Carrot cake is an iconic dessert for Easter, and these individual, tea-size portions, made with mango juice for a fruity twist on tradition, will have guests raving. Pictured with our Coconut, Almond & Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.
Carrot-Mango Cakes
Serves: 14
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground mace
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1⁄2 cup refrigerated mango juice blend*
- 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated carrot (do not pack)
- Mascarpone Frosting (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 15 1⁄4x10 1⁄4-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray again.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, and mace until combined.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at the time, until incorporated. Beat in mango juice and vanilla extract until combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture at medium-low speed until incorporated. Beat in carrots at low speed just until combined.
- Using an offset spatula, spread batter into prepared baking sheet, smoothing top. Tap pan lightly on countertop to reduce air bubbles and settle batter.
- Bake until cake edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Wrap pan with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour. (Freezing cake will help to create sharp, clean rounds of cake when cut with cutter.)
- Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut 28 rounds from frozen cake. Cover cake rounds with damp paper towels to keep from drying out while thawing.
- Place Mascarpone Frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip (Wilton #1M). Pipe a rosette of frosting onto 14 thawed cake rounds. Top with remaining 14 thawed cake rounds. With piping bag perpendicular to cake rounds, pipe frosting on top of each cake stack.
Notes
*We used Naked’s Mighty Mango.
Kitchen. Tip: Finely grated carrot is important to the success of this recipe. We used a Microplane fine grater.
Make-Ahead Tip: Cake rounds can be made up to a week in advance, stored in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper, and frozen. Let thaw before piping with frosting. Cakes can be assembled and frosted up to a day in advance, stored in an airtight container, and refrigerated. For best flavor and texture, let cakes come to room temperature before serving.
Kitchen. Tip: Finely grated carrot is important to the success of this recipe. We used a Microplane fine grater.
Make-Ahead Tip: Cake rounds can be made up to a week in advance, stored in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper, and frozen. Let thaw before piping with frosting. Cakes can be assembled and frosted up to a day in advance, stored in an airtight container, and refrigerated. For best flavor and texture, let cakes come to room temperature before serving.
Mascarpone Frosting
Serves: approximately 3 cups
Delicious on almost any cake, this decadent frosting is made with butter and mascarpone cheese and is an excellent replacement for cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese
- 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together mas- carpone cheese, butter, and salt with a mixer at medium-high speed until combined. Beat in vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar, starting at low speed and increasing to high speed, until well combined and fluffy. Use immediately.
Notes
Kitchen Tip: If frosting is too warm or soft to pipe, refrigerate it until the desired consistency is reached.
