Carrot Cake

This is probably the best cake I've ever eaten, not just amongst carrot cakes, but ALL cakes.  It is that good.  This is almost entirely a Cooks Illustrated recipe, BUT I adjusted the ratios and some of the procedures to bring it to a perfectly balanced and harmonious confection.  The first time I made this, the resulting carrot cake was waaaaay too sweet and the frosting just completely overpowered the cake itself.  I then made some adjustments, which brought this cake to a whole different level.

note:
this recipe does require a few specific pieces of equipment:  first off, an 18 x 13 rimmed baking sheet.  I bought 2 heavy duty versions online a few years back, as many of the cooks illustrated recipes call for them, and they have served me well ever since.  I don't believe 18 x 13 is a common size (I could be wrong) so you may have to buy them online as I did.  I paid around 20 dollars each for them.  Invest in 1 or 2.  They are work horses and they last forever.

You will also need a food processor and a stand mixer (you could manage with a hand mixer though)


ingredients:
1.  8.7 oz all purpose flour
2.  2 tsp baking powder
3.  1 tsp baking soda
4.  1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
5.  3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
6.  1/4 tsp ground cloves
7.  1/2 tsp table salt 

8.  10 oz of carrots - around 4 medium-large (10 oz "after" they have been peeled and the ends removed)

9.  7.7 oz light brown sugar
note:
originally this was 8.7 oz of light brown sugar.  I felt this was slightly too sweet and took away from the natural sweetness of the carrots.

10.  3/4 cup vegetable oil
11.  3 large eggs
12.  1 tsp vanilla extract
13.  2/3 cup dried currants
note:
currants are smaller than raisins.  I feel like the larger size of raisins could distract from the cake texturally.  The currants give it a nice subtle hint of raisin flavor and texture throughout.

14.  2 cups (8 ounces) pecans, toasted and chopped coarse

frosting:
15.  16 TBL butter (softened to room temperature)
note:
it's important to really get the butter soft to room temperature.  If it's too cold the frosting could end up being slightly grainy with small dots of un-melted butter.

16.  6 oz of powdered sugar
note:
originally this was 12 oz powdered sugar!  That was waaaaaay too sweet.  Dear lord.  I reduced it in half and the frosting had a very well balanced sweet to sour ratio.

17. 1/2 cup butter milk
note:
recipe originally called for buttermilk powder which I didn't have access too.  The buttermilk here is even better though because it serves 3 purposes:  1. It thins out the frosting to a spreadable consistency.  2.  It increases the tang of the frosting.  3.  It whitens the frosting which it needs because it is slightly too yellowish without it.

18.  1 TBL vanilla extract
19.  1/4 tsp table salt
20.  16 oz cream cheese (cold)


recipe:
1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 farenheit.
2.  Grease the 18 x 13 baking sheet, line with parchment, then grease the parchment.
3.  Roughly chop and toast pecans.
4.  Cut carrots into 1/2" chunks then add to food processor.  Pulse 15-20 times, scraping down sides often, until carrots are finely minced.
note:
the original recipe instructed to grate the carrots coarsely using a box grater.  I found the texture of the large pieces of carrot to have a raw, shreddy texture which I found unappetizing.  I also felt that the carrot flavor was lacking, and that by mincing them, the cake would have a more concentrated carrot flavor.

5.  Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in large bowl
6.  Whisk sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until mixture is smooth
7.  Stir in carrots and currants
8.  Add flour mixture and fold with rubber spatula until mixture is just combined (few specs of flour may remain)
9.  Transfer batter to prepared baking sheet and smooth surface so it is even
10.  Bake until center of cake is firm to touch 15 minutes (15 min was perfect for me)
11.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto the clean "bottom" of another 18x13 sheet pan or any appropriately sized piece of equipment.  Go slowly as you do not want the cake to stick and tear.  The parchment is now facing up.  Do not remove the parchment.
12.  Quickly re-invert cake again onto the bottom of the original sheep pan so that the parchment is on the bottom.  Go slowly as you do not want the cake to stick and tear.  Let it cool while you prepare the frosting.

13.  Put "softened, room temperature butter" into stand mixer with paddle attachment.  Mix for a few seconds on low until butter starts to break down.
14.  Add powdered sugar in a few batches, mixing the sugar into the butter until it is dissolved before adding in next batch of sugar.
15.  Add vanilla, salt, and buttermilk and mix for a few seconds on low until just combined.
16.  Add cream cheese in 2 batches.  Mix well on low speed before adding in second batch.
17.  Mix on medium-low for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and paddle attachment a few times.

18.  Clean whatever serving plate you will be serving your cake on, then place strips of cut parchment paper around the edges of the serving plate.  This is so that after you finish frosting and putting nuts onto the cake, you can just pull out the strips of parchment and the serving plate will be clean.
note:
I like to place the strips perpendicular to the edge of the plate so that an inch or so will be under the cake and then the length of the parchment strip will extend to the end of the serving plate.  I put many of these strips so it creates a fan around the plate and so that there are no gaps in between the strips.

19.  Cut cooled cake in half both length wise and cross wise to make 4 equal sized rectangles.

20.  Slide a wide spatula under one end of a rectangle slice, then carefully use your hand to support the other end of the slice.  Lift the rectangle slice and quickly but carefully place onto the middle of the serving plate.
21.  Using off-set spatula, place a few dollops of frosting onto cake slice and spread so that is completely covered.  Using edge of spatula, gently scrape off any excess frosting and dump back into frosting bowl.  Do this as many times as needed so that only a thin layer remains.  You should almost be able to see the cake underneath the frosting.
note:
I strongly believe in putting only as much frosting as needed to create a thin layer.  Every time I've made a cake in which i was generous with the frosting, I've always regretted it as the cake ended up being dominated by the frosting.  After I started putting just enough frosting to create a thin layer, the cake became much much better with the cake being the star with the frosting only accentuating it.

22.  Repeat steps 20 and 21 for the other 3 slices of cake.
23.  Frost the outside of the cake and do the best you can to create a smooth layer and so that you cannot see the cake underneath.  The sides do not have to be perfect as you will be covering them with pecans, but the top should be pretty clean and smooth.
note:
I am somewhat generous with the frosting in this stage as you need to be in order to make sure no cake can be seen underneath.
note:
You will have a good amount of frosting left over because I increased some amounts in the frosting to get to a specific ratio and I used slightly less frosting when assembling the cake.  Use the excess for whatever you want.

24.  Gently push pecans onto sides of the cake (be generous with the pecans).  This will get messy.
25.  Let cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours  BUT I think the cake is best when it is cool and close to room temperature so let it sit out for 30 min before serving if you can.
26.  Slice and serve.