Tamara Reddy, a winning chef at the June 28 Mini-Tasting, has every Ina Garten cookbook. So when it’s time to whip up a dish for a potuck, Ina is her go-to source.
“Her recipes are always a bit decadent, and I very much enjoy making them for the OCWS Mini-Tastings, where the food items brought by my fellow members are always so wonderful,” Tamara says. “Ina helps me rise to the level of my fellow attendees.”
Tamara advises anyone taking on this dish to hand grate the carrots.
“Don’t be tempted to use a food processor as it creates too much liquid for this already very moist cake to handle,” Tamara says.
Carrot Cake with Crystalized Ginger Mascarpone Frosting
Ingredients
CAKE:
2 cups sugar
1⅓ cups vegetable oil
3 extra-large eggs, at room
temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. all-purpose
flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1½ tsps. kosher salt
1 lb. carrots, grated
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Ginger Mascarpone Frosting
(recipe follows)
Crystallized ginger (not in syrup),
chopped, for garnish
FROSTING:
12 oz. Italian mascarpone cheese,
at room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, at room
temperature
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/8 cup minced crystallized ginger
(not in syrup)
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Directions
Cake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees then grease two (9 x 2 inches) round cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the pans.
Beat the sugar, oil and eggs on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened.
STIR in the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones.
Toss the carrots, raisins, walnuts and 1 Tbsp. of flour in a medium bowl. Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 35
minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a baking rack and cool completely.
Frosting:
Beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, cream and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy.
ADD the crystallized ginger and salt and beat for 30 seconds more.
Place one cake on a flat serving plate, rounded side down. Spread half the frosting on the top (not the sides). Place the second cake on top of the first cake, rounded side up.
Frost just the top of the second cake. Sprinkle with the ginger and serve at room temperature.