#thecakeslicebakers ~ Carrot Cake with Masala-Chai

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for April 2020 were:

Carrot Cake with Masala Chai

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Making Miracles
• Oven Delights
• Amandie Bakes

Lemon, Ricotta and Thyme Mini-Loaves 

• A Little Bit of All Right
• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• My Recipe Reviews
• A Day in the Life on the Farm

Jasmine Green Tea Cake

• Camille Cooks
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla

My baby baker wanted to be in the pictures too!

As you can see - I chose the carrot cake and oh my goodness I'm SO glad that I did. I loved, loved, loved this cake recipe! It's such a wonderful, moist, slightly dense cake infused with gorgeous warm spices. I love the addition of some strong brewed tea as well - such a smart way to infuse extra depth of flavor!

I altered the cream cheese frosting recipe to suit our tastes - we like it to be more of a strong cream cheese flavor and not very sweet either, so I mostly reduced the amount of butter suggested in the original recipe (my edits are listed below). 

This made for a rich, creamy frosting to cover the tender carrot cake and they worked together beautifully! Perfect for a special occasion dessert, or middle of the night baking adventures - just because. The leftovers won't last long!

Carrot Cake with Masala-Chai adapted from Benjamina Ebuehi

Ingredients
2 English Breakfast tea bags
1/4 cup boiling water
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 - 3 1/4 cups peeled and grated carrots (about 4 medium)

Frosting
6 TBS butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 - 1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
16-oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

optional: 8-12 walnut halves, for decorating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer parchment rounds into 2 8" cake pans and spray with baker's spray. Set aside.
2. Steep the 2 tea bags in the 1/4 cup boiling water for 5 minutes, then squeeze the tea bags and discard, setting the tea aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend together the sugar, eggs, and oil until smooth, pour in the cooled tea and blend again. 
5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix just until combined - finish mixing by hand with a spatula.
6. Stir the grated carrots in with the spatula just until combined.
7. Divide the batter between the 2 prepared cake pans.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set them aside to cool on a cooling rack - turn them out to cool directly on the rack once cool enough to handle.
9. Once cakes have cooled, prepare the frosting by blending the softened cream cheese and butter together until creamy and smooth in the bowl, then on low speed blend in the sifted confectioner's sugar. Taste - adjust the sugar level if needed if you prefer a sweeter flavor.
10. Lay your first cake round on a serving platter (you can cut off a little of the rounded top to make stacking easier if desired). Add about 1/3 of the frosting to this layer and gently smooth all the way to the edges. Top with the second round, and add remaining frosting to the top, gently frost with an off-set spatula, moving the icing all the way around the outside edges and smoothing.