Add some citrusy zing to traditional carrot cake by adding orange zest and orange juice to the batter before baking. For an extra punch of flavor, try adding some zest to the homemade cream cheese icing as well.
Very tasty cake. The spices and orange made this cake better than the average carrot cake. I added the orange zest to the frosting and just used 2.5 cups of powdered sugar for the frosting. Both were good decisions. I might even try reducing the sugar a bit more the next time I make this. I suggest checking the cake after 35 minutes. Maybe my oven was too hot, but 40 minutes was too long and the edges were overbaked and dry.
The cake was good, but a little too sweet for my taste, but perhaps that is the nature of a carrot cake. Also, I thought the icing could have been made with a little less sugar, perhaps 2.5 cups instead of three. Although I did not try it, I would agree with some of the other reviewers that adding a little acid in the icing would help to cut the sweetness.
Yummy! Big hit with for a co-worker's birthday and relatively painless to make. I also added some orange zest to the icing for a little extra orange flavor. The icing and cake are definitely not as sweet as some--which is one of the things I like about it.
This is a recipe that can be served at any occasion. It can be a winner amoung groups of all ages.
I loved this recipe! I will never make carrot cake again without oranges. I also added a little orange zest in the cream cheese icing. It was great!
I have made several carrot cakes but this was by far the best. Very moist and delicious. Will definitely add it to my "company" list of desserts. I used a store bought cream cheese frosting and that was a little rich but overall awesome!
The cake is wonderful. My husband loves carrot cake and after a few different tries, we've determined this is the keeper. However, the cream cheese frosting needs adjustments (I found the original to be "too thin"). I used 8 oz. cream cheese and 5-6 cups of powdered sugar. This worked better for us.
