Cream cheese-filled carrot cake

Claire Whitley | Crumbs

Claire Whitley | Crumbs

One of the best cakes in the world is a homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Well, what if I told you the cream cheese could go inside the cake? It can, and the result is the ultimate carrot cake. This cake is especially good with fresh oranges, lemons and carrots.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrots

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons orange extract

Cream Cheese Filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Orange Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 10” Bundt cake pan (or use nonstick-spray with flour in it). Set aside
2. To make the cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in remaining filling ingredients until smooth. Set aside
3. In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, gently whisk eggs then stir in remaining wet ingredients just until combined. Don’t over mix
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened, then stir in carrots until evenly combined (I use my clean hands to stir in the carrots)
5. Spoon 3 cups batter into prepared Bundt cake pan. Spoon Cream Cheese filling over batter and gently smooth, but do not touch the sides of the pan. Top with remaining batter
6. Bake at 350F degrees for 45 minutes, cover with foil then reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean
7. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely
8. To make the orange cream cheese glaze, using an electric mixer, cream together all of the glaze ingredients EXCEPT the powdered sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth. Add sifted powdered sugar and beat until very smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using
9. When cake has cooled, drizzle glaze over cake or individual servings, whisking in additional orange juice/milk if Glaze has become too thick upon standing
10. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days

Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cewhitley24