recipe, sweet

Carrot Cake with Meringue and Maple Cream

Back in May I made a cake in honour of Priscilla’s Bachelorette party. Well, the wedding day finally arrived! It was a beautiful event. In honour of such an occasion, I felt it only proper to make a tall layer cake. In this case, I made a carrot cake with lots of walnuts and pineapple, topped with a meringue crust and sandwiched between a big fluffy tower of maple whipped cream.

This cake is both a spectacle to see and to eat. The slightly spiced carrot cake offers the perfect dense foundation to a light and airy whipped cream. The meringue softens and lays flat due to the moisture from the cake, and so it becomes somewhat chewy and creates the perfect elegant crust.

And although a cream cheese icing is often the classic pairing with carrot cake, sometimes it’s fun to offer a delicious and intriguing alternative!
 I whipped this decadent cake together using the finest ingredients and the finest tools. Sharron from over at Littledeer sent me a selection of their Quebec-made hand-crafted cooking paddles. And are they ever gorgeous! These are their three basics- the Pot Scoop, Pan Paddle, and Better Spreader.

The top smaller utensil is the Better Spreader, and I have found it to be amazing for icing a cake, slicing soft cheese, or pitting an avocado.

The middle one is the Pot Scoop, which is great for beating cake batter or dough as it curves to the shape of a bowl or pot and gets right into those nooks and crannies.

The last is called the Pan Paddle, and this one is great to scraping up all the gritty bits when using your frying pan. And because it is made of pure Canadian maple, it won’t scratch your non-stick pans.

The icing on the cake? Littledeer is ambitexturous- they make paddles for both lefties and righties.
These beautiful instruments would be a welcome gift to any home cook (or chef!).

Carrot Cake with Meringue and Maple Cream
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Ingredients

    for the cake
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup each of granulated sugar and brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup canola or other flavourless oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cuts grated carrots
  • 1 cup drained crushed canned pineapple (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • for the maple cream
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions

    for the cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line two round 9-inch cake pans.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, eggs, oils, and vanilla. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients, and then stir in the carrots, pineapple, and nuts. Distribute the batter into the prepared pans and set aside.
  4. In a very clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold in the sugar and nutmeg. Divide the egg white mixture on top of the cake batter, spreading it right out to the edges. Do not mix the batters together.
  5. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before transferring them to a cooling rack.
    6. for the maple cream
  6. In a clean bowl, whip the cream until it forms peaks. Fold in the maple syrup.
  7. When you are ready to stack the cake, place one cake layer, meringue side up, onto your serving dish. Spread the whipped cream on top. Sandwich the whipped cream with the other cake, also with the meringue side up.
  8. Let the cake side for 1-2 hours before serving. That is, if you can stand the temptation!
7.6.3
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http://cocoabeanthevegetable.com/carrot-cake-with-meringue-and-maple-cream/

Cake recipe adapted from here.
Mapleware sponsored by Littledeer.

June 1, 2014

Hilary

My name is Hilary, and I am the founder of Cocoa Bean, The Vegetable. I hope you enjoy my fruitful food stories and recipes as I explore and get creative in the kitchen.

  • Ben
    My advice, eat a very light salad at lunch to appreciate even more a HUGE slice of this wonderful and flavourful cake ! Heaven ;)
  • Hmm, do you deliver finished cakes? And a black coffee, please!
    • Haha! No delivery, but I can take note! I will see if I can whip up something delectable when Ben and I have you and Milo over to the new place! :)
  • Haha! No delivery, but I can take note! I will see if I can whip up something delectable when Ben and I have you and Milo over to the new place! :)
  • that looks like the most amazing carrot cake!
  • Thanks Dina! :) It is definitely a showstopper!