Recipe · fall

Carrot Ginger Cake

Made using leftover carrot pulp from juicing — a great way to use up what would otherwise be wasted.

Meal: snackMain: carrot

A ginger cake made with carrot pulp from juicing carrots. Serve it with a caramel apple bottom OR with lemon sauce poured over top.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Optional: 2 cups carrot pulp (or shredded carrots)

Wet ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup molasses (Cindy uses blackstrap, but if that is too strong, use regular molasses)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Steps

1Sift all the dry ingredients together and set aside. If you’re using the carrot pulp, add it to the flour mixture and gently fold it in so all the carrot gets coated in flour. Set aside.
2With beaters, whip the butter. Add the sugar and beat it in. Add the molasses. Add the eggs one at a time and beat each in. Add the milk.
3Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat to combine. If it seems a little too thick, add another 1/2 cup milk.
4Bake in a 350°F oven, on the middle shelf, for approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Start testing at 25 minutes. When the centre of the cake springs back to the touch, it should be done. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variation 1, Caramel Apple

Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Slice 2 to 3 apples and arrange the slices around the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup or more of brown sugar over the apples. Pour the cake batter evenly over the apples. Serve on a plate upside down so the apples are on top. Serve plain, or with whipped cream, ice cream, or vanilla yogurt.

Variation 2, Lemon Sauce

Butter a 9x13 baking dish and pour the cake batter in evenly. You add the lemon sauce after it’s baked.

Lemon sauce ingredients

1 cup white sugar mixed with 2 tsp cornstarch
1 scoop of butter, about the size of an egg
1 cup water
The juice of one lemon

Directions

Heat the sugar mixture, butter, and water over medium heat, stirring frequently, as it thickens slightly. When it’s a slightly thick and pourable texture, add the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and stir well. To serve, either cut the cake and drizzle some lemon sauce over top, or poke holes all over the top of the baked cake with a fork and drizzle the sauce over so it soaks in. Serve plain, with whipped cream, or with vanilla ice cream.

Tips that help here

Label the Lid, Not the JarA small habit that saves an hour every canning season.
Fall MulchingCover bare soil before winter with the leaves and straw already on hand.
End-of-Season Tool CareA little winter prep now saves frustration when spring comes.