in.
What is going on? Should I mix it even more at the start? Should I use the whisk attachment instead? Should I cool the mixture before adding sugar? I'd like to try it again, as the frosting does taste good, but a cake is defined by its looks and like I said, it looks gooey.
Jessie S.
October 2, 2024
gosh, i. am so sorry to hear this and am honestly flummoxed. what kind of cream cheese are you using?
Martin
October 2, 2024
Really appreciate the quick reply. I use one that is specific to Norway. I find it tastes similar to the Philadelphia cream cheese. But maybe I should try that instead? Didn't think it would make a difference. Also, it looks fine when it's just with the butter.
Jessie S.
October 2, 2024
yeah - i wonder if it is a cream cheese issue? powdered sugar should not make the cream cheese and butter separate? i'm so sorry this is happening!
Martin
October 2, 2024
I'll try with a small batch and get back to you. Again, thanks a bunch for answering. Didn't think I'd get a reply :)
Sadie
June 12, 2023
This is an excellent chocolate cake. Unlike traditional carrot cake, the crumb is light and tender. It's moist but not oily. I added a pinch of cinnamon and cardamom which didn't make an identifiable difference to the flavour, but added some interest. I made 8 mini bundt cakes and they were done in less than 40 minutes. Great make ahead cake. The mini's were better the next day and stayed moist for a few days.
Helen
February 8, 2021
During the pandemic, I made this cake in 2 smaller pans. I took one to my grandchilden and left on their porch. We then had a virutal birthday celebration with singing and blowing out the candles, The cake was delicious, so moist and flavourful. The children wanted second. I made the icing in the food processor and it came out creaming and smooth. A great cake for any occasion and easy to make.
Kimott
January 25, 2021
Delicious!! Every year my husband wants a carrot cake for his birthday, no one else in the family really likes carrot cake, so we tried this recipe this year. It was hands down the BEST carrot cake, no one believed there were even carrots in it!! We doubled the recipe, and baked in round pans, then cut the cakes so it made 4 layers. Definitely will be making it again.
Jessie S.
January 26, 2021
Yahoo and happy bday to your husband. So glad u found your new fave carrot cake!
Kimott
January 25, 2021
Delicious!! Every year my husband wants a carrot cake for his birthday, no one else in the family really likes carrot cake, so we tried this recipe this year. I was hands down the BEST carrot cake, no one believed there were even carrots in it!! Definitely will be making it again.
Jesse S.
January 21, 2021
This cake was great! Nice chocolate flavor and SO moist. I made it into cupcakes and mini cupcakes for my daughter's birthday. I started out grating my carrots on a fine microplane and it was just too fine. Switched to the fine side on my box grater which worked much better, and the pieces were still small enough that they basically disappeared into the cake when cooked. I agree with other reviewers that weights would be a great addition to the recipe (Always! But especially for the carrots).
Jessie S.
January 22, 2021
Good to know re: the grated carrots!! Thank you snd glad u liked the cake.
Katharine C.
January 17, 2021
This was really good and I loved the idea that it was sorta (?) healthy with the carrots. I wish that I'd been able to get the cream cheese frosting right. It was lumpy and I assume I didn't let the butter and cream cheese warm up enough.
I wish that the listing of the baking powder and baking soda in the ingredient list had been switched. Since there is much less baking soda it isn't a disaster if you are reading down the list and accidentally grab the baking powder and put in 1/4 teaspoon then realize you grabbed the wrong ingredient, as I did, and you can just add the extra baking powder. Obviously if I had measured things out before hand that might have helped too!
I wish that the listing of the baking powder and baking soda in the ingredient list had been switched. Since there is much less baking soda it isn't a disaster if you are reading down the list and accidentally grab the baking powder and put in 1/4 teaspoon then realize you grabbed the wrong ingredient, as I did, and you can just add the extra baking powder. Obviously if I had measured things out before hand that might have helped too!
Jessie S.
January 17, 2021
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll change the order of the leavening and yes - if the cream cheese is not warm enough it clumps. So sorry about that but so glad u liked the cake!
Jessie S.
January 17, 2021
Sorry, was going to reorder the soda and powder, but when recipe writing one always puts the ingredients with larger amounts before those with smaller, so the powder has to come first since there is more of it than the soda. Sorry!
Katharine C.
January 17, 2021
Oooh thanks for the inside scoop on recipe writing :). To be fair I was a bit distracted when baking. Will definitely pay more attention next time.
Jessie S.
January 18, 2021
🙂🙂🙂 also, one more scoop: most important when recipe writing is that the ingredients are listed in the order that you use them, and then, for items like the dry ingredients where one could probably add them to the bow in any old order since they all get whisked together, they are listed in descending order of amounts.
SusanInLondon
January 12, 2021
Made this cake today and am SO happy with it. I didn’t do the frosting - but used whipped cream and cherries in kirsch for a Black Forest Gateau vibe. Fabulous! I absolutely adore the moist, fudgey, but light, chocolate cake. No way you can tell I put five carrots in it. I’m sending the link to everyone I know who bakes cakes. Thank you.
Jessie S.
January 17, 2021
Thought I responded to this but don’t see my reply! Yay!! So glad u liked and that u are sharing. XO
judy
January 12, 2021
Good reviews, but I won't be trying this cake. Almost 2 cups of sugar in the cake and about 3 cups of sugar in the frosting for an 8x8' cake!! Only 1 cup of flour. There are wonderful chocolate carrot cakes out there with a fraction of the sugar. My teeth hurt just reading this recipe.
CDP
January 8, 2021
I’m eager to try this and it looks delicious.
Just some friendly feedback, and no-hating here. I promise! One drawback, there are no ingredient weights listed. I’ll reread thru this, and if it still looks good, I’ll convert it to grams, but why can’t there be a standard, particularly with baking, to have the ingredients weighed? This is becoming a no-go issue for me. There are just too many good recipes out there with weights to bother with the extra work involved.
Good luck and thank you for sharing your recipes.
Just some friendly feedback, and no-hating here. I promise! One drawback, there are no ingredient weights listed. I’ll reread thru this, and if it still looks good, I’ll convert it to grams, but why can’t there be a standard, particularly with baking, to have the ingredients weighed? This is becoming a no-go issue for me. There are just too many good recipes out there with weights to bother with the extra work involved.
Good luck and thank you for sharing your recipes.
Jessie S.
January 8, 2021
thank you for the thoughtful feed back (and no hate taken!). food52 does not presently require recipes on the site to have weight, as well as volume, measurements - but I feel you! and will try to make an effort to include them going forward.
Suzanne R.
February 10, 2021
I agree, once I started baking with my food scale, no going back, soooo much easier.
kocst
January 6, 2021
I made this today and it was a big hit with my family! It was simple to make and the frosting was delicious! Thank you for a great recipe.
Jessie S.
January 6, 2021
Yay! So happy to hear and you’re so welcome. Please consider voting for it! As there’s a snacking cake contest happening! https://food52.com/contests/454-your-best-snacking-cake
kocst
January 6, 2021
Just voted! I found you by listening to the AllRecipes podcast and knew I would love your recipes because, I too, love the vintage mini cookbooks from the early 1900's! I found a few at flea markets for $1 each and they are so fun to read. Best of luck on the contest!
Jessie S.
January 6, 2021
Thank u! And love that U found me through Allrecipes and those booklets are the best. XO
Millie J.
October 24, 2020
I've now made this cake 3 times and am about to do it again. So good!
By this time I've made some changes as the original was too sweet and too oily for me. I converted the quantities to metric weights and am using about 75% of the original sugars -- 130g of Erythritol in place of the granulated sugar, and 110g of (dark) brown sugar. I use 2/3 cup oil instead of 3/4 cup, and a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix. I bake it as a 9x5 loaf, not an 8x8 cake. And I skip the frosting.
I'd love to know how much the carrots weigh. Carrots vary a lot in size and in how much they settle when "lightly packed," and every time I've made this cake I've needed a different weight of carrots to make up 2 cups, and that really changes the final texture.
Even with all these changes, this cake is delicious and stays good for days. Thanks, Jessie!
By this time I've made some changes as the original was too sweet and too oily for me. I converted the quantities to metric weights and am using about 75% of the original sugars -- 130g of Erythritol in place of the granulated sugar, and 110g of (dark) brown sugar. I use 2/3 cup oil instead of 3/4 cup, and a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix. I bake it as a 9x5 loaf, not an 8x8 cake. And I skip the frosting.
I'd love to know how much the carrots weigh. Carrots vary a lot in size and in how much they settle when "lightly packed," and every time I've made this cake I've needed a different weight of carrots to make up 2 cups, and that really changes the final texture.
Even with all these changes, this cake is delicious and stays good for days. Thanks, Jessie!
Jessie S.
October 25, 2020
so happy to hear all this and LOVE all your changes - next time i make it i promise to weigh the carrots and add the weight to the recipe - i always use a microplane, so my carrots are super fine and then i drop them into the measuring cup and do not press down . . . hope that helps.
Millie J.
October 25, 2020
Having the carrots' weight will be so helpful - I look forward to that for my next bake!
I'm not able to hand-grate carrots. Instead I've used either the shredding disk of my food processor or my little Ninja chopper, and the results are very different in terms of volume. But I expect that if I can get an accurate weight for the carrots, the difference in volume will not be important.
I'm not able to hand-grate carrots. Instead I've used either the shredding disk of my food processor or my little Ninja chopper, and the results are very different in terms of volume. But I expect that if I can get an accurate weight for the carrots, the difference in volume will not be important.
heathdur
September 25, 2020
I really loved this cake and wondered if I can use the same recipe minus the cacao powder and expresso for normal carrot cake. Has anyone tried? How much more flour would need to be added?
Jessie S.
September 25, 2020
Here is my recipe for straight up carrot cake - very similar! https://www.jessiesheehanbakes.com/2020/05/06/carrot-snacking-cake-with-cinnamon-cream-cheese-frosting/
heathdur
September 25, 2020
Excellent! I'm currently in the Turkish country side with no shredded coconut. Can I forgo that ingredient or substitute with something like yogurt, which we have an abundance of? 😄
Jessie S.
September 25, 2020
you would not want to substitute anything like yogurt for the coconut as the coconut is shredded - it is not a liquid. u can leave it out, and add a different add-in if you'd like, like walnuts. he texture will be different but still good
Sinamen78
July 11, 2020
Made this for a casual dinner party tonite. Cake is really good and very moist. Everyone loved it. Waaay too much frosting tho. You could halve the frosting recipe and be fine. Will definitely make again. Next time will top with chocolate or peanut butter frosting , drizzle with chocolate ganache and a sprinkle of Maldon Flaky sea salt. Will be outta this world ! Ala mode allowed. (Cake could even be eaten unfrosted) It’s a keeper.
Rebecca O.
May 23, 2020
Delicious flavor and very moist. For the frosting I only put in 1 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar. We as a family are not fans of overly sweet bites.
My friend loved it so much, she demanded I share the recipe with her.
My friend loved it so much, she demanded I share the recipe with her.
willsmom
May 6, 2020
This is delicious! Query - how do I tell whether to add 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar to the icing?
Jessie S.
May 6, 2020
Great question. The amount of frosting you use depends on how sweet u like your frosting and how stiff u like it. The larger amount will obviously be sweeter but it will also make a more stiff frosting, that keeps its shape really well. You should try with less frosting first and see what you think and then u can add a little at a time until you get the consistency and flavor that u like.
willsmom
May 6, 2020
I love the taste of the frosting - but it is glaze-like and not fluffy, as in the picture. I used a different kind of cream cheese (an artisanal kind, not the block usually found). Might that have made it more liquid?
Jessie S.
May 6, 2020
yes. hate to. say it, but the one to use is good ole' Philadelphia as it has additives that keep it firm and perfect for combining with sugar and butter and turning into a stiff frosting . . .
robin L.
April 28, 2020
Can I sub kefir for the buttermilk? And I don't have espresso; would dark french roast beans work (ground well)?
Jessie S.
April 28, 2020
I have never baked with kefir before but if it behaves like liquid dairy does in baking recipes, then i think you are good to go. You can try the ground french roast if you want, but honestly i wouldn't sweat it.
robin L.
April 28, 2020
...or would plain whole milk yogurt be a better sub (than kefir) for the buttermilk?
robin L.
April 28, 2020
...or would plain whole milk yogurt be a better sub (than kefir) for the buttermilk?
Jessie S.
April 28, 2020
not sure if you saw my below response, which is that I've never baked with kefir before but if you have and u know it's a good liquid dairy substitute, go for it. but yogurt is def a good bet. someone mentioned that they'd done (see below) and it turned out great.
Cgraeff
April 30, 2020
I substitute Kefir for buttermilk all the time in my baking and I have always had success. Same volume.
I don’t know about the French roast ground coffee beans. I interpreted the ingredients to be instant espresso powder. Do you have instant coffee? I think that would be better.
I don’t know about the French roast ground coffee beans. I interpreted the ingredients to be instant espresso powder. Do you have instant coffee? I think that would be better.
heathdur
September 25, 2020
Yes. I live in Turkey and do not have access to buttermilk. I use kefir instead all the time.
Marissa S.
April 20, 2020
Made the recipe as is (except buttermilk for greek yogurt because #covid) and it turned out perfectly. Loved it! Thank you so much for the recipe -- can't wait to make it again!
kristiek
April 11, 2020
I only have unsweetened cocoa powder - what would the measurements for baking soda and baking powder be in this case?
Jessie S.
April 11, 2020
I wouldn't worry about changing the leavening, even though you are subbing natural cocoa powder for the dutch process - I think it will still turn out just fine.
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