Classic Swiss Carrot Cake
All made from scratch! This Classic Swiss Carrot Cake is filled with fresh carrots. It is incredibly moist and flavorful, and you won’t be able to resist! A perfect Easter dessert or a stunning party treat.
Ingredients
Batter:
- 250 g Granulated sugar
- 5 Egg yolks
- 2 tbsp Water hot
- 250 g Carrots finely shredded
- 250 g Almonds finely shredded
- 1 Lemon zest and juice
- 2 tbsp Kirsch or water
- 80 g All purpose flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 5 Egg whites
- 1/8 tsp Salt
Glaze:
- 200 g Powdered sugar
- 2-3 tsp Lemon juice
- 2 tsp Water
Decor:
- 12 carrots fondant
- Orange fondant
- Green fondant
Instructions
Batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line the bottom of a 9-inch (24cm) spring form with parchment paper and grease the sides. I find it easier to grease the sides instead of battling and cutting parchment paper all the way around. If you prefer to line the entire spring form with parchment paper, feel free to do that!
- Peel the carrots, and whit a grader, grade them into fine shreds. Set aside.
- Mix the shredded almonds, lemon zest, flour, and baking powder in a separate bowl. And set aside.
- Separate the eggs. Pour the egg whites into a medium size mixing bowl, add salt, and mix with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Set it in the refrigerator.
- Add sugar, egg yolks, and water to a big mixing bowl and beat until foamy and lighter in color. This will take about 5 minutes. You can use a hand or a stand mixer for that.
- Then add the carrot shreds, the almond-flour mixture, lemon juice, and Kirsch (or water) and carefully mix with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.
- Then add the stiff egg whites and fold them into the batter! Do this carefully and only mix until you see no egg white strikes anymore. Try not to overmix the batter, or it will become runny and end up with a dense cake.
- Pour the batter into the prepared spring form; with a rubber spatula, level it and place it in the oven.
- Bake for about 55 minutes or until the cake is golden brown. If you are unsure whether the cake is done, you can lightly press on it in the center. If it springs right back vs. leaving a dent, it is done.
- Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes before you remove the spring form. Once the spring form is removed, place the cake upside down on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
Carrots:
- Make 12 small carrots from fondant and set them aside. (Read the blog post above for detailed step-by-step instructions on how to make fondant carrots!!)
Glaze:
- Add the powdered sugar to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Start with adding one tablespoon of lemon juice/water at a time. You want to make sure the glaze doesn’t get too runny. Mix with a whisk. Add more liquid as needed.
- You want the glaze to be on the thicker side but still a little bit runny so that it can drip down the sides a little.
- Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and spread it over the surface and sides with a big spoon or spatula.
- Add the 12 fondant carrots to the still-wet glaze. Place them evenly spaced apart around the cake.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Tips to achieve a perfect Classic Swiss Carrot Cake:
➠ Hand-grade your carrots! That will leave you with fine, delicate strands of carrot that basically melt into the cake during baking. You can use pre-grated carrots from the store. However, you won’t have the same result and will have bigger carrot shreds in your cake.
➠ Carefully fold in the egg whites! Don’t over-mix the batter at the end when folding in the stiff egg whites. You want to keep them light and airy. If you mix for too long, the egg whites become runny and will make the end product dense!
➠ Add the glaze to a cooled cake! Make sure the cake is cooled all the way before you add the glaze, or it will not set.
➠ Glaze the bottom part of the cake! Let the cake cool upside down! The bottom part of the cake is smooth and flat, making it easy for you to glaze. It will give you a nice and even look.
➠ Add just a little liquid to the glaze at a time! Start by adding just a few tbsp of water/lemon juice to the powdered sugar. Stir well in between.
Initially, it might look like the ratio isn’t correct and you need to add more liquid than it asks for. But Powdered sugar drastically shrinks and melts together with the liquid.
Once the glaze gets too runny, you have to add more powdered sugar and end up with a lot more glaze than needed for this cake. But if you slowly add the liquid, you will know when you have a perfect consistency. It shouldn’t be too thick nor too runny but easy enough to spread.
➠ Make the cake a day before! It tastes great on the first day but phenomenal on the second! It is an ideal cake to make a day early and glaze the day of!
➠ Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator! This cake will stay good for up to a week in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 267kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 8gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 135mgPotassium: 269mgFiber: 4gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 3591IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 117mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Facts
Classic Swiss Carrot Cake
Amount per Serving
Calories
267
% Daily Value*
Fat
13
g
20
%
Saturated Fat
2
g
13
%
Trans Fat
0.003
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
7
g
Cholesterol
81
mg
27
%
Sodium
135
mg
6
%
Potassium
269
mg
8
%
Carbohydrates
50
g
17
%
Fiber
4
g
17
%
Sugar
23
g
26
%
Protein
8
g
16
%
Vitamin A
3591
IU
72
%
Vitamin C
6
mg
7
%
Calcium
117
mg
12
%
Iron
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.