brazilian carrot cake
I looked to see if any one here had one and no one did. The difference between Brazil and American carrot cake is the ingredients and topping used. Brazil doesn't have the nuts or the spices, it's just straight carrots and the optional vanilla essence. I tried this recipe after a parent had mentioned to me that her country (Brazil) has amazing carrot cake with chocolate! So she gave me the recipe and with a few adjustments on my side I think this carrot cake came out really good. I also used the 2nd option for the batter and had the grated carrots b/c you can see the bits of it in the cake. The one pictured has less flour hence why it's not as fluffy. But if you follow the original recipe to the left, you'll get a fluffier cake! Enjoy!
Ingredients For brazilian carrot cake
- CHOCOLATE GANACHE (THIS IS OPTIONAL)
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250 gcouveture chocolate
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175 gheavy cream
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36 gglucose or thick simple syrup
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72 gunsalted butter cut in pieces
- SIMPLE SYRUP
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180 gsugar
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150 gwater
- BATTER
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3whole eggs
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6carrots, 2 grated and the rest chop in pieces
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3 ccake flour (unbleached optional)
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1 ccanola oil (you can use vegetable but canola was what i was told and all i have)
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1 1/4 ccaster or bakers sugar (you can use granulated, but these are better i think)
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1 Tbspbaking powder
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1/2 Tbspvanilla essence
How To Make brazilian carrot cake
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1First prepare your pan. I used a normal round cake pan. I lined it with parchment paper on the bottom and on the sides so it's easier to take the cake out and you get a cleaner looking cake.
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2First we make the chocolate ganache. If you don’t have glucose, then you can do what I did and make thick simple syrup. This makes the chocolate shiny^^ In a sauce pan and on low heat, bring to boil the sugar and water. The ratio should be 2:1. Occasionally stirring. I say boil on low heat because if the heat is too high, you will burn and quickly cook the sugar and end up with caramel. While that is going, cut your couveture chocolate into small pieces and put in a stainless steel bowl. Put the heavy cream in another sauce pot. Once the sugar liquid starts to boil, keep stirring for about 5 minutes, the liquid should be boiling but not burning or changing color. When done take it off the heat and set aside to cool, it will become slightly thicker than usual. When that’s done cooling and thickening, pour it 1/3 (or 36g) of it in the heavy cream and bring to boil. When it’s done boiling, pour it in the bowl with the chocolate and mix in the pieces of unsalted butter in 2-3 steps. You don’t want to put them all in at once, you want to make sure that the pieces completely melt before you put the rest of the butter in. Once that’s done, place it in a shallow pan, cover it with saran wrap, touching/covering the chocolate completely and place in fridge for 2-3 hours.
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3The Batter Pre-heat oven at 338 F. Two options
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4First option is to blend the eggs, carrots and oil in a blender into a puree (this is faster). Add vanilla essence after it's pureed.
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5Second Option: Clean and peel the carrots. Grate 2 of the carrots and then cut the other 4 into pieces. Place the carrots and the oil in a blender and puree it. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs for about 5-6 minutes so that they get fluffy. I do this because it will let the cake be a bit fluffier than normal.
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6Next, pour 1/3 of the carrot mixer into the egg mix and gently mix in the ingredients. Then add a little bit more, mix, and add the last. I do this in steps so that you don’t lose the fluffiness of the egg. Mix gently and you know you did it right when your batter has increased in volume. Add vanilla essence.
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7Sieve the cake flour, baking powder and sugar together. Add it to the carrot/egg mixture in 2-3 steps (I did it in 3 steps), to make sure there are no clumps and that the liquid absorbs the dry ingredients.
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8Put the batter in the cake pan and place in pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes. Like always, ovens differ so times may vary. You can always use a toothpick to see if it’s done.
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9Once it’s done let it cool in the pan for about 15-20min. Then take it out of the pan and let it cool on a cooling rack for about 20min or so. You want the cake to be a little warm, but not cold and definitely not hot.
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10Take the ganache out of the fridge. You should have a nice chocolate glaze, if it’s to stiff, put it in a bowl over a double boiler and warm it just a bit, not too much that it’s completely melted. You want it so that it’s spreadable and still cold. Spread the ganache over the carrot cake and you should see the cake to start to absorb the chocolate and if done right you will have it spilling down the sides.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!