great carrot cake recipe / really good carrot cake recipe

Carrot cake recipe with finger millet flour / Healthy carrot cake recipe  

After many days, I got a chance to bake a cake. I had many bake sessions in my to do list. But alas, my oven was not working and all my bakes were kept aside. Now that it had been repaired, I have started my bakes. This bake is a healthy, delicious and amazing cake that I fell in love with. It is ragi carrot cake which is so moist, soft and spongy. The texture is very similar to that of the store bought cakes - airy, spongy and so soft.

I am always in the quest of making healthy bakes for my kids especially for their snacks box. This has been included in that list after pumpkin bread, banana choco cake / bread and ginger loaf bread which are all made with wheat flour making them completely guilt-free snacks. All these bakes were a part of my kids boxes and as a mom, I was delighted to see the boxes come back empty. As kids, they shared these cakes / breads with their friends in their schools, all of whom, happened to like these healthy delights. This healthy ragi carrot cake is the fourth bake in my site.

This cake is made with finger millets. My man and kids are not great fans of any of the millets. So I try to make some kind of specials with the millets. Of late, I have just started off with the finger millets with the Ragi Toor dal dosa recipe. But I would soon do some interesting recipes with the other millets as well. But for today, lets get to know the preparation of the delicious and yummy carrot cake.

This ragi cake is very healthy with all the goodness of carrots. Finger millets or ragi is rich in calcium which helps in the strengthening of bones especially for kids and aged people. This brown beauty tiny balls also help in weight loss, better digestion and also cancer prevention. So its always advisable to include this in our regular diets in some or the other way. I also prepare ladoos, biscuits and other dishes with this finger millet which I will be posting very soon.

Preparation

Measure all the dry ingredients namely maida, ragi flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Whisk it well once such that the baking soda and baking powder mix with the other flours. Now, add the grated carrot and mix with the flour mix.

By doing this, we ensure that the carrots do not settle at the bottom of the pan while baking. Keep this aside. 

In another bowl, take butter at room temperature. I have used homemade butter for this recipe. But you can also use the store bought butter.

Add the powdered sugar to this butter and whisk it well until it becomes creamy.

Keep aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs well.

Add this beaten eggs to the whisked butter and sugar mixture. Add little little egg mix at a time ( around 2 tbsp of egg ). If you add all the eggs at a time, then the butter will get curdled. So, add little egg at a time and mix until it is absorbed by the butter mixture. Then add another 2 tbsp of egg and mix.

Repeat until all the egg is used up.

Add vanilla essence and mix once.

Now add the carrot-flour mixture and mix gently such that the batter is incorporated well.

Pour the batter into greased muffin moulds or a cake pan. Garnish with tutti fruity, cherries, cashews or any other dry fruits of your choice. Bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes or until done. Insert a toothpick or a knife in the centre of the cake or any muffin, if it comes out clean, your cake is done. Cool on a wire rack and de mould. Enjoy with family and friends.

Ingredients

Eggs 3

Ragi flour  1/2 cup ( 50 g )

Maida  1/2 cup ( 50 g )

Butter  1/2 cup ( 100 g )

Powdered Sugar  1 cup ( 100 g )

Grated carrot  1/2 cup ( 50 g )

Baking powder  1/4 tsp

Baking soda  1/4 tsp

Salt  a pinch

Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Ghee to grease the muffin moulds

Method

1. Add maida, ragi flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and grated carrots in a bowl and mix well. Keep aside.
2. Take butter and powdered sugar and whisk until creamy. 
3. In another bowl, take eggs and beat them well.
4. Add the beaten eggs in the butter mixture little by little and mix. Do not add all the eggs at once as this will curdle the butter. 
5. When all the eggs is used up, add vanilla essence and mix once again.
6. Now put the flour-carrot mixture in the butter mixture and mix until it is well incorporated.
7. Pour the batter into greased muffin moulds or cake pan or even a bread loaf pan.
8. Bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes or until the cake is done.

Notes

• We can avoid using the maida and use the ragi flour completely, but there will be change in texture. If you want a soft and spongy cake, then do follow the measurements that are given above.
• Olive oil or ghee can be substituted with butter, but then again, you would not get the same texture that mentioned above. 
• You can add any nuts or dryfruits of your choice. Do add them along with the grated carrots in the flour mix so that they do not settle at the bottom of the pan while baking.