Last night I had everything on hand to make a Carrot Bundt Cake. Well, everything but applesauce. Luckily Todd was able to stop at the store to pick some up, and I was able to make the cake for today's luncheon.
Since it was for an event, I couldn’t cut into it this morning and show you a texture shot (Update: Texture shot added!), but I did get a little sample at the luncheon and it was very good – probably the best carrot bundt cake I’ve ever made. The original version is from Good Housekeeping, but I improvised slightly with the add-ins.
Try not to be put off by all the oil. It’s a big cake so proportionately that amount is correct and not so over-the top. That said, I’m not going to bill this as a healthy cake and wouldn’t recommend eating it every day for breakfast. You could try cutting the oil in half, but you’d have a different cake. If you are looking for a reduced fat carrot cake, here’s another one from Good Housekeeping.
Carrot Bundt Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour (380 grams)
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup applesauce
2 packed cups shredded and chopped carrot (230 grams)**
1 cup nuts, toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans
¾ cup plumped raisins plus about ¼ cup dried cherries (optional)
⅓ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Powdered sugar for garnish
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with flour-added cooking spray. This is a sticky cake, so make sure every inch is covered.
In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a second bowl, stir together eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Add oil mixture to flour mixture and stir with a mixing spoon until blended.
Add applesauce and stir just until mixed, then stir in carrots, walnuts, raisins (and cherries if using) and coconut. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then flip from pan.
Makes 16 servings
Notes: For the carrots, I usually shred the carrots in the food processor or grate them with a grater, then put them on a cutting board and chop them.
I didn’t try this until the next day (today) and can say that it is indeed a great make-ahead. It might even be better today than yesterday. I didn’t bother with a glaze – just a sprinkling of powdered sugar for garnish.
Olga
jeje yes Bundt ups.. thank you for answering so fast... Saludos desde México
Anna
Hi Olga!
I think "Bundt" evolved from the German word "bundkuchen" which describes a ring shaped coffee cake. Here's the history of the word.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundt_cake
Olga
Hi.. this looks soo good..Carrot Cake is my favorite cake and you posted it feb 19th .. wich is my birthday.. so i take this as a sign that i must bake this cake..:p what does bound cake means?..i/ve seen it a lot but all i see is they look fluffier?..i tried my wordreference dic.. but couldnt find it :s
Sarah
Thanks for the quick response! I didn't drain them, and it's so ridiculously delicious! I didn't use a bundt pan, however, since I don't actually own one... It tasted great, thanks for the recipe!
Anna
Sarah, I didn't drain them.
The only issue I had, and this happens quite often, is some of the shredded carrots turned green. Nobody seemed to mind, but I hate it when this happens.
Sarah
Did you drain the carrot at all for this recipe? Sometimes I find it's watery, but I didn't know if the water content would affect this recipe.
I'm so excited about this! It looks great!
Noble Pig
Carrot cake is my hubby's all time fav. I'm always trying a new recipe so thanks...I've never made one in a bundt pan before.
Anna
Thanks for the link! I will definitely make that carrot cake. My mom is coming for a visit soon and I think she would love it.
Melissa from Mass
It was easier to find it on google than to dig through my messy recipe clippings so here you go... http://www.vtliving.com/recipes/desserts/carrotcake.shtml
small suggestion, I try to make a tunnel with a spoon for the filling rather than just pour on top. Delicious!
julie
Hi Anna,
I think I remember you saying something about your daughter and Aqua dots? I was at Michael's today and I saw a recall sign - something in the coating becomes toxic when mixed with the liquid- THey gave a phone number for replacement dots- I am guessing they have aweb site?
Anna
Sue, 6 cups for a full batch or 3 cups for the half batch. The cookies have lots of chips!
Melissa, I like being called "Cookie Girl". It sounds so youthful ;). If you'd like to post that recipe here in the comment section, I'm sure a lot of people would love it. I know I would. Tunnels in cakes are the best.
Melissa from Mass
Hi Cookie Girl, one of my favorite recipes is similar to this but has a tunnel of cream cheese inside and just a sprinkle of powdered sugar outside. Thanks for your hard work and great site.
Sue
Hey Anna! Both of your cakes look delectable. I have a question about the Chips Gone Wild Cookies you posted the other day. If I remember correctly you said you made a half batch and the recipe as you posted it calls for three cups total of various chips, so a full batch would have 6 cups? That seems a like a lot of chips, and before I make them I wanted to double check. Either way this recipe would be good for using up some chips and Rice Krispies that I have in the cupboard.