Carrot Cake with Miso Cream Cheese Frosting || Gracefult Kitchen

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Carrot Cake with Miso Cream Cheese Frosting

Lamb

Cookbook author and cooking teacher Sonoko Sakai extends her passion for miso to this cake recipe. She explains, "When I moved to Los Angeles from Tokyo, my mother took us to a diner where she ordered us carrot cake for the first time. She was always encouraging us to try things, but a vegetable cake? I was skeptical at first, but when I took the first bite, I fell in love. Soon, I began making my own. I'd never baked with any of these ingredients before, so I felt a little more American every time. Later in my life, the Japanese in me wondered about adding miso to the frosting—after all, mochi sweets are often flavored with miso. I found it offsets the sweetness and gives it a punch of umami. I like to use both white and red miso. Since the flavor of miso varies, start small, taste and adjust to suit your palate."

Ingredients

¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
2 cups grated carrots
½ cup walnuts, toasted, plus more for garnish (optional)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 - 2 tablespoons red miso
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Description

To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and coat it with cooking spray.
Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in coconut oil in a slow stream. Whisk in the flour mixture in 3 additions; beat until just combined. Fold in carrots and walnuts (if using). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 50 minutes. Peel off the parchment paper.
To prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter and miso to taste in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase speed to high and beat until combined, about 30 seconds more. Frost the cooled cake. Garnish with walnuts, if desired.