Help With Carrot Cake - First Time!!
Decorating By jessieb578 Updated 18 Aug 2008 , 5:07am by mixinvixen
Ok, so the recipe I'm using is keonicakes in the recipe section....but it calls for grated carrots - I don't have a grater!! Can I use a potato peeler and them chop them tiny??? Help! 
I've never made this before and don't know what size the carrot bits should be.
Oh gosh now I have to tell my French baker carrot cake story.
This guy I used to work for used CANNED cut carrots in his first and last carrot cake. The little fat circles of carrots were left whole and sunk to the bottom of the cake. Eew 
That really happened too who could make up a story like that. I did the American cakes and he did the French ones. I totally freaked out and he had someone else working on it and they put it on like one cardboard 
and needless to say it cracked massively and that was a very good thing! He was a trip!!!
So sure you can use a peeler like that and then chop them. Just so they are in smallish skinny pieces. Not fat one inch chunks.
Oh, whew....I was so nervous!! So they should be tiny little pieces....yeah, I've never seen a shred in a cake
If you have a food processor with a shredding blade, that will also work. I stand the carrots up so that the cross sections are what you are shredding. No long strips.
Glad there's a thread about this recipe, I was wondering first, how is the carrot in the cake, does it get fully cooked and sort of smoosh into it or is it still crunchy and raw?
Also could I add white chocolate to the mix to 'punch it up' a bit?? 
Wanna make it for a friends Bday but she doesn't like really sweet cakes.
(BTW I've never eaten carrot cake as the thought of carrot in cake makes me think eww! )
Shola, the carrot is in tiny pieces so it is fully cooked from the baking process although it doesn't dissolve. But they are tiny so it's cool. So the carrot is not crunchy, it all becomes cakey. I mean often there's raisins, pineapple and nuts in there too.
White chocolate in the cake? Hmm. That might be fabulous. But to my mind, it would dampen the overall effect. It's already a rich cake. Carrot cake is often served with cream cheese icing. White chocolate icing I think would be pretty cool.
Carrot cake ideas for you.
The carrots do fully cook so there is no "crunch". And since they are cooked they darken in color. In fact, if you didn't actually tell someone that there were carrots in the cake, they would probably have a hard time identifying them.
Lots of people think "Eeewww" when you mention carrot cake. But I think once you have tried it, it will be one of your favorites! What a great way to eat your vegetables!
One note: I pour my batter into three round pans because due to the texture of the cake along with the raisins and the pecans, torting it can be tricky. So, for me, it's just easier to stack the three cakes.
Good luck!
! Okies, I'd like to give the keonicakes recipe a try, it asks for 'flour' should I use cake flour or AP flour??
Also says use paper in the pans but I use a pan grease mix I got from CC, can I use that or do I really need the paper? I just hate paper as the edges tend to get cooked into the cake!
Has anyone ever used the shredded carrots that come in the bag in the produce section? I've always wondered, but sometimes they look a little "dry".
I toss my shredded carrots with some brown sugar for a bit before adding to the batter. I suppose it would work just fine with the bagged shredded carrots too, to draw out some moisture.
well that was nice, recipe did not attach: here...
Pineapple Carrot Cake
Quick Cooking
"This moist cake with cream cheese frosting is the best I've ever eaten," writes Jeanette McKenna of Vero Beach, Florida. "It's so simple, too, because it uses two jars of baby food instead of fresh carrots that need to be grated."
SERVINGS: 12
CATEGORY: Dessert
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 35 min. + cooling
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 jars (6 ounces each) carrot baby food
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
Additional chopped walnuts, optional
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the oil, eggs and baby food; mix on low speed until well blended. Stir in pineapple and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and confectioners' sugar until mixture reaches spreading consistency. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Garnish with nuts if desired. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 12 servings.
Comments
I did use the bagged, shredded carrots once in a time crunch -- chopped them up a little bit finer -- and the cake turned out just fine.
This is the recipe I use and have had nothing but rave reviews:
http://www.pastrychef.com/Carrot-Cake_ep_55.html
I used Anne Byrn's Carrot Cake recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor.
It was SOOO GOOD and so easy. I had a guy at work wanting one
and I'm timid trying new things for OTHER people, but this recipe was
the BOMB. It got rave reviews from everyone at work.
I iced it with the crusting cream cheese icing from here and it was awesome.
http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/recipes/what_kind/cakes/carrot_cake_with_fresh_orange.php
ok candylady I did try your recipe,, YOU ARE RIGHT YUMMMM!! very easy and very good... now I did have a bit of a problem getting the cakes out of the pan.. have you had that happened.. I used a pan grease (flour,oil and shortning mixture) and have never had a prob. but the bottoms of the cake a stuck to the pan.. 
I must have done something wrong but dont know what as IT IS THE BEST CARROT CAKE.. I CANT STOP EATING THE CAKE THAT STUCK TO THE PAN!.. i WILL GIVE IT ANOTHER TRY..
just made a spiced orange carrot cake with crystallized ginger today...actually, it was cupcakes, but they're pretty darn good...got if from my favorite, cooks illustrated.
if you're familiar with cooks illustrated, you'll know they test out a zillion recipes and then perfect them. they said from all the recipes they tested, 3 cups worth of grated carrots seemed to be the perfect number, which was 7 or 8 medium sized carrots.. 1 cup was not enough flavor punch, 4 and 5 was too much moisture. it also called for ap flour, not sifted...just dipped down in the bag, scooped up, and leveled off.
i've said it a zillion times, but i just don't think you can go wrong with cooks illustrated...i look like a superstar cook, and all i do is read the instructions!!
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