Carrot Graham Cake with Parsnips

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This Recipe makes a 2 layer, 8” cake that is super moist but also fluffy! I love this carrot cake because the graham and browned butter add a level of nuttiness and depth of flavor to the cake. Pairing the carrots with parsnips (when they are in season) is great because they also add a little additional sweetness to the cake. Also, since i love to play around with piping / painting with buttercream, I decided to make a cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream to fill and cover the cake. This buttercream has the flavor of traditional cream cheese but is less sweet and super silky.

INGREDIENTS

Carrot Graham Parsnip Cake Layers

  • 300g granulated sugar (1 + 1/2 cup)

  • 100g light brown sugar (1/2 cup)

  • 150g vegetable or canola oil (approx. 2/3 cup)

  • 150g browned butter, cooled (approx. 2/3 cup)

  • 180g eggs, room temperature (about 3 extra large eggs or 4 large eggs)

  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

  • 300g sifted all purpose flour (2 + 1/2 cup)

  • 100g finely ground graham cracker crumbs (approx. 3/4 cup)

  • 2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp ground ginger

  • .5 tsp nutmeg

  • 1.5 tsp baking soda 

  • .5 tsp baking powder 

  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt

  • 50-55g chopped toasted walnuts, tossed in 1tsp flour (approx. 1/2 cup)

  • 450 g carrots, finely grated (16oz OR 1 pound OR approx. 3 + 1/2 cup)

  • 100g finely grated parsnips, optional (approx. 2 cups)

Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream
(makes ~5 cups, enough to fill, cover, and simply decorate a 2 layer cake)

  • 126g egg whites

  • 255g sugar

  • .25 tsp cream of tartar

  • 425g (~3.75 sticks) unsalted butter at 70°F (helps if you take the butter out when you start cooking the sugar/egg white mixture and it usually is right at the perfect temp/texture when it’s time to use)

  • .5 tsp kosher salt (use half as much if using table salt)

  • 226g softened cream cheese, room temperature (8oz block)

  • 180g confectioners sugar

  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste


METHOD

Prepare your ingredients / materials:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

  2. Prepare 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Butter and flour the pans or spray with baking spray (such as Baker’s Joy) and line the bottom of pan with a circle of parchment paper

  3. Prep all ingredients and measure them out 

    1. Make the browned butter and set aside to cool

    2. In the stand mixer bowl you can weigh the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together

    3. In a separate large bowl you can weigh sifted flour, graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together for about 1 minute to ensure everything is evenly mixed (it really does take about a minute to ensure even mixing).

    4. Measure out the remaining ingredients (nuts, carrots, parsnips) in separate bowls

Prepare the cake:

  1. Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light yellow, about 3 minutes.

  2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. And mix until just combined and you don’t see streaks of flour.

  3. With a spatula, fold in the carrots, parsnips, and walnuts and mix until evenly incorporated (again, just until you don’t see large pockets of batter)

  4. Divide the batter equally between the 2 pans.

  5. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set pans on a wire cooling rack and allow the cakes to cool at least 20 min. Then remove cakes from the pan (be sure to remove the parchment on the bottom!)

Prepare the cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream

  1. Remove butter from fridge and cut into cubes to allow it to come to temperature (70°F)

  2. Fill a wide pot with at least 1 1/2 inches of water and create double boiler (make sure metal bowl does not touch water)

  3. In a metal bowl for stand mixer whisk egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar.

  4. Place over the double boiler and bring mixture to 180 degrees F (start at medium high and then reduce to simmer). Should take no more than 10-15 minutes

  5. Once at temperature, move the bowl to mixer and use whisk attachment to whip up the meringue. Keep whipping until the temperature of the mixture reduces to 90 degrees F (about 8 min)

  6. Add in butter by small amounts and whip until it comes together. If it appears too loose or curdled keep mixing for at least 3 minutes. If it is still too loose, pop the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes and then try mixing again.  

  7. Add salt (you can go by taste and add more or less as needed)

  8. Switch to paddle attachment. Add in vanilla extract and continue to beat until the buttercream is glossy and smooth.

  9. In a separate bowl using a spatula or hand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and sifted confectioners sugar until smooth.

  10. Once smooth, slowly add the swiss meringue buttercream to the cream cheese mixture and mix with paddle attachment until combined. 

Assemble Cake:

  1. Take each cake and trim off any domed top, as needed. 

  2. Place a cake board (or a plate will do) on a cake turntable (or cake stand). If using a cake board, adhere it with some masking tape or a nonslip mat to the turntable

  3. Put a dollop of frosting on the cake board / plate to prevent the cake from sliding. 

  4. Place first layer of cake on the board / plate and top with ¾ cup buttercream

    Note: Sprinkle additional nuts here if you would like (I love adding my candied pecans, recipe on instagram stories @bianca.bakes)

  5. Place second layer on top of buttercream. 

  6. Use about 1.5 to 2 cups of buttercream to cover the remainder of the cake how you wish. 

  7. Any leftover buttercream can be used for piping additional details, painting on some color, or can be stored in airtight container (at room temp for 2 days, in fridge for 2 weeks, in freezer for 3 months).