Zesty Carrot-Lime Cake

I’m guessing everyone knows the classic carrot cake, or at least a version of it. And it is a classic for a good reason— it's absolutely delicious! While I do love it, to me, it’s also quite a autumny-wintery cake because of the cinnamon and powdered ginger. (I’ll share my recipe for it when the cozy 'ber months roll around again, and we all need those pumpkin-apple-fallingleaves-cocoa-cinnamon vibes back in our lives.)

But with spring starting in a couple of weeks and summer on the horizon, I feel like this cake no longer matches the vibe. Luckily, I have another carrot cake recipe as well—one that tastes exactly like spring. It’s fresh, light, and quite easy to make. So without further ado, let’s dive in!

Instructions for the cake layers:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F) and line two baking trays (32x40cm/13x16in) with parchment paper. (If your trays are smaller, use three or rotate them. Divide the batter into three portions and bake them one at a time.)

Also, now is the time to take the cream cheese out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature before using it later. Using cold cream cheese in this recipe may result in a clumpy cake filling.

2. Peel and grate your carrots finely. If you happen to have a grater attachment for your stand mixer, use it—you’ll have a much lower chance of injuring yourself while grating those slippery carrots.

3. Measure out and mix your flour and baking powder.

When measuring with cups, make sure the flour is light and airy. I recommend spooning the flour from the container into the measuring cup. If it’s packed too tightly, you might end up with almost double the amount of flour, which will make your cake very dry.

Again, I highly recommend using a food scale—your measurements will always be precise, and the results will be consistent every time.

4. Whisk the eggs with sugar, salt, and vanilla until the mixture is pale yellow and has a fluffy texture. The eggs should have increased a lot in size. It will go faster with a stand mixer, but it’s entirely possible to use a hand mixer—it will just take about twice as long.

5. Add the oil to your eggs and mix again.

6. Gently fold in the carrots with a hand or spatula to avoid deflating the eggs and losing all the air you just whipped into them. Mix until well combined.

7. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and fold them in gently.

8. Divide the batter equally between the previously prepared baking trays, trying to make the layers as even as possible. Bake for 10 minutes.

9. Let cool completely.

Instructions for the filling:

1. Take your room-temperature cream cheese and add it to the mixing bowl, along with the vanilla and powdered sugar.

Powdered sugar's volume changes drastically depending on whether it’s straight from the packet or sifted, for example. The measurements in cups here are for unsifted sugar.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record—if you don’t already have one, please get yourself a food scale! I really want you to enjoy baking, and nothing helps more than getting good, consistnet results.

I want to stress that it’s important to use powdered sugar, not granulated sugar, in this recipe. Granulated sugar can make your filling extremely runny, which will make assembling the cake later a nightmare. (Of course, you could assemble it in a baking dish or a bowl to prevent the filling from escaping, but if you want to end up with an actual layered cake, stick with the powdered sugar.)

2. Add the lime zest and mix everything until just combined.

4. Add about a third of the sour cream and half of the lime juice. Mix again until just combined.

5. Add the rest of the sour cream and the remaining lime juice, and mix until well combined. Try not to overmix it. It won’t get airy or light, so there’s no need to whip it too long; if anything, it’ll make it more runny. If everything is well combined, your filling is ready.

Assemble:

1. If you are making a rectangular cake, take your cake layers and halve them so you’ll end up with 4 equal-ish sized layers.

If you baked 3 layers and halved them, I recommend using 5 layers for the cake and using one to make the crumble. Cut the edges straight and throw them in the bowl with all your crumble material.

Alternatively, you can use a round cake pan and cut circles out of your cake layers. Cut as many as you can (I recommend at least 4) and leave all the edges for the crumble.

2. Assemble the cake starting with a cake layer and adding 1/4 of the filling between each layer. (If you have 5 layers, use 1/5 of the filling between each layer.) Spread the remaining filling on top.

Try not to put too much pressure on the layers when adding the next one on top of each cream layer, so all of the filling stays in its intended place. If you are making a round cake, you can assemble it in the same form to help avoid spilling the filling. (You can do the same with a rectangular cake if you have an adjustable cake pan or edges.)

3. Take the edges of the cake layers that were left over when cutting out your rectangles or rounds and crumb them up in a food processor. Alternatively, let them dry a little and then chop them finely with a large knife.

4. Cover the top of the cake with the crumble. Let the cake set in the fridge overnight, covered with cling film to prevent drying out.

5. Decorate the cake with your preferred berries, fruits, or nuts—whatever you like best.

I hope you enjoy this sweet and sour, zesty carrot-lime cake this upcoming spring. Let me know your thoughts! :)