Recipes for carrot cake, an impressive spring dessert

Perhaps it’s the variations that make it so divisive. Many recipes call for nuts, dried fruits and pineapple to be added to the cake. Those texture combinations in cake can drive off many who prefer a dense cake without crunchy things to chew in the middle.

One option is leaving the nuts out of the cake and just using them to decorate the outside.

The carrot cake is said to have originated in medieval times when the carrots were used as a sweetener in desserts.

In the United States, carrot cake enjoyed its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is believed that is when it was first topped with cream cheese frosting.

The three-layer cake, decorated to the hilt, may take the good part of a day to make, but there are many variations on the dessert that are easier.

Another option is making the cake in loaf pans. There are also recipes for sheet cakes and for everything from carrot cake cookies to pancakes.

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely shredded

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 9-inch cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment. Butter the paper and flour the pans.

2. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, until fragrant. Cool and finely chop the pecans.

3. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, buttermilk and vanilla. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at high speed until pale, 5 minutes. Beat in the liquid ingredients. Beat in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in the carrots and pecans. Divide the batter between the pans and bake the cakes for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until springy and golden. Let the cakes cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then unmold the cakes and let cool completely.

4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese at high speed until light, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the powdered sugar; beat at low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5. Peel off the parchment paper and invert one cake layer onto a plate. Spread with a slightly rounded cup of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer, right side up. Spread the top and sides with the remaining frosting and refrigerate the cake until chilled, about 1 hour. Slice and serve.

— Adapted from Food and Wine

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup roughly grated carrots (about 1 1/2 medium carrots)

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Grind the oats in a food processor or blender to make a fine flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.

3. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until well-combined. Add the egg and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients in two additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each one. Add the carrots and mix until just to combine. The dough will be very sticky.

4. Drop 1-tablespoon mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Bake, rotating the sheets once halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown and spring back when gently touched in the center, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies completely, on the baking sheets set on a wire rack, before filling.

5. To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, lemon zest, sugar and salt on medium speed until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

6. Using a small spoon or spatula, spread 1 teaspoon of the filling over the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, flat sides together.

— recipe from The Craft of Baking, via acozykitchen.com