Super moist carrot cake with bailey's cream cheese frosting

My piggies especially Big, loves carrot cake. And Baby, he just can't get enough of bailey's cream cheese frosting!

So I decided to combine both. ^^

Super moist carrot cake (recipe from sallysbakingaddiction with modifications)

~ makes a 9x9 inch square cake
100g brown sugar
3/4 cup / 180ml neutral tasting oil
1/4 cup / 60g sour cream (original recipe calls for yogurt)
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups / 250-280g cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (a pinch is good enough for me)
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 carrots /300g finely grated carrots
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
3/4 cup raisins
4 egg whites
65 - 80g brown sugar

1. In a bowl, whisk 100g brown sugar and oil together. Mix in sour cream. Add egg yolks one at a time to the batter till well combined. Fold in vanilla extract.

2. In another bowl, sift cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.

3. Place the dry ingredients, grated carrots, walnuts and raisins into the wet batter, and fold till just combined. Do not overmix.

4. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till frothy, and slowly add in the 65-80g brown sugar. Beat till medium stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

5. Take 1/3 meringue and mix into the wet batter. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue till just combined. Do not overmix.

6. Bake in a preheated oven of 175-180C for about 35-38 minutes till cake is golden brown, or till skewer comes out clean.

Bailey's cream cheese frosting
125g cream cheese
2 tbsps / 30g butter
3/4 cup / 150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsps bailey's irish cream

Beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy. Fold in bailey's irish cream till well combined.

You know, I've always been wary of using vegetable oil in my bakes. I'm butter-girl! But I've to admit, this is one AWESOME cake! And I think I've figured it out ~ it's SOUR CREAM!!! ^^

If I didn't make this myself, I wouldn't even know this cake is made with vegetable oil! I'd think it was made with butter, using creaming and egg separation method. The texture and bite is exactly my kind of perfect cake! It's oh-so moist and springy plump "boing-boing". Gosh, you must think me mad for saying this.. well, it's almost succulent (as you would describe good ribs!), in a way. None of the flat, wet, sticky after taste texture you get from some veggie oil based cakes. PERFECT.

I've come to realize my post intros are getting shorter and shorter.. and there will probably come a time when I'll probably zip right to the recipe. After all, this blog is mainly to document recipes I've tried and liked.. and not ^^ But the post mortem and (over-)analyzing of my bakes is here to stay. Helps me to remember how I liked it and all ^^.

So for the record, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this carrot cake. A perfect carrot cake ~ just the way I like it. For once, it doesn't matter what piggies think (I didn't bother checking), "I" just think this is the best carrot cake I've made and had.. yet. ^^ A keeper!