February 3 is National Carrot Cake Day, and I love carrots. I love carrot cake, and I used to make and bake them in coffee cans. Remember coffee cans? Now my beans come in bags or recyclable paper cans, so no baking in those. I usually make carrot cake in a bundt pan, but you can use a square 8" pan or loaf pan. You'll love this Chocolate Carrot Cake. This recipe is adapted from Southern Food. My adaptation makes it a bit more chocolatey.. no big surprise!
Chocolate Carrot Cake
1 1/2 cup Finely grated carrots
3/4 cup Granulated sugar
1/2 cup Canola oil
1 cup Boiling water
1 1/2 cup Wholewheat flour
1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder (best quality, of course)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 handfuls of broken up chocolate chunks: 60-75% cacao
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, combine carrots, sugar & oil. Pour water over the mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Add to the carrot mixture & mix well. Pour 1/2 of the batter into a non-stick or lightly oiled 8" square pan or bundt pan or loaf pan. Throw in the broken chocolate pieces. Pour the rest of the batter over this. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes... if you can wait.
I don't frost this cake.
Check out Months of Edible Celebrations for Carrot information and Links today.
Now, Chocolate Carrot Cake is right up my alley!!! I love that you used whole wheat flour:)
ReplyDeleteI miss baking cakes in coffee cans. They made wonderful gifts:) My favorite was Chocolate Cherry Cake, of course:)
Thanks for the link Janet, Happy Carrot Cake Day!!!
Silly me:) I "grabbed" your link to include in the post. We couldn't possibly have a Carrot Cake Day round-up without Chocolate Carrot Cake, now could we:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Janet...
Thanks so much and thanks for the heads-up about Carrot Cake Day! Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of baking in coffee cans! We still get our coffee in cans...are we talking about the cylindrical tins, with little horizontal ridges all the way down? Isn't it hard to get the cake out in one piece? Thanks for this recipe and the whole-wheat flour adds some extra nutrition. Sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteBobbi, yes, the cyclindrical cans with the ridges. There's a lot of oil in the recipe plus you spray the cans. The cake just pops out. Delicious and cool shape.
ReplyDeleteI never had much trouble getting the cakes out of the coffee cans. Yes, it was a bit cumbersome to get the fingers in to grease the inside but now-a days, there are those cooking sprays available. The little cakes are just wonderful and versatile for all sorts of decorations. (ie: I use to put one on top of the other or side by side and frost as one, so cool:)
ReplyDeleteJanet, I came across a recipe I think you will totally enjoy. It's at All Things Catered.