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Bruno Albouze Carrot Cake
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Carrot Cake

Yields8 ServingsPrep Time1 hrCook Time15 minsTotal Time1 hr 15 minsDifficultyBeginnerRating

Ingredients

Carrot Sponge Cake
 70 g walnutor pecan
 190 g all-purpose flour
 5 g baking powder
 3 g baking soda
 1 g cinnamon
 3 g salt
 150 g eggs (3), room temp
 80 g white sugar
 40 g brown sugar
 120 g pineapple, cut into small cubesoptional
 250 g carrots
 20 g ginger fresh or crystalized
 150 g orange or carrot juice
 120 g neutral oilgrape seed/peanut
Orange-Carrot Jelly
 100 g orange juice
 100 g carrot juice
 30 g sugar
 2 g agar-agar
Buttercream-Cheese Filling
 220 g sugar
 50 g water
 10 g honey
 130 g egg white
 10 g vanilla
 150 g butter, room temp
 300 g cream cheese, room temp
Chocolate Chablon (optional)
 100 g dark chocolate
 10 g oil

Directions

About
1

Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from such carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages, when sugar was expensive and carrots were used as a substitute for sugar. Antoine Beauvilliers, former chef to Louis XVI, included a recipe for a "Gâteau de Carottes" in L'art du cuisinier cookbook in 1814. Carrot cake recipes have evolved since. In the batter, walnuts or pecans are often added as well as spices (ginger/cinnamon). Fruit including pineapple, and raisins can also be used. The cake is then topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting.

Carrot Sponge
2

For a 13''x18''/33x45cm baking tray lined with a greased parchment paper or silicone mat.
In the food processor, turn walnuts into meal. Add four, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix to combine; set aside. Peel, wash and shred carrots. Break them down further using the blade of the food processor. Grate shredded carrots along with the ginger (just grate, do not not puree). In a large saucepan, cook down carrot and orange juice for about 15 minutes, or until moisture is gone. (Pre-cooked carrots instead of raw produces a really moist cake that is better the day after it is made). Add pineapple*. Meanwhile, in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat eggs and sugars on high speed for 10 minutes, or until pale and fluffy. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. With a rubber spatula, add oil slowly – followed by the dry ingredients, and carrot mixture. Spread batter evenly onto the prepared baking tray.
*For better redistribution, pineapple can be added once the carrot sponge batter is spread. Also, pineapple can be flambéed with dark rum prior to add to the mixture. To do so, in a hot pan sear pineapple dices along with a tablespoon of brown sugar on high heat. Flambé with 2 tablespoons (30g) black spiced rum.

Carrot Pineapple Mixture

Baking
3

Preheat oven to 375ºF/180ºC. Bake carrot sponge for about 15 minutes. Let cool and freeze. Remove from sheet tray and cut into 4 rectangles. Keep refrigerated.

Carrot Sponge Cake

Orange-Carrot Jelly
4

Combine sugar and agar agar. Reduce orange and carrot juice by half (100g). Add sugar-agar mixture. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a small container lined with plastic wrap. chill and cut into small cubes. Jelly can be kept frozen for later use.

Orange Carrot Jelly

Buttercream-Cheese Filling
5

This Italian meringue based cream cheese filling offers a luxurious, light and less sweet frosting. For the Italian meringue, beat egg whites with cream of tartar on medium speed – keep egg whites to foamy stage. By the time it runs, egg whites comes to room temperature meanwhile incorporating air. Cook sugar, water and honey to 245ºF/118ºC. Pour in thin stream into the running mixer. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat until it cools down. When meringue reaches 77ºF/25ºC, add vanilla and butter. Beat until homogenized. Add cream cheese*, and continue beating until fluffy and light. If butter cream comes out too soft, freeze for 10 minutes or so, and beat again. If it ends up too firm, gently warm up mixing bowl with a kitchen blowtorch.
*For best results, room temperature cream cheese can be beaten separately, and then added to the buttercream.

Chocolate Chablon
6

Chablon is when you coat the bottom sponge cake or biscuit with melted chocolate. Just like the Opera cake for instance. It strengthen its base. Chop chocolate into small piece and microwave 20 seconds. Stir up and repeat until just melted. Do not over heat. Mix in oil. Spread evenly and into thin layer some of the melted chocolate over the first sponge cake. Refrigerate to set. Flip and build the cake.

Montage
7

Spread frosting on cooled sponge, repeat until done. Finish cake in a fashion way using a medium size open star pipping tip. Freeze carrot cake for a couple of hours or until firm enough to trim off edges and cut. Decorate with orange-carrot jelly cubes. Top with real mini carrots if desired. To prepare them: peel and wash. Cook mini carrots in some orange juice and a couple of tablespoons sugar for about 20 minutes, or until just tender. Drain and chill. Reduce remaining juice and serve with the cake. Cake tastes best a day after. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days or freeze well wrapped for a couple of months. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Layers

15 thoughts on “Carrot Cake”

  1. Today I made the carrot cake, so delicious. For me, making your recipes is a challenge. I have made about 16 of your recipes and they never fail.
    SP: The raw white eggs are not dangerous to catch Salmonella?
    Thank you

    1. You never get salmonella from a raw egg yolk or whites. Egg shells may become contaminated with Salmonella from live poultry droppings (poop) or the area where the eggs are laid. Commercial egg shells are all ‘bleached’ prior being delivered to grocery stores 🐣

  2. Hi Bruno,

    I love your recipes, instructions, and videos. I can always count on good taste (even if I mess it up) and your instructions make sure i don’t mess it up terribly.

    I made our carrot cake into a birthday cake and made some extra creamcheese buttercream for the decoration.
    And this is the part i struggled with. The buttercream was very soft and when I was piping it, it just dripped down the sides. I’m not sure what I did wrong.

    If I read your instructions right, you’re supposed to make italian meringue and then cool it down to 25 C (while mixing) before you add room temp butter and creamcheese.
    My room temp on that day was 24 C, so the meringue didn’t really cool down while mixing. I was mixing it for half an hour and then gave up and put it in the fridge to get it down to 25 C. Then I put it back on the mixer, mixed for a few seconds and added butter and cream cheese.

    You mention that if the buttercream is too soft you should just pop it in the freezer. I did that and I left it there half an hour and it was still soft.

    Now, I’m not sure if I misundertsood that you’re suppose to cool it down while mixing and ended up overmixing the whole thing. Or should I have cooled it down more before adding butter and creamcheese, or just left it in the freezer longer. Or, we simply have a weird creamcheese in my country 😀

    I generally struggle with this. I had the same issue when I was making your Pear Charlotte – it was very very soft and when we were cutting it, the cream started puring out a bit. The only time I didn’t strggle with this was when making your apple shaped dessert (because you’re supposed to fully freeze it anyhow) 😀

    If you have any suggestion how to avoid this in the future, I’d be very grateful. Thanks and keep being awesome!

    1. Hi Zala, I believe that your Italian meringue was not properly executed to begin with. So, whatever you try to do afterwards, it won’t fix anything. Please sign up to my online community and share your experiences and photos.. it will help you!… academy.brunoalbouze.com

  3. Bonjour Bruno!

    Avant tout merci pour le partage des recettes, et surtout toutes les astuces de chef ! Bravo à toi et chapeau pour l’état d’esprit !

    J’ai un extra la crème, est elle congelable facilement et pdt combien de temps !

    Merci d’avance pour ton retour !
    Clem

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