Stewie, my mom’s great friend and one of my key recipe testers, provided this recipe as well as inspiration for many others. Her original recipe doesn’t have raisins—a perfect example of how recipes get adapted and changed from person to person. Stewie’s famous carrot cake became our Dish Café signature cake, and we kept the recipe top secret. Well, here it is—revealed!
Ingredients
2 cups (500 ml) sugar
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
2 1/2 cups (625 ml) all-purpose fl our
1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 ml) kosher salt
2 cups (500 ml) grated carrots (approx. 4 large)
1 cup (250 ml) golden raisins
1 cup (250 ml) drained crushed pineapple (save the juice)
Cream Cheese Icing:
4 oz (125 g) cream cheese, softened (you can use light)
1/4 cup (50 ml) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (500 ml) icing sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) reserved pineapple juice (approx.)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 13- x 9-inch (3 L) cake pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together sugar and vegetable oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together fl our, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
4. Put grated carrots, raisins and drained pineapple in a large bowl. Fold in egg mixture until well blended. Fold in fl our mixture until well blended.
5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan.
6. Icing: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add butter and continue beating until well blended. Beat in icing sugar, 1 cup (250 mL) at a time, until icing is smooth, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Add up to 1 tbsp (15 mL) pineapple juice to thin icing slightly.
Serves 12
Chef’s Tips
- This cake is best on day 2 or 3!
- This cake recipe can be doubled. The cream cheese icing recipe can be doubled (or tripled or quadrupled!) and stored in the fridge. Since this is a casual cake that yields a large amount and usually lasts a few days, I leave the cake in the pan and serve pieces as need be.
Recipe excerpted from James Beard winner Dish Entertains by Trish Magwood. Published by HarperCollins Canada. Copyright 2007 by Trish Magwood. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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