Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

Chef Gord Harris,
Prairie Ink Restaurant and Bakery

Adding maple to classic carrot cake cream cheese icing gives this towering dessert an extra dose of sweetness.

Ingredients
Carrot Cake
5 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 2/3 cups white sugar
2 2/3 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
20 oz crushed pineapple
2 2/3 cups shredded carrot
1 1/4 chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
caramel sauce

Maple Icing
12 oz cream cheese
1 cup butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp maple extract
10 cups icing sugar

Method
Carrot Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F.
2. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and white sugar.
3. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and ground ginger. Mix well.
4. Add pineapple, carrots, walnuts, coconut and crystallized ginger. Mix well.
5. Grease 3-8″ cake pans. Distribute mix equally among pans.
6. Bake for 34 mins.
7. Cool before icing.

Maple Icing

1. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese using a mixer on medium speed until smooth.
2. Add butter continue beating until smooth.
3. In a separate small bowl, add maple extract to whipping cream. Mix well using a spatula or spoon.
4. Add whipping cream to cream cheese mix. Mix well adding icing sugar until smooth.

Assembly

1. Spread maple icing between each layer of cake. Stack layers.
2. Frost top and side of cake with remaining icing.
3. Garnish with caramel sauce.

Yields 12 slices