Sourdough (Winter) Carrot Cake

For the Cake

• 1 1/2 cups (298g) grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
• *1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, unfed/discard
• 3 large eggs, preferably duck if possible
• 1 cup (241g) crushed pineapple, drained (don’t press!) into a glass so you can drink it after you get your cardio on while beating the frosting
• 2 cups (198g) grated Winter carrots
• 1/2 cup (57g) chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup (27g) shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (240g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• **1/2 cup whole wheat flour (57g)
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting

• 6 Tablespoons (85g) butter, at room temperature
• Two 8-ounce packages (452g) cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbs vanilla extract
• ***1-2 cups (227g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup (113g) chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
• 2 to 4 Tablespoons (28g to 57g) milk

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9″ x 13″ pan or two 8″ x 2″ round pans. Cut a round piece of parchment to put in the bottom of the cake pans, if using. (It will help them come out more easily).
2. To make the cake: Combine the oil and sugar, and stir in the starter. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
3. Fold in the pineapple, carrots, nuts, coconut, and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just to combine. Pour the batter into your baking dish. Make sure to put the same amount into the separate cake pans, if using, by either weighing the batter or measuring it out.
6. Bake the cake for roughly 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and the sides are just beginning to pull away from the edge of the pan.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and cool roughly 20 minutes in the pan before inverting on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Time

1. Combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla; beating like it owes you money, until light and fluffy. If doing so by hand just know if you are not sweating and reaching muscle failure, keep going. Also use a rubber spatula rather than a whisk because the butter and cream cheese will clump in the tines making your life a million times harder.
2. Add the sugar gradually, beating to combine. Keep tasting to adjust the sugar to your liking.
3. Save the nuts for arranging on top, or stir them in with the ginger, if using. Add the milk, a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.
4. Spread on your cake!
5. Serve the cake at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Unfrosted, the cake can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 3 months. Frost just before serving.

Notes

*The sugar quantity listed here is already reduced by 25% from the original cake recipe. This means the cakes will not rise high enough for you to cut them in half and stack them to make a 4 layer cake if that is what you were hoping for. It also means I highly recommend not reducing the sugar further as it may lead to very little rise. Using duck eggs rather than chicken eggs though will help get a bit more rise than you would otherwise.

**You can omit the whole wheat and just use All-Purpose if you choose. My sourdough starter, Bertha III, prefers having some wheat mixed into her food. Plus, I like the slightly earthy flavor the whole wheat imparts. Don’t add more though as it will mess with the hydration levels.

***Start on the lower end and work your way up. The original cake recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups but that was unbearably sweet for me.