Cakes

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

May 4, 2019 by Marisa 22 Comments

The absolute best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting…ever! Two carrot cakes are baked and assembled together with the most luscious cream cheese frosting to form a two layered cake.

I forgot how much I loved carrot cake until I revisited this recipe. It’s like seeing a long lost best friend and not being able to get enough.

Memories came flooding back on all the times I’ve baked this cake for Sunday family gatherings at mamma’s house.

It’s been a family favourite for a long while and just recently my sister requested the recipe. She raves about it all the time, claiming it’s “the best she’s ever tasted” !

I’m so glad to have found this recipe, type written…yikes, who even owns a typewriter anymore. It’s dog eared and slightly spattered with cake batter.

It truly attests to the shear amount of times I’ve baked this deliciously moist cake.

Much of its moistness comes from sweet bits of crushed pineapple which makes a lovely contrast to the finely ground walnuts and carrots speckled throughout the cake.

What Pans Can I Use to Bake Carrot Cake?

You can most certainly serve it in a more traditional way by baking it in a 9 x 13 inch pan, as I’ve always done.

However, do keep in mind you’ll need to bake it for 50 to 60 minutes. Or simply until a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean.

One batch of the cream cheese frosting will be enough for a 9 x 13 inch cake.

This time around, I decided to elevate it into a much more elegant 2 layered cake. Inspired by what is now being referred to as “naked cake” and I used 2, 9 inch round cake pans.

It’s a lovely way of making a cake with open layers.

This has the icing peeking through the outer edges, giving it a more exposed look. I find it gives the cake a pretty and enchanting appeal!

How to Decorate a Two Layered Carrot Cake

To achieve the frilly icing border, you’ll want to start piping at the inner edge of your cake, working your self inward.

Use an off set spatula to smooth the inside frosting while leaving the edges untouched.

I repeated the same with the top layer and piped a rosette in the middle of the cake.

I wanted to achieve the look of a naked cake but with a frilly border!

How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting

You can either use an electric mixer when beating your cream cheese frosting or a food processor with a 4 cup capacity.

Both methods work quite well but I do prefer my food processor as this gives me a wonderful smooth consistency in mere minutes.

I doubled the frosting amount for this 2 layered cake and used a 1M piping tip from Wilton to decorate the carrot cake.

You’ll have a little more than enough for the double layers so be as generous as you like!

This recipe was given to me by Raoul whom I’ve never met.

He was gracious enough to pass on this recipe through a mutual friend.

Raoul worked in our hospital cafeteria and had my colleagues and I running down every second Wednesday to get our carrot cake fix!

It’s that wonderful and you’ll want to make it over and over again!

And if your as much of a carrot cake lover as I am you’ll want to check out these Gluten Free Mini Carrot Loaves! It’s a slight variation on this 2 layered carrot cake. But minus the cream cheese.

Happy baking dear friends!

This recipe was originally published May 25, 2015 and republished May 4, 2019 with updated content and photos.

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5 from 3 votes

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A delicious 2 layered Carrot Cake with a luscious Cream Cheese Frosting that is simply perfect for birthdays, holidays or any other special occasion.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Carrot Cake, Cream cheese frosting

Servings:

Calories: 587kcal

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sunflower oil or canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts finely chopped
14 ounce canned crushed pineapple well drained
2 cups grated carrots about 3 medium sized

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (double this amount for a 2 layer cake)

3 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 pound butter
1/2 pound powdered sugar (icing sugar)

Instructions

Grease and flour 2, 9 inch round cake pans.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl whisk the oil, sugar and eggs together until combined and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Fold in the crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts and the grated carrots.. Do not over mix.
Divide evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Transfer the pans on a wire rack and let cool completely in the pans.
Carefully release the cakes from the pans when cooled and ready to frost.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (double the amount for a 2 layer cake)

In a large bowl combine the frosting ingredients together.
Starting on low speed and working your way to high, mix until the cream cheese frosting is smooth and creamy.

ASSEMBLING LAYERED CARROT CAKE

Carefully place one cake on a large serving platter.
To make the frilly icing border, use a piping bag inserted with a 1M piping tip.
Fill the piping bag with the frosting and start piping at the inner edge of your cake, working yourself inward.
With an off set spatula or the back of a large spoon, smooth the inside frosting and leave the edges untouched.
Top with the second layer of cake and repeat with more frosting.
Pipe a rosette on the top middle of cake and garnish with mint leaves.
Slice and enjoy with your favourite cup of coffee or tea.

Nutrition

Italian Plum Almond Streusel Cake

October 9, 2018 by Marisa 18 Comments

An Italian Plum Almond Streusel Cake to delight your guests with its dense moist crumb, topped with pools of soft jammy plums and almond streusel topping.

I’ve never actually baked with Italian plums before. These plums were always enjoyed plucked straight off my Zia’s tree, who so generously shared her bounty with us.

If memory serves me, it wasn’t an overly big tree by any stretch. Only reaching to about 10 feet in height, or so it seemed to my younger self. As this winter tree is now being enjoyed by another nurturing family, I contend myself with the store bought variety.

They’re just as wonderfully luscious as the ones grown in our own back yards. These Italian prune plums are also exceptional if you favour canning or even hydrating your fruits.

IS IT A PRUNE OR IS IT A PLUM?

They are actually Freestone plums, meaning that the pit easily separates from the flesh. These are the plums that are most often dried out to make prunes.

Available during late summer to early autumn, these prune plums have a distinctive oblong shape. Its skin is tinged a deep purple with a reddish blueish hue and reveals a firm juicy flesh when bitten into.

They’re quite the delectable fruit and you’ll find that they hold up well in cooking or even baking.

Once baked the purple hue is transformed to a fuchsia like brightness, crowning the cake in pools of soft and sweet jammy goodness.

The streusel topping and the sliced almonds are totally optional over this Italian plum cake. And really just as wonderful without it.

However, I thought to put to use the extra streusel I had in my freezer after making these outrageously good Raspberry Crumb Muffins.

It adds such a lovely contrast in texture, not to mention how prettily they compliment this jammy cake. All that’s left to dress up this plum cake is a generous dusting of powdered sugar.

Its rustic. Its simple and super yummy! Also…it makes tea time and coffee time that much more enjoyable!

Want more fruity topped cakes such as this Italian plum cake?

Then you might also enjoy these other fruit topped desserts:

Happy baking dear friends!

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

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0 from 0 votes

Italian Plum Almond Streusel Cake

An Italian Almond Streusel Cake to delight your guests with its dense moist crumble, topped with pools of soft jammy plums and almond streusel.

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr 25 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Italian Plum Almond Streusel Cake

Servings:

Calories: 469kcal

Ingredients

STREUSEL TOPPING

4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed

FOR THE CAKE

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
2/3 cup brown sugar firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup almonds very finely ground
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
2/3 cup sour cream full fat
7 italian plums halved and pits removed
1/4 cup sliced almonds
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

STREUSEL TOPPING

In a small bowl, mix together the CRUMB MIXTURE ingredients using your hands or a food processor just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Refrigerate till ready to use.

FOR THE CAKE

Grease an 8 inch round spring form pan, line with parchment paper then grease the parchment paper. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl beat together the softened butter with the brown sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time just until combined.
Stir in both the vanilla and almond extracts.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, finely ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternating with the sour cream, making 3 additions of the flour and 2 of the sour cream, just until smooth.
Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
Slice the plum halves length-wise into 1/4 inch slices and while keeping the slices together place them in clusters over the cake batter.
Sprinkle the streusel topping between and around the sliced plums and top with the sliced almonds.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before releasing it from the pan.
Once completely cooled dust the cake with powdered sugar, slice and enjoy!

Nutrition

Olive Oil Apple Cake

September 30, 2017 by Marisa 25 Comments

An impressively moist and delicious Olive Oil Apple Cake that is chock full of granny smith apples with the lovely warm scent of cinnamon and drizzled with a luscious caramel sauce just before serving.

With the arrival of Fall and apple season well underway, I just could not help but revisit an old family recipe from my hubby’s side of the family. It was given to us by one of his Zia’s.

Each and every family member has their own twist and spin on this ever popular cake recipe. And all equally delicious.

I haven’t tweaked mine overmuch throughout the years except to reduce the amount of sugar. I usually add a light dusting of icing sugar and of course a drizzle of caramel sauce for some extra indulgence. The caramel sauce, of course, is totally optional!

Which Type of Apples are Good for Baking Apple Cakes

The star ingredient in this beautifully formed dessert are the crisp and tart granny smith apples. They’re definitely my favourite baking apple and one I turn to quite often in baked goods.

I love them for their hard and crisp bite with their juicy flesh when eaten fresh. However, when used in baked goods such as cakes or pies their tartness offers a perfect balance to sweet treats.

Having said that, there are really many other types of apples to choose from.

Look for apples who’s flesh does not break down to mush when baking, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn apples.

Other very familiar and wonderful baking apples are the Honeycrisp or Gala. These are actually sweeter and don’t require as much sugar when used for baking.

You can use any type of bundt pan. I used a heavy cast aluminum Bundt pan with beautifully detailed Autumn leaves which also has a nonstick surface to bake my olive oil apple cake in.

However, to be on the safe side I went ahead and brushed the inside of the Bundt pan with a cake release product. With the pan’s intricate leaf pattern I really wanted to make sure it would unmold effortlessly. And it did…wonderfully so…and its gorgeous!

Gorgeous in its simplicity with a deep brown honey colour and bursting with a copious amount of diced apples.

Its super moist in texture and stays so for quite a few days.

You’ll find t’s a great make ahead dessert!

Other Olive Oil Cakes You Might Enjoy:

Happy Baking!

If you make this recipe do take a picture and tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

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0 from 0 votes

Olive Oil Apple Cake

An impressively moist and delicious Olive Oil Apple Cake, chock full of granny smith apples with the warm scent of cinnamon and drizzled with a luscious caramel sauce.

Course: Dessert

Servings:

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE
5 cups of diced apples approximately 7 small apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon to toss with diced apples apples
2 tablespoons granulated sugar to toss with diced apples
1 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
CARAMEL SAUCE
1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup 35% cream
2 tablespoons golden corn syrup

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a bundt pan with a cake release product or use your favorite non stick baking spray.
In a large bowl, toss together the diced apples with the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside.
Beat together the olive oil, sugar, apple juice and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer or use a hand held mixer, beating just until combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Whisk together the flour with the baking powder and add this to the egg mixture.
Beat on low speed till the batter is smooth.
Fold in the diced apples.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for 1 hour before releasing it from the pan.
When ready to serve slice and plate with a generous drizzle of caramel sauce.
CARAMEL SAUCE
In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter then stir in the brown sugar, cream and the corn syrup.
Cook and stir over low heat just until the mixture comes to a boil then remove from the heat and let the caramel sauce cool.
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Notes

Caramel Sauce Recipe is adapted from Dairy Farmers of Canada Website!

Italian Spumoni Cake

May 13, 2017 by Marisa 28 Comments

Delicious flavours of the ever popular Italian ice-cream better known as simply Spumoni! Here it’s revisited in a three layered spectacular Italian Spumoni Cake that is sure to impress!

Crumbly cake layers of strawberry, chocolate and pistachio are stacked together while separated by strawberry preserves and pistachio cream. Frosted with a vanilla scented buttercream, sprinkled with some crushed pistachios and then decorated with spumoni flavoured french macarons for a truly celebratory dessert.

Every once in a while hubby will surprise me with the latest Bake From Scratch Magazine, packed full of drool worthy baked goods that can easily be replicated at home. A true baker’s delight in every sense of the word.

This latest issue has some of the loveliest naked cakes or rather nearly naked cake recipes and the one that caught my eye was the Spumoni Cake. I love it for its pretty trifecta of colours which takes me back to those lazy hot summer days, happily sitting outside while enjoying some yummy spumoni ice-cream.

Although I’m not a baker by profession and have only ever baked a few layered cakes in my lifetime, I found this cake not difficult at all to put together and I’m sure you will too.

While you’ll basically be baking three separate layers, it’s really one cake batter divided among three separate bowls.

One bowl will have strawberry preserves folded into the batter, the second bowl will have cocoa mixture folded in while the third bowl gets some delicious pistachio paste.

You’ll want to begin assembling the cake directly on its serving platter lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper joined at the centre.

You then simply pull out the 2 sections when you’re done frosting for easy clean up.

Since decorating this beautiful Italian Spumoni Cake is where the fun really begins, do know that you can truly use your imagination here so feel free to add your special touch.

Although, the original recipe called for freeze dried strawberries to garnish the cake, they were really hard to find and I had absolutely no luck in finding them. However, I did come across some adorable french macarons looking simply perfect and I new they would adorn this cake quite beautifully.

I used a little dab of buttercream on one side of the macaron so that they adhered to the cake and I must say they added such a lovely touch to the overall look! Who would not want to sink their teeth into a slice of this delicious goodness…right?

Actually, hubby and I did just that! Day after day and just until there was not a crumb left. But please don’t judge, you would have done the exact same thing, I’m sure of it!

Worth mentioning here is how this cake actually tastes better the following days. Partially due to the preserves and pistachio paste nestled between the layers which keeps the cake very moist and also enhances the flavours of this visually stunning cake. As a result, this cake is an excellent make ahead dessert for those busy and extremely chaotic occasions which we all have from time to time.

Pistachio cream can also be made ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can therefore really pace yourself by making a few steps ahead of time which is always a win win in my book.

Most of all have fun.

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0 from 0 votes

Italian Spumoni Cake

All the flavors of the ever popular Italian ice-cream better known as simply Spumoni, is revisited in a three layered spectacular Italian Spumoni Cake that is sure to impress.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Italian cake, Italian spumoni cake

Servings:

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE LAYERS
1 cup unsalted butter softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt I used fine sea salt
240 grams or 1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberry preserves divided
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pistachio paste recipe below
vanilla buttercream recipe below
chopped pistachios for garnishing
macarons to decorate spumoni colors, chocolate, strawberry and pistachio OPTIONAL
PISTACHIO PASTE
2 cups roasted pistachios
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 water
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt I used fine sea salt
9 cups confectioner's sugar icing sugar
6 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

CAKE LAYERS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour 3 (9 inch ) round cake pans.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together at medium speed just until fluffy.
This should take about 3 to 4 minutes and if your using a stand mixer, you'll want to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
With your mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk while starting with the flour mixture and ending with the flour mixture.
Beat just until combined between each addition.
Beat in the vanilla extract.
Divide the batter evenly among 3 separate bowls.
In the first bowl, fold in a 1/2 cup of well stirred strawberry preserves and the remaining 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.
Combine the cocoa, 1/4 cup of boiling water and baking soda in a small bowl.
Fold the cocoa mixture into the second bowl of cake mixture.
In the third bowl of cake mixture, fold in a 1/2 cup of pistachio paste.
Spoon the cake batters into the prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Test to see if its done by inserting a wooden skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean then the cakes are ready.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE LAYERS
Place the strawberry cake layer onto your serving platter and pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream all around the inside edge of the strawberry cake layer, creating a border.
Spread the remaining 1/2 cup strawberry preserves over the strawberry cake layer making sure to stay between borders.
Carefully place the chocolate cake layer over the strawberry layer and pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around the inside edge, creating a border.
In a small bowl stir very well together 1/2 cup of the vanilla buttercream with the remaining pistachio paste and spread this over the chocolate layered cake while staying within the border.
Carefully top the pistachio cake layer over the chocolate cake layer.
Spread the remaining vanilla buttercream over the top and sides of the 3 layered cake. (I used a buttercream icing smoother to create the naked cake look)
Garnish with chopped pistachios and chocolate, strawberry, pistachio macaron cookies if desired.
PISTACHIO PASTE
Grind pistachios as fine as you can using a food processor or better yet a spice grinder if you have one.
Stir together the grind pistachios and honey in a small bowl.
Stir in 1/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the paste has a consistency of peanut butter.
Pistachio paste can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container at room temperature up to one week.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
Place the butter in a large bowl and beat at medium speed just until creamy.
Beat in the vanilla and the salt.
Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar.
Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until smooth.
Beat in the milk one tablespoon at a time until the buttercream frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.

Notes

Recipe is adapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine.

Mini Strawberry Grapefruit Cheesecakes

June 30, 2016 by Marisa 37 Comments

These mini strawberry and grapefruit cheesecakes, showcases one of Quebec’s more delectable fruits. They are wonderfully sweet and pair perfectly with the juicy pink grapefruit segments. Both fruits are macerated together and then nestled atop the mini cheesecakes to provide a truly refreshing and stunning appearance.

You will love the ease with which this recipe comes together. It is fairly simple to prepare and the cheesecakes can be baked ahead of time! As an added bonus, they are sure to impress!

Once baked the mini cheesecakes need to be properly chilled for at least 4 hours, so do plan ahead.

If using the more delicate sweet strawberries I would not recommend preparing the fruit ahead of time as it renders the strawberries with a lackluster appearance. For ultimate freshness, I prepared my fruit mixture just before serving.

With the red and white colors of the Canadian flag, these mini strawberry grapefruit cheesecakes make a delicious celebratory dessert for Canada Day or just about anytime one is craving a sweet little morsel!

Have a safe and fun filled Canada day everyone!

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Mini Strawberry Grapefruit Cheesecakes

These mini strawberry grapefruit cheesecakes are delectable, creamy little morsels crowned with a mixture of sweet and bittersweet fruits

Course: Dessert

Servings:

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

CRUST
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
CHEESECAKES
2 packages cream cheese softened (250 grams each)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 grapefruits peeled and skin removed cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

For the Crust
Preheat the oven to 350* F (180 *C)
Place paper liners in 12 cup muffin tin.
For the crust, combine the graham crackers, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of melted butter in a small bowl.
Divide equally into the 12 cup muffin tin, pressing the mixture down into each muffin cup.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (on middle oven rack) until light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Meanwhile, lower the oven temperature to 325*F (170*C).
For the Cheesecakes
In a food processor blend together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Add the sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract and process until the mixture is creamy.
You will need to scrape down the sides a few times to get the mixture blended well.
Divide the mixture equally over the prepared crust.
Bake for about 25 minutes or just until the cheesecakes are firm to the touch. Do not over bake the mini cheesecakes.
Let the cheesecakes cool and then refrigerate them for 4 hours or until they are well chilled.
Top with strawberry, grapefruit mixture just before serving.
Strawberry Grapefruit Mixture
In a medium size bowl, combine the sliced strawberries, grapefruit and sugar.
Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes to macerate and then drain.

Notes

Adapted from Ricardo Magazine

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