Sourdough Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour spokesman Michael Jubinsky, who claims it's "worth its weight in gold!" It's printed, along with some other wonderful sourdough cake recipes, in our "King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook."
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 cup sourdough starter, right from the fridge, not fed
3 eggs
1 cup (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting
Combine oil and sugar, and stir in sourdough starter. Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in pineapple, carrots, walnuts, coconut and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring just to combine.
Spoon batter into greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Remove cake from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting 1/4 to 1/2 cup (1/2 to 1 stick) butter, at room temperature
Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating well. Stir in nuts and/or ginger (if desired). Add milk, a little at a time, until frosting is a spreadable consistency.
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups (1 pound) confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup minced candied ginger, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
milk
This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. II, No. 9, September 1991 issue.
Reviews
01/28/2009
I was wondering the picture of the cake is layered and the recipe calls for a 9by 13 pan it does not mention layers is this picture of some other recipe for carrot cake
The photo is of our carrot cake, jsut a different presentation. If you prfer layers, this recipe will bake off in 2-9" pans. Frank from KAF.
01/16/2009
I love this recipe because I don't have to feed my starter first! It's easy to make and tastes great!
02/17/2009
I made this today because I wanted to use my sourdough starter. I knew it was a winner when I tasted it right out of the oven. (I cooked it in my muffin tins). But I was really pleased at the response from my husband a few hours later. He proclaimed them to be the best muffins I have ever baked. And I have been baking two dozen muffins at a time for years. Oh, and I haven't even frosted them yet.
Great variation of a classic recipe. Thanks for this tip on portion control! Irene at KAF
03/25/2009
This looks great, and I've been looking for new recipes for my starter. Question, though. 1 1/2 cups oil is so much, especially for a carrot cake, which is usually moist to begin with. Can I substitute half of the oil for baby food carrots? Or something else? Applesauce? Yogurt?
Also, how much of the AP flour can be swapped out for white whole wheat?
Thanks!
Cindy, You may certainly experiment with these substitutions. I suggest you begin the flour exchange at 75% unbleached and 25% white whole wheat, adjusting to suit your taste. Frank from KAF.
03/25/2009
What should I use as a guide to how much butter to use. Recipe says 1/4 to 1/2 cup?
The lesser butter amount will give you a softer frosting. If the cake is made in 1 layer and served in the pan I would use the the lesser amount. If planning a 2 layer cake, where vertical stability becomes an issue, I would use the larger amount. Frank from KAF.
05/15/2009
I wonder if you didn't have the sour dough starter if it would be possible to use instant sourdough flavor? I would like to make this but I don't have the time to grow a starter need a fab cake for a cake walk.
Unfortunately you can't substitute sourdough flavor for the sourdough in this recipe. I would suggest you look at the recipe for King Arthur Carrot cake on our web site. Molly @KAF
05/19/2009
Oh my, this is just amazing carrot cake, so moist and flavorful! I did omit nuts from the frosting because we just don't like frosting with nuts in it. When mixing I will admit I, like others, was a bit put off by the amount of oil so I cut out 1/8 of a cup. Truthfully, I could have included the entire amount and this cake would still be amazing as the sourdough starter absorbs the oil. I started out with my kitchenaid mixer but quickly switched to my large dough wisk after the addition of the sourdough starter and had great success that way and the batter was smoother, IMHO, than if I had mixed it entirely in my mixer. The frosting is heavenly also, I almost couldn't get my mixing bowl back from my husband! To anyone who is hesitant to try this recipe with your sourdough starter, DON'T BE. You must try this. I know I'll never use another recipe for carrot cake. This one's a keeper. Thanks KAF!
05/24/2009
This cake was ok. Stayed moist for almost 4 days after it was prepared. WAY too many nuts for my taste, next time I will try it without the nuts in the frosting. Also I actually shouldn't have added any milk to the frosting and added more confectioners sugar instread. I used closer to 4+ cups of sugar to get the consitenancy closer to spreadable and even then I frosted my cooled layers and the frosting ran down the sides. So I'll have to stick with my mother's carrot cake recipe instead.
06/19/2009
I made it healthier by adding extra grated carrots, substituting 1 cup of Splenda for 1 cup of the sugar (make sure to add the dried milk, according to the splenda bag's instructions to give it bulk), AND by substituting 1 cup of applesauce for 1 cup of the oil. It turned out fabulously!!! Will definitely make again.
09/07/2009
i have my own foolproof carrot cake recipe that i've always used but not after this sourdough carrot cake recipe. i had my reservations when i noticed that the batter looked too wet compared to the batter from the other recipe i use. i still went ahead with baking it as is... and 30 mins later, i have the moistest, softest carrot cake i've ever baked. this recipe is definitely a keeper.
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