CARROT CAKE WITH MAPLE-CREAM CHEESE ICING

CARROT CAKE WITH MAPLE-CREAM CHEESE ICING

A standard at health food restaurants across the country, carrot cake was ubiquitous in the seventies. Grated carrots made it a nutritious choice, or so the thinking went. This ultra-moist version is updated with a maple icing.

Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
Icing
10 ounces cream cheese (such as Philadelphia), room temperature
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

12 walnut halves (for garnish)

For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Butter and flour paper; tap out excess flour. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and ginger. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Peel off waxed paper; cool cakes completely.

For icing: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended. Beat in maple syrup. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup icing. Top with second layer. Spread remaining icing over entire cake. Arrange walnut halves around top edge. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

Makes 12 servings.

Bon Appétit

A review from one reader>
Don't eat it right after it comes out of the oven or it'll taste too gingery; the ginger taste melds as it cools. The cake is moist and lighter than normal carrot cakes w/ this much ingredients (sort of a lighter, fresher, better tasting version of Au Bon Pain carrot cake muffins). The cake doesn't rise much, so it's ok to fill the cake pans 2/3 full instead of 1/2 full. The frosting wasn't too sweet either; I'd suggest putting in as much confectioner's sugar as needed to make it thicker; the maple syrup makes it too runny with the recipe as is and I even chilled the frosting to thicken it. This would also turn out great as muffins w/ the frosting, but cut the time to 20min instead of 30-40min.