Ahh.. the holidays! My favorite time of the year! Everything about the Christmas season puts me in a good mood. The decorations, the music, the holiday cookies... it all adds up to a season of joy, love, and laughter!
Christmas Eve dinner is one of my favorite moments to celebrate with family. We spend the evening at my Nonna's home enjoying the Feast of the Seven Fishes. This is an old Roman Catholic tradition in which we abstain from meat on the eve of the birth of Christ. This year's meal consisted of cod, tuna, beans and greens, spaghetti, focaccia bread, and much more.
But what is dinner without dessert?
On Christmas Eve, we also get to celebrate my Aunt Susanna’s birthday. Amidst the cookies, nut rolls, pizzelles, and chocolates... cake is my necessity. When I asked my aunt what kind of cake she wanted, her only request was a whipped icing! So I put on my thinking cap and came up with the idea of a cranberry carrot cake with a whipped mascarpone icing. I am excited to share the recipe with you. And this year, it was gluten free!
This gluten free carrot cake is so spongy and light. I have realized I enjoy the texture of cakes better when they are made with oil instead of butter. This was also the first time I was really satisfied with the taste and texture of a gluten free flour. I used Kroger's Simple Truth Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour. One thing I learned from reading up on gluten free flours is that they need to contain xanthan gum in order to keep the cake from crumbling. This brand of flour already contains xanthan gum and worked perfectly for the recipe!
This cake is packed with fresh grated carrots and dried cranberries. I baked my batter in four 6-inch cake tins to layer the cake and had some leftover batter to make another small cake. You could also make cupcakes with the extra batter or use the whole recipe to make a larger 8-inch cake in three layers. It's all up to you!
As for the mascarpone icing, I wanted to try something a little different than a typically cream cheese icing that is standard to a carrot cake. Since my aunt wanted something light and whipped, I came up with this icing. It paired just perfectly with the cake because it was not too sweet and not too heavy.
My 4 layer 6-inch cake was just perfect for our Christmas Eve crowd. There was just enough for 12 of us to have a small slice and save room for extra cookies. I iced the cake with a "naked" look and garnished it with some sugared cranberries. I am so proud of how this cake turned out and how much everyone loved it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Feel free to share with family and friends. Let me know if you try out this cake! I love seeing how you make it your own and hearing your twists on the ingredients.
Stay well and take care everyone!
Cranberry Carrot Cake with Whipped Mascarpone Icing (Gluten Free)
Cake Ingredients:
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups shredded carrots (grate them yourself, rather than purchasing pre-grated)
1 cup dried cranberries (low sugar, if possible)
Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, oil, and orange zest.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture. Mix until even and completely wet.
Stir in carrots and dried cranberries.
Grease and flour cake pans. See options below for bake times.
Cool cakes for 10 minutes before removing from pans and transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Four 6-inch cake pans - fill cake pans about 1/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Extra batter can be used to make another cake or leftover cupcakes.
Three 8-inch cake pans - fill pans about 1/3 full. Bake for 23 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Icing Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened but still chilled (I used BEL GIOIOSO)
Icing Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip on high speed until soft peaks form (about three minutes).
Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream. Whip until stiff peaks form (about 1-2 minutes).
Tips for Icing the Cake:
My four layer 6-inch cake was made over two days. I baked the cake the day before assembling. I wrapped the cake layers individually and stored them in the fridge overnight.
I always make the icing fresh. This icing can last a few days in the fridge, but I found it was best to spread and decorate immediately after whipping.
For assembly, each cake layer was leveled before stacking. This is also a good opportunity to taste the cake scraps.
For the naked cake look, I stacked the cake and used by cake spinner to get a smooth look to the sides. I then popped it in the freezer for 10 minutes. I ran over it with icing once more to even the top and sides.
I used a 2D Wilton piping tip to make the swirls of icing on the top.
Sugared cranberries are a fun touch. I used this recipe from Natasha's Kitchen to make them happen.
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