EGGLESS CARROT AND CHAI MASALA CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

I was asked by Carusele to participate in the #ClabberGirl campaign, sponsored by B&G Foods, Inc. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.

Spring has spring all over the Bay Area, with beautiful blooms in all different forms and colors, and it is definitely uplifting my mood! The time changed as well last weekend, and the days are longer. I am loving the greenery all around, with the rains that have hit the Bay Area. The environment is making me really happy these days, especially with such a hard year hopefully behind us, and seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Spring signifies baking beautiful spring/Easter bakes, like with Easter eggs, or spring flower inspirations on bakes, lemon and lavender flavors or even Carrot Cakes!

I have always loved carrot cakes. Carrots have a lot of nutrition in them, with the high content of Vitamin A in them. They are good for the eyes and are great for munching as a snack. I have a recipe for you that is eggless, for anyone with egg allergies, or who does not like eggs in their baked goods! This is a Carrot and Chai Masala Cake, where I add spices like ground cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and a bit of clove to enhance the flavor of the carrot cake. I also add saffron to this very delicious cake for that added royalness. I got this idea from my aunt, who adds saffron to her masala chai, and it makes the otherwise normal chai so luxurious!

EGGLESS CAKE? HOW TO MAKE IT LIGHT?

I am so excited to partner with Clabber Girl® Baking Powder, to bring to you this delicious Carrot and Chai Masala Cake, that is eggless! The cake is soft, from the Greek yogurt, the baking powder and baking soda that is used in the cake to aerate it. Clabber Girl Baking Powder is the #1 brand of baking powder in America. Since 1850, the brand has been known as experts in baking ingredients and has been beloved by bakers for generations! Baking powder is used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods, and hence because this cake does not have eggs, I add more of it to make the cake light.

CHAI MASALA INGREDIENTS IN THIS CAKE:

I use the following ground spices to make up the chai masala component of this cake:

• Spice Islands Ground Cardamom
• Spice Islands Ground Ginger
• Spice Islands Ground Cloves
• Spice Islands Ground Saigon Cinnamon
• Spice Islands Spanish Threads Saffron – this gives the cake, a gajjar halwa kind of taste. It is subtle and not overpowering, which is what I love.

TIPS ON BAKING A GOOD CAKE:

• For a good cake batter, make sure that the whole milk and Greek yogurt, both are at room temperature.
• Whisk the dry ingredients well.
• Use fresh carrots, peel the skin, and grate the carrots finely to give a good texture to the cake. Do not buy store bought grated carrots. They have lost their moisture, and are not finely ground.
• Add the saffron in the milk so that the color comes out of the saffron and seeps into the milk, at least 5-10 minutes prior to adding it to the batter.
• When adding the flour mixture and milk, do not overmix the batter. Do it on low speed. If you overmix the batter, it can lead to a dry cake.
• Fold in the carrots and cashews into the batter, again ensuring not to overmix the batter.
• For the cake tin, ensure that you spray it with cooking spray all over. Add the parchment paper, and spray again with cooking spray. This is necessary, to ensure that the cake does not stick to the pan and it comes out nicely once cooled, after baking.

MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

The Maple cream cheese frosting is really very easy. You simply add all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and using the paddle attachment, simply whisk all the ingredients until it is a smooth consistency. Here I have used Maple Grove Farms 100% Pure Maple Syrup.  Maple Grove Farms® has been bringing the USA Pure Maple Syrup for over 100 years from Vermont. Maple Grove Farms is 100% Pure Maple Syrup, not an imitation syrup that is full of corn syrup, fat, artificial flavors, and added sugars. It is great for baking or frostings because it is just one simple ingredient and gives that pure maple flavor to the frosting or baked good!

This frosting complements the Carrot and Chai Masala Cake really beautifully!

DECORATION:

For the decoration, I simply added piped cream cheese frosting all over the rim of the cake, along with a layer of the frosting on the cake. I also decorated with spring sprinkles, and a fondant bunny, which is SO apt for a carrot cake! I also made some heirloom carrots with fondant, with a rosemary top, that has my heart! The carrots are SO cute! I love them. I did some grass on the cake as well, to give it that spring fields effect. Overall, the cake is so Springy, Easter inspired, and I love how cute it turned out!

The cake is really delicious, full of flavor, and would be great with a cuppa coffee! The cake needs to be eaten room temperature only. It gets soft at room temperature and will kinda melt in your mouth.

BEST WAY TO STORE THE CAKE:

The best way to store this cake, is to cut it into squares, and keep it in an air tight container, and in the fridge. Remove it an hour before eating, so it gets nice and soft. You do not want to eat a hard cake! If it is cold where you live, you could store the cake out up to 5 days as well.

I hope you get to make this gorgeous cake for Easter or this Spring for your loved ones!

Happy Easter!

XO

Amisha

#ClabberGirl

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Eggless Carrot and Chai Masala Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 25 Mins

Author: Amisha

Difficulty: Medium

Servings: 16

Ingredients

Eggless Carrot and Chai Masala Cake:

• 2 ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (340 gms) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp (16 gms) Clabber Girl Cornstarch
• 1 tsp (4.8 gms) Clabber Girl Baking Soda
• 3 tsp (12 gms) Clabber Girl® Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Spice Islands Ground Cardamom
• ½ tsp Spice Islands Ground Saigon Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Spice Islands Ground Ginger
• ½ tsp Spice Islands Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp (3 gms) table salt
• 1 stick(8 tbsp) + 6 tbsp (198 gms) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 gms) granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 ½ cups (140 grams) freshly and finely grated carrots
• 1/2 cup (75 grams) coarsely chopped toasted cashews
• 1 1/2 cups (360 gms) whole milk, at room temperature
• ½ cup (114 gms) Greek yogurt, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp (10 gms) Spice Islands Pure Vanilla Extract
• ½ tsp Spice Islands Spanish Threads Saffron

Simple Syrup:

• ½ cup (100 gms) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (118 gms) water

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 12 oz cream cheese frosting, room temperature
• 1 cup (226 gms) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups (480 gms) sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 1/3 cup Maple Grove Farms maple syrup
• ½ tsp (3 gms) table salt

Decoration:

• Spring sprinkles
• Fondant bunny
• Fondant for making the carrots
• Rosemary sprigs
• Edible food gel colors
• Grass piping tip
• 12 inch pastry bag x2
• ½ inch round piping tip

Instructions

Eggless Carrot Sponge Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 baking pan, by using cooking spray all over the inside. Add parchment paper, such that it has an overhang on either side of the length of the pan, so that it is easy to remove the cake once cooled. Spray the parchment paper as well with the cooking spray. Set it aside.
2. In a medium bowl, add the all purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, all the spices and whisk to combine.
3. Add the saffron strands to the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, add the butter and sugars. Start off slow, and increase the speed to high, and mix for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest and whisk to combine. Add the greek yogurt and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl and whisk to combine again.
5. Alternating the flour mixture and the whole milk, add it in 2 iterations, and whisk after the addition of each element - meaning whisk to combine after adding the flour mixture, then whisk to combine after adding the whole milk, and repeat the process one more time for the remaining flour mixture and milk. Do not overmix the batter. Add the carrots and cashews, and using a spatula, mix to combine.
6. Add the batter into the pan. Level it off with a small offset spatula. Place it into the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean from the middle of the cake.
7. Once baked, let cool for 30 minutes. Using the parchment paper overhang, remove it from the pan, and let it completely cool.

Simple Syrup:

1. On a small pot, on medium heat on the stove, add the sugar and water. Stir with a spatula to combine. Let the mixture come to a simmer and heat for 3-4 minutes, until all the granulated sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Let cool.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the ingredients. Start whisking on slow, and increase the speed once the mixture looks like it has bound together. Whisk on high speed for 2 minutes, until smooth.

Assembly:

1. With a pastry brush, apply the simple syrup generously all over the cake, to soak it. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Dollop half of the maple cream cheese frosting onto the cake and using a small offset spatula, smoothen the layer to make it even throughout.
3. In a 12 inch piping bag, with a ½ inch round piping tip, add half of the remaining cream cheese frosting into the bag. Seal it onto the top. Pipe even dollops, all around the cake uniformly, to form a border around the cake. Put it in the fridge to set, for half an hour.
4. Meanwhile, using the fondant, make a fondant bunny. Fondant has to be rolled a few times to make it soft and pliable.
5. Use some of the fondant to make carrots. For making the carrots, use either just orange color gel to color the fondant. Or use different colors for the heirloom effect for the carrots. Form into little carrots, and use rosemary sprigs to attach to the top.
6. Using another 12 inch pastry bag, add the grass piping tip. Use the remaining cream cheese frosting, and color it with green food gel and mix to incorporate well. Add to the pastry bag, seal on the top, and pipe green grass over the frosting.
7. Place the fondant bunny in a corner, and strategically place the mini carrots around the grass.
8. Finally add sprinkles all over the piping border for the perfect spring look.
9. Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Bring at room temperature, before eating a slice.

Equipment

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