Best-Ever Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe - ZoëBakes (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to make carrot cake with butter or oil? ›

Vegetable oil produces a more moist, tender cake than butter. Yes, butter generally tastes better, but it makes the cake come out a little firmer than I like. Don't worry—there's plenty of butter in the frosting to make up for it.

Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

Double-wrap unfrosted cake layers to make them airtight.

Bundle each layer in one or more sheets of plastic wrap, then seal the wrapped layers inside large plastic zipper bags individually. By doing so, you'll be keeping the freshly-baked cake off-limits to air and moisture.

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key.

Think thin

It's true that carrots are the star of the show, but aim for finely grated pieces rather than chunky. The finer you grate the carrots, the more evenly they will be distributed throughout the cake (for the perfect texture), and the more evenly the cake and the carrots will bake.

The texture of cakes made with oil is—in general—superior to the texture of cakes made with butter. Oil cakes tend to bake up loftier with a more even crumb and stay moist and tender far longer than cakes made with butter. So why do most cake recipes start with butter? Flavor.

Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry. You need about 4 large carrots for this recipe. And when you grate them, you'll notice how wet they are. That is PRIME moisture for your baked cake and you don't want to skip it!

Most carrot cake recipes call for oil instead of butter; it gives it that close, moist texture that carrot cake is known for.

Yes, the carrots, but also typical extras like raisins, chopped nuts, or shredded coconut, which enhance the flavor and texture of the final result, add to the problem of cleanly lopping off a piece. For example, raisins create uneven pockets of moisture within the cake, causing slices to crumble more easily.

Cream cheese frosting and carrot cake are a little unruly when they're warm, so the fridge is your friend. The cake itself is much easier to frost and slice when it's been refrigerated — the soft, moist crumb contracts when it's chilled and doesn't tear or fall apart as easily.

Should carrot cake be served cold or room temperature? ›

It can be served cold, slightly chilled or at room temperature but I prefer slightly chilled. Once it's frosted on the outside and before it's sliced, you don't need to cover it (although a cake dome is never a bad idea) but once it's sliced, cover the open side with plastic wrap.

If you don't wish to mix and bake this sourdough carrot cake straight away, you can ferment the cake batter overnight. In order to do this, you will want to mix the batter a little differently. To ferment the cake batter overnight, leave out the baking soda, but mix the rest of the ingredients as instructed.

5. My cake has sunk in the middle. There are three main reasons for this: a/ the oven door has been opened before the cake has set, b/ the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or c/ there's too much raising agent.

The most common reasons a cake sinks in the middle include the following: The pan is too small. There's too much liquid. Opening the oven or moving pans during baking.

Usually a cake has finished cooking when the edges of the cake pull away from the side of the tin. You should be able to see a gap between the cake and the tin. If your cake is bouncy/springy when you gently press down on it with your finger, it is likely that your cake is ready to be taken out of the oven.

Why do you use oil instead of butter in carrot cake? Oil helps keep carrot cake extra moist and also helps extend its shelf life.

Oil-Based Cakes: Carrot cake recipes often use vegetable oil (e.g., canola or sunflower oil) instead of butter as the primary fat. Oil-based cakes tend to be moister and have a softer, more tender crumb. The mild flavor of vegetable oil also allows the carrot and spice flavors to shine through.

Carrot cake is oil-based, rather than butter-based. This keeps it moist and helps it last for days. Unfortunately, it also means you lose the leavening power that creaming butter and sugar would bring.

Most cake mixes call for oil, but butter will bring in amazing flavor. To substitute butter for oil in baking just melt the butter, measure it, let it cool, and add it as you would the oil. Compared to oil, butter will create a cake with a firmer, cakeier texture.