Carrot Cake tends to be a bit dense or heavy and the Frosting is usually too sweet.
In this recipe, I will share a few tips to make a very light Carrot Cake.

The texture of the cake is very soft and fluffy like a Sponge Cake; and the Frosting is not too sweet but stable enough to fill and decorate your cake.

Unlike most Carrot Cake recipes, the eggs do not need to be beaten first; 
This recipe starts by beating the eggs and sugar first until thick and fluffy.

Therefore the use of fresh eggs is very important. Fresh eggs will achieve more volume and have greater stability when beaten than older eggs.

The Eggs must be at room temperature. If your eggs are cold, it may take longer to whip.

Then the Eggs and Sugar will be warmed in a double boiler.
Warming the ingredients simply helps dissolve the sugar better and improves the emulsifying properties of the egg.

As a result, it helps them achieve maximum volume when beaten.

The Carrrots can be grated on a metal grater or in a food processor.
I have used all these methods and found using a fine grater or a food processor was better than use a coarse grater.

Grate the carrots more finely so you don’t get weird, chewy carrot pieces.

For the Frosting, I use less Icing Sugar than most Cream Cheese Frosting recipes.

Less Icing Sugar means less stability, This is where the magic ingredient Milk Powder plays a role in stabilizing the frosting.

This frosting recipe relies on good quality ingredients at the right temperature.
A good quality Butter is important otherwise your frosting might split.

The butter must be softened, that means when you press it with your finger there is an indentation, it’s not sticky and it doesn’t lose its shape.

And please use “block style” Cream Cheese. The Cream Cheese must be cold, straight out of the fridge.
Do not use the Cream Cheese spread that comes in the container as it will not provide structure to the frosting

This frosting must be mix on high speed to ensure it comes out fluffy!

For decorations, I am completely obsessed with Marzipan Carrot. They look so realistic and perfect, and they are so easy to make!  

You can use homemade Marzipan, I prefer store bought.

Look how adorable and CUTE they were turning out!

If you desired, you can save some of the frosting to pipe decorations onto the cake.

Addictive tender crumb, warm spices, crunchy pecans, and not-too-sweet Cream Cheese Frosting 😍😘

No more dense, heavy carrot cake 🤩

I hope this cake will change your perception ☺️

One slice is never enough 🤗

You will always miss this cake 😉

My second Brother will fall in love with this cake! 😍 🥰 😘

Love You All …
Enjoy the recipe and Happy Baking !

WATCH HOW TO MAKE A VERY LIGHT CARROT CAKE

TIPS FOR SUCCESS (PLEASE READ FIRST):

• Grease the pans with Oil or Butter and place a piece of Parchment Paper on the bottom of each pan
• Make sure all utensils clean and grease free (wipe the bowl and utensil with lemon juice or vinegar to helps remove grease)
• Preheat your oven before you start
• Use fresh eggs that are room temperature
• Prepare grated carrots in advance (grate the carrots more finely so you don’t get weird, chewy carrot pieces)
• Grind the nuts into small pieces
• Beat the Eggs and Sugar until reach a ribbon stage (thick, fluffy and pale yellow in colour)
• Sift the dry ingredients
• Mix the dry ingredients evenly until there are no lumps
• Make sure the oil are combined well with the batter
• Don’t let the batter sit too long before baking, bake it immediately
• Resist the urge to open the oven door while baking
• Once it’s baked, let it sit rest in the pan for 5 minutes then remove the cake immediately from the pan
• Let the cake cool completely on a cooling rack before add frosting to the cake
• Wrap the cooled cake tightly in a cling wrap so it doesn’t dry up
• Store the cake in the fridge in an airtight container

RECIPE

A VERY LIGHT CARROT CAKE WITH LESS SWEET YET STABLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Yield: One 6-Inch Round Cake (2 or 4 Layers)

INGREDIENTS
🥕 Carrot Cake
170 g Eggs (room temp.)

200 g Caster Sugar
175 g All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder (Double Act.)
1/4 tsp Salt
1½ tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
100 g Vegetable Oil
200 g Grated Carrots (finely)
100 g Chopped Walnuts/ Pecans/ Cashews (optional)

🥕 Cream Cheese Frosting
240 g Unsalted Butter (softened)
240 g Cream Cheese (cold, straight out of the fridge)
120 g Icing Sugar
145 g Milk Powder
1½ tsp Vanilla Extract

🥕 Decorations
Store Bought White Marzipan
Orange Food Colouring
Parsley

INSTRUCTIONS
🥕 Carrot Cake

1. Grease Two 6-Inch Round pans with Oil or Butter and place a piece of Parchment Paper on the bottom of each pan
2. Preheat the oven 160°C Fan/ 180°C/ Gas Mark 4
3. Prepare grated carrots in advance; no need to peel, just cut off the ends, wash them well and dry them.
   They can be grated on a fine metal grater or in a food processor (grate the carrots more finely so you don’t get weird, chewy carrot pieces)
4. If you use nuts, grind the nuts into small pieces
5. Perpare a double boiler
   Heating a pot of water until it’s almost boiling; take it off from the heat
6. Then, in a large heatproof bowl combine the Eggs and Caster Sugar
   And immediately place the bowl over the pan of hot water (double boiler) and start whisking vigorously (make sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water)
   Keep mixing until the Sugar has completely dissolved
   Check by rubbing a small amount of the mixture between your fingers, it should not be gritty
7. Once the sugar completely dissolved; using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk, continue beat the mixture on high speed until the mixture reach a ribbon stage (thick, fluffy and pale yellow in colour) this process will take for about 8 to 10 minutes
   The ribbon stage means when you lift the whisk from the mixture, the batter should fall back in thick trails. The ribbon lines will stay suspended on top of the batter, remaining clearly visible on the surface for a few moments before slowly disappearing
8. Sift the dry ingredients into Eggs mixture (All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon Powder, Ground Cloves, Ground Nutmeg), Gently fold with a hand whisk, mix until there are no lumps (don’t overworked the batter)
9. Then, in another bowl mix about a third of the eggs-flour mixture with the Vegetable Oil; mix until well combined
   By using this pre-mix method, it prevents the oil from falling directly to the bottom of the bowl which would cause the cake didn’t rise properly
10. Pour the pre-mix mixture back to the rest eggs mixture, stir well
11. Add grated Carrots and chopped Nuts
    Using spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, make sure it is evenly mixed
12. Divide the batter into prepared pans, tap the pan to remove excess bubbles
13. Then immediately bake in the preheated 160°C Fan/ 180°C/ Gas Mark 4 on the middle rack for 40 minutes
    Resist the urge to peek until your cake is done; Opening the oven door while you bake will release some of the heat, this can lead to the cake being to damp in the middle or even falling
14. Once it’s done, let the cake rest in the pan for about 5 minutes
    Then scrape the sides of the pan, turn it over and let it cool completely on a cooling rack
    
    

🥕 Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Beat the softened Unsalted Butter for a few second until soft
2. Add cold Cream Cheese and beat again until this two ingredients are well combined
3. Add the Icing Sugar and Milk Powder
   Mix on low speed first until the dry ingredients are mixed in (scrape the bowl occasionally to make sure everything is mixed well)
4. Add Vanilla Extract and continue beat on high speed for 5 minutes
   Please note, this frosting must be mix on high speed to ensure it comes out fluffy
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store frosting in the fridge for 1 hour until semi stiff
   
   

🥕 Decorations

1. Add a little orange food colouring to the Marzipan, knead well.
2. Cut the Marzipan into roughly equal pieces for each Carrot (about 8 grams each)
3. Using your hands, shape it to resemble the appearance of a Carrot
4. Use a toothpick or fondant tools to make the Carrot ridges and then a hole in the top to insert a Parsley
   
   

🥕 Assemble the Cake

1. If you like more frosting between the cakes, you can cut each cake into 2 layers
2. Place the first cake layer into a cake board, then spread some of the frosting evenly over the top.
   Repeat the same process until the final cake layer
3. Before cover the cake with frosting, chill the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This will make easier to apply the final coat without shifting the layers
4. After 30 minutes, spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake
   If you desired, you can save some of the frosting to pipe decorations onto the cake or press chopped toasted pecans into the frosting (be creative with the decorations)
5. Decorate the top with Marzipan Carrots and Chopped Nuts
   

NOTES

1. Store unfrosted or frosted Carrot Cake in the fridge (in an airtight container) if not serving immediately, and serve at room temperature
2. Keep away frosted cake from heat or direct sunlight
3. Unfrosted or frosted Carrot Cake can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days (in an airtight container)
4. Unfrosted Carrot Cake can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
   Frosted Carrot Cake is not recommended for freezing because the frosting doesn’t thaw well
5. If you want freeze the unfrosted Carrot Cake, you can wrap it in individual slices or the whole cake tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before placing it in a freezer bag
6. To defrost unforsted Carrot Cake from the freezer
   The best method is to transfer it directly from the freezer to the fridge (still wrap in plastic wrap) and let it thaw overnight (around 8 hours) before serving
   This slow refrigerated thawing process helps preserve the cake’s texture and moisture