A twist to the traditional moist and dense carrot cake is this incredibly soft,fluffy, and spongey Taiwan-style castella carrot cake frosted with a light whipped cream cheese and walnuts.
I enjoy the moist and dense version of a traditional carrot cake as long as it’s not frosted with overly sweet cream cheese frosting. I’m a huge fan of the Taiwanese Castella cake which is known for its incredibly cottony soft and spongey texture. So I thought, I would try out a Taiwanese castella carrot cake and we just love it!
What to expect
Taste: Just lightly sweetened with a good balance of carrots and spices
Texture: Soft and fluffy. Because there are grated carrots folded into the cake batter, the texture inside the cake won’t be as smooth as regular castella and this is normal
Pros: The texture is incredible and if you are into a soft spongey cake, this fits your bill
Cons: Take a long time to bake
Important tips for success
1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature
2. Line your cake pan at the bottom and sides for easy removal
3. If you are using a loose-bottom tin cake pan, be sure to put it inside another large pan to prevent water from sipping into the cake since we have to bake this cake using a water bath
4. Use cake flour to achieve that soft and fluffy texture
5. It is very important to whip the egg white to the right consistency, firm but with a slight bend. Do not beat until it is stiff and won’t bend. It will be difficult to fold the meringue with the cake batter later
6. I recommend using cream of tartar or acid like lemon juice or vinegar to stabilize the egg white
7. This cake does take a much longer time to bake compared to other cakes. It needs that slow rise so the cake will be stable and won’t collapse when you take it out from the oven
8. Don’t include any raisins or other add-ons to the cake batter
This cake has a very light and airy cake batter and if you add any heavy ingredients into the cake batter, it won’t be able to suspend those items and will sink into the bottom of the cake (Trust me, I’ve tried to fold in raisins and chopped walnuts to the cake batter)
9. No heavy frosting
Again, with its soft, airy texture, I don’t recommend cream cheese frosting on its because it’s too heavy for the cake. I included heavy cream to whip with cream cheese to lighten up the texture and it works well compared to just using cream cheese on its own
Troubleshooting
1. The cake collapse after taking out of the oven
Most likely your cake may be underbaked. The top should be dry to touch and spring back when you touch. Use a skewer to test the doneness. It should come out fairly clean with maybe just a few crumbs but it shouldn’t be wet
2. The cake cracks on top
The oven temperature may be too high. Remember that every oven is slightly different You may want to move the cake down to a lower rack. It helps if you have an oven thermometer to know exactly what’s the temperature of your oven
3. The cake is wet at the bottom
If you use a loose-bottom cake pan, you need to wrap with at least 3-4 layers of aluminum foil on the outside to avoid the water from the water bath sipping through the crack at the bottom of the pan. I actually put the cake pan inside another larger pan
Did you make this recipe?
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The recipe is adapted from here with some modifications.
Taiwanese Castella Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake batter:
- 50 gr grated carrot
- 45 gr whole milk
- 55 gr butter
- 30 gr light brown sugar
- 55 gr egg yolks (room temperature) about 3 egg yolks
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 60 gr cake flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- â…› tsp salt
Meringue:
- 90 gr egg white (room temperature) about 3 egg whites
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar or 1/2 tsp vinegar/lemon juice
- 30 gr light brown sugar
Whipped cream cheese frosting:
- 50 gr cream cheese (softened)
- 30 gr light brown sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 120 gr heavy cream
Topping:
- Roasted walnuts finely chopped
Decoration (optional):
- 20 gr carrot
- ¼ cup water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
Things to prepare before you get started:
- Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C) for conventional oven. If you use convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 degrees. Get the eggs out from the fridge for about 15 minutes, to let them come to room temperature
- We will bake the cake in a water bath. Get another larger pan and fill it up with water, about 1 inch full and put inside the oven, on the middle rack. So the water will heat up together with the oven
- Line your cake pan with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides. I used a loose-bottom round cake pan. So I lined the sides and the bottom with parchment paper. If you use a loose-bottom pan, put the pan inside another pan. I found that water still manages to sip in when I just double wrapping with aluminum foil
Set up a double boiler (bain marie):
- Put some water in a saucepan and set a heat-proof bowl sitting on top of the saucepan. The water shouldn't be touching the bottom of the bowl
Prepare the cake batter:
- Add butter and milk into the bowl and heat up until butter just melted. Do not overheat. Remove from the heat and wipe the bottom of the bowl
- Add yolks, vanilla, sugar, and grated carrot and whisk to combine. Sift in the cake flour, ground cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt. Whisk to combine until you don't see pockets of flour
Prepare egg white meringue:
- Beat egg whites on low speed until foamy and then increase the speed to medium (speed 6 on KA) and add sugar in 3 batches and continue to beat until you get a firm peak. When you lift the meringue up with a whisk, it will hold its shape with its tail bending. Do not overwhip the meringue
Fold the meringue into the cake batter:
- Add 1/3 of the meringue into the cake batter. Use a whisk to fold over to combine and when you get to the last 1/3 of meringue, switch to a spatula and swipe down and fold over to combine to make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure the batter is folded with the meringue evenly. Work gently but fast
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bang the cake pan on the countertop a few times to pop large air bubbles. Place the cake pan inside the larger pan if you use a loose bottom cake pan
Bake the cake:
- Very carefully transfer the cake pan and put it inside the larger pan with water that you prepared earlier. Bake for the next 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours. Took me 2 hours with my oven. You can start checking on the cake at about 1 hour 30 minutes mark. The cake should bounce back when you gently touch it. It should be dry to touch. A cake tester should come out clean with maybe a few crumbs but it shouldn't be wet. If it is, bake in a 5 minute increment and check again
Cooling down:
- Remove from the oven and immediately bang the cake pan on the countertop a few times to minimize shrinkage. Then immediately lift the cake out from the cake pan very gently by grabbing the parchment paper or push it out if using a loose-bottom cake pan
- Place on a cooling rack and gently peel off the parchment paper on the side of the cake and let it cools down completely this way before cutting. The cake will jiggle when you pat on it. It will stop jiggling once the cake has cooled down completely and it may shrink down a bit and this is normal. The cake shouldn't collapse though
Prepare whipped cream cheese (only after the cake is ready to be frosted):
- Put softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and whip until creamy. Gradually add the chilled heavy cream and whip until you get a medium-firm peak. Do not whip until it's stiff and grainy. Cover and keep this chilled in the fridge until ready to be used
Prepare the candied carrot:
- Use a peeler to peel about 20 grams of carrot strips. Bring water and sugar to a simmer and then add the carrot strips and simmer for 2-3 minutes and then remove and pat dry with an absorbent paper towel
Frost the cake :
- The cake should have cooled down by now. Use an offset spatula to frost the top of the cake and decorate with the candied carrot strips if using, and finely chopped walnuts. Chill the cake in the fridge for at least 2 hours until the cream is set
