For the Book: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
This cake from Preppy Kitchen was the perfect addition to our Vanderbeekers book club! We added a few extra touches to the decoration of the cake to honor the cutest character in the story, Paganini, who is the pet rabbit of Laney, one of the Vanderbeeker children.
Rarely is there a need to purchase the bunch of carrots with the greens still attached, but this was one of those times. All you do from there is chop the greens off of the carrots, leaving an inch or two of the stems. (Save the greens, as you’ll want to wash and dry them before decorating the border of the cake with them.) then you peel the carrots and chop off the tips, leaving an inch or two to place in the center of the cake. We also got some chamomile flowers to add to the border for an extra garden feel.
It was as delicious as it was pretty!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 16 slices
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups grated carrots (from 1 pound of carrots)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For the Frosting
- 1 8 ounce block cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir together just until combined and only a few streaks of flour remain.
- Fold the carrots and pecans into the batter. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake layers to cool completely in the pans set on a wire cooling rack. Once cooled, invert the layers and remove the parchment paper.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until very soft and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese and beat until fluffy.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the powdered sugar. (Use more sugar for a firmer, sweeter frosting.) Once combined, scrap down the bowl and add the vanilla. Beat on medium-low speed until fluffy and easily spreadable, about 1 minute.
For the Assembly
- Place one cooled cake layer top-side up on a cake stand or serving platter and spread ¾ cup of frosting over the top, all the way to the edge of the cake. Place the other cake layer top-side down on top. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake.
- If you desired, you can save some of the frosting to pipe decorations onto the cake or press chopped toasted pecans onto the frosting. Chill the cake for 30 minutes to set the frosting before slicing. Keep leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Enjoy!