J Alexanders Carrot Cake Recipe (Full Copycat Version) (2024)

FAQs

Why is carrot cake so good? ›

That's because the perfect carrot cake recipe has to be warmly spiced, moist, and tender. It needs enough carrots to give it a subtle earthy flavor, but not enough to make it taste vegetal. The cream cheese frosting has to be tangy enough to balance out the sweetness, but not sour.

Carrot cake (also known as passion cake) is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter.

Carrot cake is thought to have originated in England where housewives used sweet products (e.g carrots) to naturally sweeten their confections during World War II. In 1943, the Ministry of Food published a short recipe for carrot cake.

Cake typically turns out crumbly because there is too much flour (especially all-purpose flour) or too little fat. You may also be overmixing or overbaking the cake or cutting it incorrectly.

Oil-Based Cakes: Carrot cake recipes often use vegetable oil (e.g., canola or sunflower oil) instead of butter as the primary fat. Oil-based cakes tend to be moister and have a softer, more tender crumb. The mild flavor of vegetable oil also allows the carrot and spice flavors to shine through.

Carrots contain pigments that are sensitive to changes in pH balance. When the shreds of carrot come into contact with the alkaline baking soda, a chemical reaction takes place that causes the pigments to change color.

Citizens of England began putting carrots in every dish they could dream up, including cake. In the mid-1900s, the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Co. advertised a recipe for carrot cake using its cream cheese as a topping.

The carrot cake we know was originally published in L'art du cuisinier's second volume by Antoine Beauvilliers in 1814 in French before that recipe was translated in 1824. It would later see its biggest resurgence in popularity during the Second World War for very similar reasons.

Carota sativa (Hoffm.) Rupr. Daucus sativus (Hoffm.)

It is a carrot cake, after all. Pecans and Raisins: These add texture, but they are optional.

What is the difference between white and black carrot cake? ›

The only difference is that the “black” version is cooked with dark, sweet soy sauce giving it a different taste and appearance. That means that in two tablespoons of dark, sweet soy sauce added, there was 100 calories, 1g Protein, 26g carbs, 0g Fat.

Oil is used to make cakes moister and extend their shelf life. Some cakes, like a carrot cake, are supposed to have that moist, dense texture and use oil to get it. Other cakes, that need to be light and fluffy, begin with butter and sugar creamed together.

Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry. You need about 4 large carrots for this recipe. And when you grate them, you'll notice how wet they are. That is PRIME moisture for your baked cake and you don't want to skip it!

Burnt Ingredients: If any of the ingredients, especially fats like butter or oil, are overcooked or burnt during the baking process, they can impart a bitter taste to the cake. Overmixing: Overmixing the batter can lead to the development of gluten, which can result in a dense and tough texture.

Yes, the carrots, but also typical extras like raisins, chopped nuts, or shredded coconut, which enhance the flavor and texture of the final result, add to the problem of cleanly lopping off a piece. For example, raisins create uneven pockets of moisture within the cake, causing slices to crumble more easily.

Hopefully you agree that the idea of veggies in your dessert is tastier than it sounds! Warm spices, naturally sweet carrot and cream cheese frosting make this recipe so delicious, it's no wonder carrot cake is so popular around the world.

According to Taste of Home, a typical carrot cake recipe uses grated carrots along with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg as key ingredients. The frosting adds an impressive amount of flavor, as it is packed with cream cheese, walnuts, and vanilla extract.

It tastes as yummy as a luscious cake can taste without chocolate, which is the staff of life. Carrot cake, when it's super fresh, moist and soft, is the absolute best. Especially if it feels almost as if it's going to melt in your mouth. Freshly made carrot cake explodes with flavor.

It has a bright, spiced flavor from the carrots, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.