Mother and Daughter Carrot Cake

This recipe has been handed back and forth between us for over 10 years. We’ve both made it, tweaked it, and landed here. This is the one.

Makes a 2-layer 9-inch cake.

Cake ingredients

• 1¾ cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 6 eggs 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 pound finely grated fresh carrots

Mascarpone cream cheese frosting (double if you’re frosting sides of cake)

• 4 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 16 oz. cream cheese (2 blocks), room temperature
• 2–3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or use baking spray with flour already in it and save yourself a step.
2. Mix oil and both sugars together in a large bowl until combined. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla bean paste. This is where the depth of flavor starts—don’t rush it.
3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Add mixed dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat on medium, scraping down sides. 
4. Fold in carrots. All of them. Finely grated fresh carrots are non-negotiable and that’s the whole point. The batter will be thick and fragrant and exactly right. No nuts. No raisins. No coconut. And please no pineapple. We’re not doing that to this cake.
5. Divide and pour evenly between the two prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from pans and let them cool. Completely. This matters.

Frosting the Cake

1. Double frosting recipe if you are icing the sides of the cake. 
2. For the frosting, both the mascarpone and cream cheese need to be at room temperature before you start. Beat together mascarpone, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt. Add the powdered sugar and cream until frosting is thick and holds its shape. Taste it. Adjust it.
3. Level the tops of both cakes with a serrated knife if they’ve domed. Place the first layer on your serving plate and add a generous amount of frosting, spreading it to the edges. Set the second layer on top and frost the top of that. If you’re going all the way, frost everything until covered and smooth.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing. It cuts cleaner cold and tastes even better the next day, if it lasts that long.