Saturday Recipe

I have mentioned many times that one of my favourite desserts is carrot cake. This one also has chocolate. I have posted this before, but I like it so much, here it is again. The recipe was in the LCBO’s magazine Food and Drink.


Double Chocolate Carrot Cake with Mocha Frosting

Spring 2011
By: Monda Rosenberg


If you’re in the mood for a rich dessert, this one takes the cake. Just one bite tweaks your taste buds—think a shot of cappuccino and a hit of chocolate at the same time. The warm, comforting flavour in the coffee-spiked frosting comes from mascarpone cheese, the star in classic Italian tiramisu.

5 cups (1.25 L) grated carrots
2¼ cups (550 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
¼ cup (50 mL) cocoa
4 squares (4 oz/125 g) semi-sweet chocolate
¼ cup (50 mL) milk
¾ cup (175 mL) vegetable oil
1¼ cups (300 mL) granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
 
MOCHA FROSTING
1½ cups (375 mL) mascarpone cheese
1 cup (250 mL) cold whipping cream
2 tbsp (25 mL) instant coffee granules
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
2 cups (500 mL) sifted icing sugar
 
GARNISH
Shaved Chocolate

1 Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Spray or lightly oil two 8- or 9-inch (2- or 2.5-L) square cake pans.
2 Grate carrots using a food processor. Measure out 5 cups (1.25 L) and set aside. Place flour in a large bowl. Sprinkle with baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa. Stir until blended, then make a well in the centre. Separately, coarsely chop chocolate and place in a small microwave bowl or saucepan. Add milk.
3 Combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Microwave chocolate and milk combo on medium for 1½ minutes. Stir, then heat on medium for 1 more minute. Stir until smooth. Or on stovetop, stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Pour into cake batter while beating on low speed. Scrape into well in flour mixture and stir with a spoon or spatula until even in colour. Stir in carrots. Batter will be thick.
4 Divide batter between pans, adding about 3 cups (750 mL) to each. To remove air pockets, bang pans on counter 5 to 6 times. Bake until centres seem set when lightly tapped and cakes start to come away from sides of pans, 35 to 38 minutes. Remove pans to a baking rack to cool. After about 15 minutes, turn cakes out of pans and finish cooling on racks. It’s best to bake cakes a day ahead of icing and leave at room temperature overnight.
5 Place mascarpone in a bowl. Microwave ¼ cup (50 mL) cream in another small bowl or heat in a small saucepan until bubbles appear around edge. Stir in coffee until dissolved. Then, beating mascarpone on low, gradually add hot coffee-cream. As soon as no lumps remain, beat in cold cream and vanilla. Gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat about 30 seconds. Beating too much will cause thinning. Refrigerate until frosting has a good spreading consistency, about a half-hour, before icing cake.
6 To assemble, place 1 cake, flat-side up on a platter. Generously spread with icing, leaving a narrow border of cake around the edge. Top with the second cake, flat-side down and gently press down. Smoothly spread icing over the sides of the cake, then the top. Garnish top of cake with shaved chocolate. It’s best to refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.

Serves 10

Have a great weekend.