If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year living in Saskatoon, it’s that homemade cake is best! Countless birthday celebrations and other special occasions have proven that it is hard to find a decent cake for less than $25 in grocery stores these days! There was no way we would be spending $70 on a cake from a specialty bakery, which is what the going base rate seems to be.
When I sent Matt and the kids out on my birthday on a cake mission, he came back with two tiny six inch ones from a nearby grocery store. I had specifically asked for a red velvet one which he did get, but it was overly sweet and mostly icing. Plus the cake itself did not look red at all but more like a dark chocolate. Very disappointing!
It had been wrapped in plastic too, so when the plastic was removed, all the icing ended up looking a bit messy.
As a backup choice, chocolate was a no brainer. And thankfully, this cake was not a complete letdown. The only thing is that it only lasted two cake and coffee sessions. If we had had it earlier in the day and not so close to dinner, it probably would have been devoured in one. When you have birthday cake, you want to be able to enjoy it for at least three days. At least that’s the norm in our house.
So, since we will be going to my sister’s for a belated birthday celebration for myself and Matt this weekend, I will be baking a homemade cake that is a hit with everyone. The original recipe is from Nellie Bellie and is called “the BEST Carrot Cake recipe“, which I often find not to be the case when people make that claim. But this has been a tried and true birthday/special occasion cake that doesn’t disappoint. Plus, it’s a simple recipe that doesn’t require a ton of fancy ingredients or complicated steps. The most time-consuming thing is grating the carrots.
So without further ado…
THE BEST CARROT CAKE
Original recipe from Nellie Bellie
INGREDIENTS:
• 4 eggs (allow to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I usually do 1/2 cup and 1 and 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour and I still find the cake to be moist because of all the carrots!)
• 1 and 3/4 cups sugar (I like to use coconut sugar and only do 1 and 1/2 cups)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups carrots grated
• 3/4 cup oil (I like to use extra-light tasting olive oil, but you can use vegetable oil too)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (the original recipe does not call for this, but I like to add it if I have any in the cupboard)
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
• 2 pkgs. (250 g) soft cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans (one 9″ x 13″ pan works too). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together wet ingredients.
3. Stir well.
4. Add dry ingredients.
5. Stir just until combined.
6. Stir in carrots and stir just until combined.
7. Pour batter into pans, dividing evenly.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
NOTES: I usually bake on the convection setting, so the bake time goes down to 24-26 minutes. And for the frosting, I will often halve the recipe and still have plenty leftover.
9. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter well together.
10. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat until well combined and smooth.
11. Add in vanilla and beat until fluffy.
12. Make sure your cake layers have cooled down before frosting.
As I said before, I prefer a naked cake, which is why I often have leftover icing. Hopefully there will be some leftover cake for a few days, but with up to eleven people eating this, we will have to wait and see.
My mom picked up another cake per my request, so we will see if her 25 dollars were well spent. If only I could source La Rocca’s red velvet cake locally, that was the taste I was hoping for on my birthday. But next year, I think I will just ask Matt and Blythe to make me one, as they made a decent one before.
Because after all, homemade cake is the best!
