My first layer cake. I was excited to make a layer cake since I feel the sheet cakes just don't have the same elegance. I research and tried all the tricks I could with out spending any money.
Here is the Carrot Cake recipe (taken from the back of the Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour package but modified slightly).
Makes 2 8" round cake pans.
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
1 c canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
2 c grated carrots (grated by hand)
2 tsp baking powder
2 8 oz cans crushed pineapple (drained and juice reserved)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 8" round baking pans (I also cut parchment paper to put on the bottom of the pans after I sprayed with cooking oil and before I added and tapped out flour). Mix the first 6 ingredients (sugar to cinnnamon) and then add the remaining ingredients. Pour evenly into the two pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean). Let sit for 15 minutes in pan and then pop out onto cooling rack.
At this point I triple wrapped the cakes and stuck them into the freezer. You can leave them in the freezer for up to a week. Remove them when ready to apply frosting. It is a lot easier to apply frosting to the frozen cakes but leave ample time for the cakes to defrost entirely before eating.
Leigh's super-duper cream cheese frosting
6 oz cream cheese softened
2/3 c butter softened
1 tsp real vanilla
6 c sifted powdered sugar
Mix cream cheese, butter and vanilla really well until light and fluffy. Add sugar by the cup. After about 5 cups, add in smaller amounts until you reach desired sweetness.
A few more hints: After you remove the cakes from the freezer, take the reserved pineapple juice and brush on lightly. This will help the cakes remain moist. I also made a crumb layer with the frosting and then stuck it back into the fridge to set up for 30 min. Once set, apply the remainder of the frosting.
TA DA!
