Unpopular opinion, but my favourite kind of cake might be carrot cake. Don’t get me wrong, I love a chocolate or vanilla cake, but carrot cake is a little moodier and perfect for the fall season, with rich spices, earthy carrots, and tangy cream cheese frosting.

Speaking of cream cheese frosting, this one is a little different. Not only does it contain a good dose of whisky, but it has been lightened up with whipping cream. You can absolutely use regular cream cheese frosting here, but if you want something a little less sweet and a little easier on the teeth, I suggest trying this.

See mom? I’m eating my vegetables.

Makes: 2 6″ cake rounds, easily doubled to make a larger one for a crowd

Step 1: Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (something with a neutral flavour like canola is best)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup finely grated carrots

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Oil baking dish and line bottom with parchment
3. In a large bowl, stir together flour (1 1/2 cups), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp), salt (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (1 tsp), nutmeg (1/4 tsp), and cloves (1/4 tsp)
4. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar (1 cup), white sugar (1/4 cup), vegetable oil (1/2 cup), eggs (2), applesauce (1/2 cup) and vanilla (1 tsp) until well combined
5. Add grated carrots (1 cup) to the wet ingredients
6. Add wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until combined but no more
7. Bake until the edges just start to pull away from the cake pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (start checking at about 20 minutes but the actual baking time will depend on how wet the carrots were, your baking dishes, and the alignment of the stars)
8. Let cool before removing from pan

Step 2: Frosting

Ingredients:

• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp whisky
• 1 cup whipping cream

Directions:

1. Using a stand mixer, whip together cream cheese (4 oz) and butter (1/4 cup) until smooth and creamy
2. Slowly and carefully mix in powdered sugar – don’t go too fast or you will make a cloud of stickiness that coats everything it touches
3. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, whip on medium-high speed for 2 minutes
4. Add salt (1/2 tsp) and whisky (2 tbsp) and mix in to combine
5. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl
6. Pour whipping cream (1 cup) into mixer bowl and mix until cream is whipped, no need to clean the bowl or mixer first
7. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until fully combined

Notes:

• When it is time for assembly, I suggest cutting the cake rounds in half so that you can make an impressive 4 layer cake
• The cake can be made ahead and frozen, it won’t mind
• The frosting can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge, if you do that just let it warm up a bit before you try to spread it
• The decorations in the photos are salted caramel candied pecans… stay tuned!
• Leftovers make the best breakfast