Recipe and photography by Eden Westbrook
Carrot Tea Cakes with Whipped Honey Cream Cheese Glaze
Makes 19 tea cakes
Ingredients
- CAKE
- Water, for boiling
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup honey
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- WHIPPED HONEY CREAM CHEESE GLAZE
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup honey
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously grease a 10-cup cast-aluminum pan with baking spray or butter and flour.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until completely tender. Drain and mash the carrots until smooth using a fork or potato ricer. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed carrots and ginger. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the honey, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix with a baking spatula until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (see Kitchen Tip).
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then carefully flip onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before glazing. While it’s cooling, make the glaze.
- For the Whipped Honey Cream Cheese Glaze: Beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer on medium speed or sturdy whisk until completely smooth.
- Mix in the honey until fully incorporated, then add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, whipping on medium speed until thick and smooth.
- Add the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the glaze reaches your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, or serve alongside in a glass bowl for individual slices.
Kitchen Tip: This recipe can be baked in a 10-cup Bundt pan or in a fun pull-apart pan, like the Honeycomb Pull-Apart Pan from Nordic Ware that was used for photography. You can test the doneness of the cake by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the center of the cake to make sure it registers 200° to 205°. For the pull-apart pan, bake for about 35 minutes; for the Bundt pan, bake for about 50 minutes.
