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 says
jeje yes Bundt ups.. thank you for answering so fast... Saludos desde México
Anna says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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.