Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

[giddyromance]

Carrot cake is one of my absolute favourites, and honestly, I don’t know why I haven’t posted about it before. There’s just something about that moist, dense cake coupled with creamy frosting that’s absolutely irresistible. In fact, I think I love carrot cake so very much because it’s an excuse to make copious amounts of cream cheese frosting.

Comments

[southernmyst]

I'm planning to make some red velvet cupcakes soon, so I shall try the maple cream cheese frosting with them, thanks! :-)

Off topic, but this question has bugged me for awhile, and I hope you might be able to help answer it. I've noticed since moving to England (I'm American) this common way of frosting that you've done in the photo above - only frosting the top and between the layers, but not the sides. They don't do that with sugarcraft cakes, though, so the concept of frosting down the sides isn't unheard of, either. Have you any idea why this practice of leaving the sides unfrosted exists / is so prevalent? Is there some reason or rationale for it that I'm missing? Or is it just a fashion?

Hope that doesn't offend you, I don't mean to. I'm just really curious.

[giddyromance]

Oh no, I'm not offended at all!

I've only moved to England from Australia at the beginning of the year, but I guess the two countries are really similar anyway, so it hasn't taken very much adjusting for me!

As far as I'm aware, it's just an aesthetic thing - I know at home in Australia it's certainly often see as quite 80s/90s (in other words, outdated) to have layer cakes fully frosted with buttercream, unless you work hard to make the finish beautifully smooth and crisp and it's quite elaborately decorated. I think you still tend to see chocolate cakes fully frosted, but a lot of layer cakes tend to have only the top frosted and the layers exposed, or ganache dripped down the edges. It's just a personal thing, I guess! Does that make sense? :)

[southernmyst]

Ah, well then, welcome fellow migrant :-) I am at least happy that most of the time I don't have to struggle with another language on top of all the different customs and subtle differences.

Yes, that makes as much sense as I think it can. Sounds like it is just a fashion thing, and fashion rarely makes sense. ;-) I also wonder if it has something to do with the extra effort involved in making the side frosting look vaguely decent - perhaps the fashion evolved because most home cooks couldn't be bothered for ordinary cakes! :-)

[pavsta]

yammmee