February 05, 2011

Inside Out Carrot Cake©



They say that necessity is the mother of invention.  It certainly was in this case.  I love carrot cake and wanted to make one for my husband to take and share with his training group.  However, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is messy and I didn't want him to have to worry about squishing the cake.  So I thought about it and realized that I needed to put the icing on the inside.  Once this was decided I came up with my very own recipe - Inside Out Carrot Cake.

Since I had such wonderful results with my Oatmeal Blueberry Raisin Cookies from Flour, I decided to base my recipe on the carrot cake in this cookbook.  I wanted to make two loaf cakes so I doubled the recipe, making changes here and there.



The standard cream cheese frosting for a carrot cake calls for powdered sugar, butter, and cream cheese but I did not think that this would stand up very well to baking.  I decided that I would whip up a small amount of cheesecake batter and use this as the middle layer in my carrot cake.  It worked perfectly.

The cake needs to cool in the pan before you remove it.  I sliced one loaf when it was still a little warm because I wanted to take photos and get I had to get it ready for my husband to take to training, and it was a little difficult because it was just too soft.  I would recommend making it the day before you need it.  I just cut another piece, strictly for research purposes of course, and it is much easier to cut and the flavor is even better today.




 The end result was a cake that combines the best of both worlds - carrot cake and cheesecake.  I think I even surprised myself as to how well it turned out.  I usually follow a recipe, making a few small changes here and there.  I have never really come up with a concept before and have it come to fruition.






Inside Out Carrot Cake©
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

Cheesecake Layer:

  • 8 oz (1 package) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Cake:
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 6 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 4 cups tightly packed shredded carrots
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preparation

Cheesecake Layer:
  1. Place cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest in a medium bowl and mix until well blended.
  2. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cake:
  1. Position rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350°F.
  2. Prepare two loaf pan with butter and flour, or line with parchment.
  3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment beat together eggs and brown sugar on medium-high speed for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is light and thick.
  4. In a small bowl whisk together the oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla.
  5. On low speed slowly pour the oil mixture into the egg-sugar mixture.
  6. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all spices.  
  7. Using a spatula fold flour mixture into the egg mixture, stopping just before it is completely incorporated.  
  8. Add carrots, raisins, and pecans and continue to fold until everything is mixed in well.
  9. Pour 1 carrot cake batter layer into each of the two loaf pans (approximately 2 cups per pan).
  10. Top with a layer of the cheesecake mixture in each pan, using a spatula to gently smooth it out in the pan.
  11. Finish with another layer of the carrot cake batter (approximately another two cups per pan).
  12. Bake cakes for approximately 1 hour.  
  13. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs©



46 comments:

  1. What a fabulous idea--looks delicious!

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  2. This is so clever - and looks utterly delicious!

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  3. This is really cool! Nicely done, photos are awesome!!

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  4. Wow, it look so delicious! Bookmarked, I'm trying this one for sure! Thank you for sharing :)

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  5. wonderful idea! This looks amazing! I also love carrot cake and cheese cake so this is perfect!!

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  6. What a great recipe!!! lovely layers!

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  7. What a great idea - I love carrot cake and definetely will give this version a try!

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  8. A wonderful idea - I'm so glad you took the initiative and experimented for the sake of yummy cake! I will for sure be experimenting with this recipe as well! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  9. This sounds so, so good! I always have so much trouble taking frosted baked goods on the good. Such a smart solution :)

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  10. That is a great idea! I often find myself in the same situation, it is such a bummer to smash a perfectly good cake. I'm going to have to give something like this a try sometime soon! Thanks for sharing :)

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  11. oh yum...i love that swirl of cheesecake in the center!

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  12. Isn't it fun experimenting with recipes? You had such a great idea layering cheesecake batter in your carrot cake to solve your transport issues. The swirls are such a delicious surprise.

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  13. This is a brilliant idea! Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is my hubby's favorite dessert and i can never make it for him to bring to work because with his train commute he would for sure have frosting all over his bag and laptop. Problem solved. Bravo!

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  14. Oooh this is BRILLIANT!! I love it and I love carrot cake too. hehe you really are clever! :)

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  15. What an interesting idea! Looks good to me ;)

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  16. OMG you are genius! What a great recipe, I want to make this right now, great job!

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  17. What?!? That's like the bestest of the best ideas... frosting on the inside...LOVE IT! I'm sorta drooling.

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  18. Very creative, I love this idea, and the cake looks absolutely scrumptious!

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  19. Oh, I love it! I thought about making my carrot cupcakes for the Online Bake Sale but thought that shipping the frosting would be a sort of pain in the you-know-what. However, this is a great idea--inside out! I always love me a good carrot cake and seeing as how the recipe you used is pretty different from mine, I'll have to try this! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

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  20. Love the carrot cake and this is fantastic idea....great job:)

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  21. delicious inside out sounds interesting

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  22. I love and adore this idea! How cool can it be to have carrot cake (which is semi-healthy), combined with cheesecake (which so is not). I want to make this!!

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  23. What a clever idea. Thank you for sharing!

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  24. That is pure genius, that is! Think I would take that over the cream-cheese-frosted version any day.

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  25. I love this idea! Now I'm craving carrot cake which I don't consume nearly enough of!

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  26. Very creative idea, looking forward to baking it. More ideas like this please, and thank you.

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  27. That looks so delicious. I can just imagine how good that tastes with the cream cheese layer in the middle of the cake!

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  28. this is such a great idea Felice. and it looks so good. I see myself whipping this real soon. thanks for sharing.
    have a wonderful Monday

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  29. You've got me here! Nothing more I can add that someone hasn't already... Simply put, FANTASTIC!

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  30. That is such a fantastic idea. Very inspiring, I am going to remember this one.

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  31. Looks good :) I just can't wait to start baking again.. I really have to try some delicious carrot cake :)

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  32. Oh,my gosh! A new twist on one of my favorite desserts! I really need an excuse to make this! THANKS for the fabulous recipe!!!

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  33. WHat a creative idea. I loooovee carrot cake and would glady devour this! I'm definitely going to be trying this out! Thanks so much for the recipe. :)

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  34. This such a cool take on carrot cake. I can't wait to try this.

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  35. What a great idea! I love carrot cake and this looks delicious!

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  36. Cheesecake in the carrot cake sounds brilliant! I want to make this for dessert (or even dinner) this weekend, thanks for sharing!

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  37. You are so creative to put the cream cheese on the inside, and lots less messy for sure. I love carrot cake, so I can't wait to try this one!

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  38. Brilliant idea! This looks so very good.

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  39. This is a great concept! I love the idea of it! Not to mention it sounds super yummy

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  40. OOhhh!!! I love this concept!! Dionne made something similar around Thanksgiving with pumpkin, but Carrot is a favorite around here, especially with the cream cheese layer. What a wonderful idea!

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  41. Carrot cake and cream cheese is such a great combination! Reminds me of the carrot cake cheesecake from cheesecake factory. I used to love it!

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  42. mine's in the oven right now! thanks for the recipe

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