Morton’s Carrot Cake

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup fresh pineapple, crushed
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 1/3 cups loosely packed shredded, sweetened coconut
• 2 cups finely chopped walnuts
• Buttermilk Glaze:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Frosting:
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Details

Adapted from archive.supermarketguru.com

Preparation

Step 1

*Cake:*
Preheat the oven to 350º.

Generously butter two 9-inch round cake pans, each about 1 ½ inches deep.

Dust each cake pan with about 1 tablespoon of flour and tap out the excess.

In mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until blended.
Add sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla and thoroughly incorporate.

Add pineapple, carrots, coconut and 1 cup walnuts and mix well, then add flour and fold into batter with rubber spatula.

Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake on center rack of oven for about 40 minutes, or until sides of cakes pull away from sides of pan and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

*Glaze:*
While cake is baking, mix together sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda until well blended in small saucepan.

Set pan over medium heat and bring to simmer and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring, until heated through and sugar dissolves. Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

Remove cakes from oven and put them, still in pans, on wire racks sitting on baking sheets. Using toothpick, poke about 20 holes in top crust of each cake layer.

Do not poke holes deeper than halfway through cakes. Whisk glaze and pour it evenly over cake layers.

Let cakes cool completely and then cover them, still in pans, with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours, or until completely chilled.

*Frosting:*
In bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment and set on medium speed or with handheld mixer on medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes or until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Mix slowly so that sugar doesn't fly out of bowl. Gradually increase speed and beat for about 1 minute or until frosting is smooth.

*Assemble:*
Remove cake layers from refrigerator and invert them on work surface.

You might need to run kitchen knife around edges to loosen layers. Put 1 layer on platter, glazed-side down.

Put about 1 ½ cups (a third) of the frosting on center of cake layer and spread it evenly over cake. There should be layer of frosting about ½-inch thick. If frosting is soft, return cake to refrigerator to stiffen it up.

Put other layer on top of cake, glazed-side down, and frost top of the cake with about 1 ½ cups (a third) of the frosting.

With remainder of frosting, cover sides of cakes with thin layer.

With tip of spatula, press lightly into top layer of frosting and pull it up to form little spikes. Repeat over entire top of cake. Lightly sprinkle top of cake with about 3 tablespoons of chopped walnuts. Press remaining walnuts onto the sides of cake.

Serve at room temperature.