Classic moments with KitchenAid and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl

I am beyooond excited to announce that I’ll be working with KitchenAid Philippines for the next few months to bring you some delicious recipes, with the help of course of their awesome products! Yaaaay!

I’ve been a fan of the brand from the beginning. I’ve been using their KitchenAid Heavy Duty Stand Mixer since I became serious about baking for the blog so many years ago, and it was definitely one of the best investments I’ve ever made! Owning a KitchenAid stand mixer will change your baking game forever. Let me just get that out there.

Today I’m going to share with you a recipe that’s as much a must-have in your repertoire as the KitchenAid stand mixer is in your kitchen, and that my friends is the Carrot Cake! We’re adding a little twist to this one to make it extra special, and with the help of KitchenAid, this supercharged Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl recipe will be even easier!

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like carrot cake. I can’t explain what makes it such a timeless treat, considering it’s got vegetables in it haha! But there’s something about the earthy sweetness of a carrot cake that just makes you want to keep coming back for more. It’s why every coffee shop sells their own version of a carrot cake. Everyone loves it!

However I do know plenty of people who pick out the raisins before they gobble up their slice of cake, so I decided not to add any in this recipe. Instead, it includes something that to me is a must for a perfect carrot cake, and that is pineapple bits. I love how it adds this bright fruity flavour and helps make the carrot cake more moist!

Another important element for me in carrot cakes is the crown of cream cheese frosting. The savouriness of the cream cheese helps balance out the sweetness of the cake, and in general I just like how well carrot cake and cream cheese go together! Which is why we’re adding another cream cheese element to this by making a cream cheese filling that will run all around the middle of the cake.

We start by “marinating” our carrots with brown sugar for 30 minutes or so. It helps to infuse some caramel notes to the carrots and make them juicy to the bite. I love how this recipe has a TON of carrots because you really get to sink your teeth into them in this cake!

Once the carrots are good to go, we start our cake. I can’t tell you enough how useful it is to have an extra mixer bowl for this recipe. Taking your first bowl, add your white sugar and eggs, mixing on your KitchenAid mixer at around speed 2 until light yellow and creamy. Then add oil and vanilla, mixing again until smooth.

Add in your flour and that lovely ground cinnamon that you cannot go without in a carrot cake. Switch your mixer to speed 1 so flour doesn’t fly everywhere.

This time the carrots, pineapple, and the walnuts go in. Ever since I began appreciating walnuts, I always add it to my carrot cake. I know some people don’t like walnuts so just sub it out with another nut like pecans, as you please. I recommend adding something crunchy though, for texture!

Now that my main batter is set, I just take it off the mixer and set it aside. Then I wash my paddle under running water quickly, then pop in my other KitchenAid bowl. In this other bowl are our cream cheese filling ingredients: cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg. This will go in the middle of the carrot cake.

Mix it up until smooth and silky. Mmmm that looks good enough to eat!

As you can see, I’ve got my carrot cake batter in one KitchenAid mixer bowl, and my cream cheese filling in my extra bowl. Times like these I really appreciate having two bowls!

All right, let’s get this cake in the oven! I chose to use a tube pan for this since it’s easier to find in stores as opposed to bundt pans, but you can use either one. Don’t forget to grease and flour your pan so your cake slips out easily when you flip it! First, place half the carrot cake batter into the pan.

Then top it with the cream cheese mixture. Dollop all of it in there, keeping it in the middle of the cake. You can choose not to use all of the cream cheese mixture if you think it’s too much. Halving it from the start is fine so you can use the other half of the bar of cream cheese for the frosting. (Or for another carrot cake!)

Pour in the remaining batter. If some of the cream cheese mix peeks out from the top that’s fine, as long as none of it is touching the pan, because then it might burn.

Pop this in the oven for a good 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool it completely before adding some cream cheese frosting on top. Honestly, no carrot cake is complete without cream cheese frosting. I used KitchenAid’s 7-Speed Hand Mixer for the first time ever in making the frosting and I am in love! 😍

Take a good look at that fluffiness thanks to this powerful hand mixer!

This carrot cake may seem like it’s over the top with all that cream cheese going on, but once you take a bite you’ll forget all about that! Oh, and I suggest you eat this cold, with a glass of cold milk at the side. I really like it like that.

By the way guys, KitchenAid is currently having this awesome promo from now until April 15, 2016, where you can get a FREE stainless steel bowl with every purchase of a KitchenAid stand mixer, whether Artisan or Heavy Duty. That’s a 3000-4000 peso value bowl for free right there! If you’ve been eyeing the KitchenAid mixer, now would be the right time to get it! I am personally so in love with the colour selection of the KitchenAid Artisan series, especially Majestic Yellow and Ice!

Click the photo below to go to KitchenAid Philippines’ Facebook page and get more information!

This promo is available in the following stores: Gourdo’s Stores, Rustan’s, Coleman Stores, The Landmark, Anson’s, select SM Home Department stores, and Lazada. I really hope that your first recipe with your brand new mixer will be this Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl! 😉

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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl

Classic carrot cake levelled up with the presence of a cream cheese swirl inside, topped with cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 455 grams carrots, peeled and grated (about 2 1/2 packed cups)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup neutral-flavoured oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 170 grams drained canned crushed pineapple
• 110 grams scant 1 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

For the cream cheese swirl filling*

• 8 ounces 1 bar cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 large egg

For the cream cheese frosting

• 4 ounces ½ bar cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 to 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• More walnuts or pecans, for topping (optional)
• Grated orange zest, for topping (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the cake

• 1. In a bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and lightly flour a tube pan, tapping out the excess.
• 
• 2. Once carrots are ready, in the bowl of your KitchenAid mixer using the paddle attachment, beat eggs on low until light. Add white sugar, oil, and vanilla. Beat until incorporated.
• 
• 3. Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, mixing on low until all the dry ingredients are fully combined into the batter. Add in the pineapple, carrot mix, and the walnuts, mixing until well distributed. Set aside for a little bit.
• 

Prepare the filling and assemble the cake

• 4. In the other bowl of you KitchenAid mixer using the paddle attachment, beat together all the ingredients for the cream cheese filling, until smooth.
• 
• 5. Give your carrot cake batter one last mix to make sure the carrots, walnuts, and pineapple have not sunk to the bottom of your bowl. Take your prepared bundt pan and pour in half of the carrot cake batter. Scoop dollops of the cream cheese filling and spread evenly on top, making sure to keep the filling in the middle. (Any part of the filling touching the pan might burn.) Pour in the remaining carrot cake batter right on top of that cream cheese layer, and at this point if some of the filling peeks out on top that's okay.
• 
• 6. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until deep brown in colour and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let sit for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.

While cake is cooling, prepare the frosting

• 7. In the bowl of your mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, then sift in the confectioner's sugar, adding more until you get your desired consistency. Make sure the sugar is fully incorporated into the frosting.
• 
• 8. You can refrigerate the frosting while waiting for the cake to fully cool, but once ready to ice the cake, just use a spatula or spoon to evenly spread the frosting on top. Top with walnuts or pecans, plus some grated orange zest, if desired.
• 

Notes

*You can halve this amount if you don't want too much cream cheese in the centre of your cake. The other half of the cream cheese can be used for the frosting instead!

Adapted from Beyond The Plate blog