Carrot & Pistachio Cake

One three-layered eight inch cake that feeds about 8 people. This recipe is a play off that in Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, 1981 edition, and Claire Saffitz’s Dessert Person.

Ingredients:

For the cake —

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour

  • 2 cup of granulated sugar

  • 1 tsp of baking powder

  • 1 tsp of baking soda

  • 1 tsp of kosher salt

  • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon

  • 2-3 cardamom pods, crushed in a mortar & pestle

  • 1/8 tsp of white pepper

  • 1 cup of roughly chopped unsalted pistachios

  • 3 packed cups of finely grated carrots

  • 1 cup of olive oil

  • 4 eggs

For the cream cheese frosting —

  • 2 sticks (8 oz, 226 grams) of unsalted butter, browned

  • 1 pound (454 grams) of cream cheese

  • 1 pound (454 grams) of powdered sugar

  • Vanilla bean paste and/or vanilla extract, measured with your heart

  • Milk (optional)

Instructions:

For the cake —

  1. Grease with butter and line three 8-inch pans with parchment paper. Set your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 Celsius).

  2. Combine the dry ingredients together in a stand mixer and let it run until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

  3. Add the grated carrot, eggs, and olive oil to the dry ingredients and let it mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The batter should become very wet after this time; be careful not to overmix!

  4. Pour them evenly into your lined pans and bake at 325f / 163c for 35-40 minutes. The tops should be brown and the cake should be fully set. Use a toothpick to check at the 35 minute mark before baking any longer.

For the cream cheese frosting —

  1. Ensure your cream cheese has had time to come to room temperature before working with it!

  2. Brown the butter in a pan or small pot until the solids turn brown. Set it aside to cool for 2-3 minutes.

  3. Combine the browned butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer. Whip them together until you get a relatively smooth paste.

  4. Add the powdered sugar, taking care to mix some of it in with the cream cheese before turning on the mixer to avoid a big mess!

  5. Whip the cream cheese frosting until well combined.

  6. Add in the vanilla extract and/or paste to taste. If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add more of the extract (or you can use your choice of milk as a thinner!).

Cake assembly —

  1. Once the carrot cake has had a chance to fully cool, lather a generous amount of cream cheese and layer it up.

  2. Decorate as you please!

Notes:

This is your dessert - I’m just here to share how I like it. Drop a note through my contact page if you have any questions or suggestions, and please tag me if you end up using this recipe!

Forgiving.