Carrot Cake Recipe with Macarons

Enjoy this wonderful Carrot Cake Recipe with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting any day! Decorate it with Bunny Macaroons for a festive Easter Dessert.

Orange and Ginger infused Carrot Cake Recipe with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting and Bunny Macarons

I loved this carrot cake recipe! Loved. I usually don’t say that about carrot cake, but I loved all the flavor that was in it! The Orange and Ginger added a wonderful taste to the carrot cake. My frosting was a little finicky, but once I got the consistency right, it was perfect.  And I don’t think that this cake would be any more perfect with these adorable Macarons.

Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the issues I always have with Cream Cheese frosting is the stickiness. I was not very happy with my frosting on this cake. I filled the cake while the frosting was still thin and sticky so I put the semi-frosted cake into the freezer to help firm up the frosting. It didn’t work. It stayed slippery and when I frosted it with the thickened frosting it move around. So not cool.

I was just starting to frost the cake… I put a big dollop on the top of the cake can started to spread it out when I heard my daughter crying. Not knowing what to expect, I put the cake into the fridge and went to see what was wrong. Well, that frosting sure did firm up well. It was not too firm to spread and when I tried, it caused the top layer to start sliding around.

So, needless to say, I didn’t think the cake looked as wonderful as I was hoping for.

But these cute bunnies distract you enough not to notice the poorly frosted cake.

Do Orange and Ginger go together?

Heck yeah they do! I see it all the time together for smoothies and Kombucha. The sweeet citrus and the heat from the ginger just marry up so nicely. You’ll love that the ginger balances the sweetness from all the orange and sugar in the frosting.

I hope that you try this delicious twist of flavor for your carrot cake this year. I highly recommend it.

For more delicious Carrot Cake treats, you should take a look at these Easy Carrot Cake Fudge Recipe, some yummy Carrot Cake Pancakes, and this Pressure Cooker Carrot Cake Oatmeal that’s just perfect for Easter morning! Enjoy!

This recipe is part three of a thee part series including Easter Bunny Macarons and Orange Cream Cheese Frosting.

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Yield: 1 cake

Orange and Ginger Carrot Cake Recipe

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Enjoy this wonderful Carrot Cake Recipe with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting any day! Decorate it with Bunny Macaroons for a festive Easter Dessert.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
• 1/2 cup crystallized ginger
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 cups Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
• Bunny Macarons

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare three 8 inch round pans or one 9 x 13 baking dish.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and all the spices together in a large bowl. Chop the crystallized ginger into small pieces. If they get sticky, use a bit of flour to prevent them from clumping together.
3. Shred the carrots in a food processor and add to the flour mixture. Clean out the food processor.
4. In the food processor, mix the sugars, orange zest, and eggs until smooth. Gradually add the applesauce and oil until it's well combined. Pour the wet batter over the carrots and flour and stir to combine.
5. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. The round pans will be done sooner than the large pan. Cool the cake before removing them from the pans.
6. Frost the cake with the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting, reserving a ½ cup for the macarons, and place it into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. This frosting crusted over very nicely.
7. Fill your Macarons with the reserved ½ cup of frosting. Pipe a large swirl on the cake to attach the macarons to the cake.

Notes

Recipe from Baking Illustrated

Recommended Products

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• 
  Organic Crystallized Ginger
• 
  Round Cake Pan, 8-Inch

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