Orange Ginger Carrot Cake
This moist and sweet carrot cake has the addition of orange and ginger for an amazing light and citrus carrot cake that's topped with a cream cheese frosting!
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
- 6-inch Cake Pans
- Parchment Paper Sheets
Ingredients
Batter
- 198 grams carrots (finely grated)
- 113 grams cane sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 57 grams vanilla yogurt
- 191 grams all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 orange (zest)
Frosting
- 226 grams salted butter (softened)
- 454 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 57 grams cream cheese
- ¼ teaspoon orange flavor
Topping
- orange slices (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- To make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, add the carrots, cane sugar, canola oil, eggs, and yogurt. Whisk together to combine completely.
- Add in the all purpose flour, baking powder, ginger, sea salt, and cinnamon in that order. Mix on low until a batter forms.
- Transfer to the prepared cake pans, about 250 grams each, and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and orange flavor. Mix on low to combine, then increase speed to high and mix for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again until light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag with Ateco tip #827.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Pipe a spiral, starting at the outer edge and working your way in, to cover the cake layer with frosting completely. Top with the second cake layer, repeat this process with the third layer. Then spiral again on the top to finish the cake. Top with orange slices (optional).
- Store in a cake dome in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Always use a scale for the best results.
- I use 6-inch cake pans for this cake. But, if you double the recipe, you can use 9-inch pans if you have a larger party. If you do make a 9-inch, be sure to bake your cakes a little longer about 3 to 6 minutes, and make sure to test that they are done.
- Use a fine grater for the carrots, not a large one. I weigh the carrots whole (7 ounces) and then grate them from there, it doesn't have to be exactly 7 ounces of grated carrots.
- I use organic vanilla yogurt in this recipe, but if you only have plain yogurt that will also work!
- My favorite organic orange flavor is from Frontier Co-Op. They have the best flavor here, in my opinion! If you don't have this, you can use a little orange juice instead, but no more than 1 teaspoon as it will make the frosting too thin, and that's not good for a layer cake.
- I use Ateco tip #827 for this cake. You can also use Ateco tip #846 as that is also very similar. Any large open star tip will look just like this. And, if you don't have a piping tip, you can use just a bag as well, or you can even just slather frosting on the cake with a spatula. This is an easy cake to frost!
- Make sure to store this cake in the fridge as the frosting has cream cheese in it. Always store cake in a cake dome or an airtight container so it doesn't dry out. If you do have it in the fridge, you can remove it an hour or two before serving so it comes to room temperature.
- Gluten Fee — Replace the all purpose flour with 205 grams (heaping 1 ¼ cups) gluten free flour blend.
- High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 17 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Nutrition
Calories: 754kcalCarbohydrates: 95gProtein: 5gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 429mgPotassium: 186mgFiber: 2gSugar: 74gVitamin A: 5036IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 2mg
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