J Alexanders Carrot Cake Recipe (Full Copycat Version) (2024)

FAQs

Why did my carrot cake flop in the middle? ›

5. My cake has sunk in the middle. There are three main reasons for this: a/ the oven door has been opened before the cake has set, b/ the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or c/ there's too much raising agent.

Too much liquid - the batter should not be runny so maybe you could reduce the liquid content just a little. Too much sugar in the cake can also sink the cake. In your recipe you use 2 cups of sugar for 2 cups of flour...

Most of its flavor comes from brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and carrots. Ginger adds the most delicious zing, but it isn't overpowering at all. The cake is dense, but each forkful tastes super soft and extra lush.

Incorporate too little air and your cake won't rise enough. Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

Remove the cake from the oven, and quickly loosen its edges with a spatula. This will help prevent it from sinking in the center.

The key to a soft and fluffy carrot cake is to have the carrots bake into the crumb. If you coarsely grate the carrots, then they will not bake as quickly and will stay as threads through the cake which can get stuck in your teeth. For maximum flavor and the best texture, you'll need to grate them finely.

Carrots contain pigments that are sensitive to changes in pH balance. When the shreds of carrot come into contact with the alkaline baking soda, a chemical reaction takes place that causes the pigments to change color.

Carrot cake is oil-based, rather than butter-based. This keeps it moist and helps it last for days. Unfortunately, it also means you lose the leavening power that creaming butter and sugar would bring. (Creaming, or beating together the two ingredients on high speed, aerates the butter.)

If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.

Is carrot cake healthier than regular cake? ›

The Calorie Content of Carrot Cake vs.

However, even though carrot cake has a higher fat content, it can bit a healthier choice compared to regular cakes especially because carrot cake is made with whole wheat flour, which is a healthier choice of flour, unlike white flour.

Our answer. The green flecks are carrot but the colour has been changed by the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the mixture.

The most common reasons a cake sinks in the middle include the following: The pan is too small. There's too much liquid. Opening the oven or moving pans during baking.

Adding too many mix-ins

The promise of a cake bursting with nuts, raisins, and a hint of coconut seems like a flavor jackpot. However, too many mix-ins can lead your carrot cake down a dense and heavy path, and that's a baking detour you might want to avoid.

When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre. This happens because of the way the cake cooks naturally in the tin – the sides of the cake tin heat up first.

Cakes sink in the middle due to several reasons. One reason is that the cake batter might be too moist, causing it to collapse during baking. Another reason could be that the oven temperature is too low, leading to uneven baking. Opening the oven door too frequently while baking can also cause cakes to sink.

A cake can crumble for a variety of reasons: overmixed batter, too much flour, not enough sugar or not enough shortening. When you bake your cake, make sure you use the flour your recipes calls for, preheat your oven and bake the cake at the correct temperature.