Week 14: Bolo de Cenoura (Brazilian Carrot Cake)

Cooking with Jane, Recipes

We all know Farmer Emily’s carrots are the sweetest carrots around. This delicious and smooth carrot cake, different in texture and flavour profile of your usual spiced carrot cake, harnesses that sweetness and that colour with aplomb. With or without its traditional chocolate glaze, this recipe is a great lil trick to pull out for potlucks! We divined our version somewhere between these two (1, 2). It’s basically a one bowl cake too, which is honestly one of my main requirements in a cake.

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Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cupgrapeseed oil or other neutral oil such as safflower or canola, plus more for pan
  • 2-3 cups carrots trimmed, scrubbed and roughly chopped
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs at room temperature
  • ½ cup full-fat sour cream optional

FOR THE BRIGADEIRO TOPPING (optional)

  • 2 cans sweetened condensed coconut milk
  • 5 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons

OR

  • ½ cup chocolate powder sifted
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ⅓ cup water

Instructions

PREPARATION

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Generously brush a 9-inch round cake pan with oil.
  2. In a blender or food processor, finely chop the carrots by pulsing about 6 to 10 times until minced. Add the sugar and pulse until just combined, about 30 seconds. Add the oil and eggs all at once. Pulse until the mixture is combined and looks a bit foamy, 30 seconds. (You can also do this step without a blender or food processor: Grate the carrots into a medium bowl using the fine side of a box grater. Add the sugar, eggs and oil, and use a whisk to combine.)
  3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and, using a whisk, mix until just combined. Gently mix in the sour cream and pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake until the sides pull away slightly from the edge of the tin and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
  4. Move the cake to a baking rack set in a sheet pan and let it cool slightly in the pan, about 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the baking rack and let cool completely.

FOR TOPPING

(option 1)

  1. While the cake cools, make the brigadeiro topping: In a small saucepan, combine the sweetened condensed coconut milk, cocoa powder and salt. Stir with a whisk over medium-low heat until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Increase heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture forms large bubbles and thickens, about 12 to 15 minutes. It should fully coat a heatproof rubber spatula and drizzle off in a slow stream. Remove from heat and allow the topping to cool completely, stirring frequently to prevent a skin forming on top, and until the brigadeiro topping streaks when stirred and is thick and fudgy, about 25 to 30 minutes.
  2. Spread the cooled topping over the cake, swirling the topping over the center and allowing it to drip over the edge. Let it set slightly, about 10 minutes, then shower a handful of chocolate sprinkles over the top. Cut the cake in wedges to serve.

(option 2)

  1. Add the chocolate powder, sugar, butter, and water to a small non-stick pan.
  2. Over medium heat, stir the mixture continually until it starts to boil.
  3. Once it boils, keep stirring for 1-2 more minutes, and as soon as the sauce starts to let go of the bottom, remove it from the heat.
  4. [We didn’t try either of these this time! But I’ve had this cake with the sauce and it was GREAT – don’t know which of these options is best, but let us know which one you try!]