The simple carrot cake I make this Easter and beyond

The party without an appetizer is like Easter without a bunny. And while pre -prepared pastries from the freezer corridor can often work (if it occasionally fail), the freshly made salt cake has much more effects, with very little extra effort. With only one shop bought with puff dough, creamy brie cheese, some fried carrots and a zippy honey-mustard sifting, this cake is easily cooked for a colorful and delicious food. Great for all parties, Easter fork annuals, or even a picnic lunch.

While carrot is rarely a “main event” component, our Birmingham -based Test Kitchen colleague Renu Dhar He found a way to introduce them to this salty carrot cake recipe. The key to the crispy bark, which has a gentle carrot top, only leads to a few critical techniques.

Why is the best of the Puffs Possible bought in the store

The puff dough is a laminate dough, which is made several times by butter and dough until the layers are paper thin. When the oven heat hit the dough, steam expands from the melting butter. After baking, there is a light and gently fluffy dough that is a perfect ship for keeping sweet and delicious stuffing. It's a nice thing.

But making from scratch not only takes time, but also pain. The temperature of the butter and the dough and the ambient environmental conditions of the room must be appropriate for the dough to be perfectly discovered. The simplest solution? Don't do it.

Instead, start with the frozen puff base. This allows you to throw it together relatively quickly. If you are properly cooking until deep gold and crispy, frozen puff pastry is a power plant component that offers a quick basis for fried carrots. We like the Dufour butter taste, but other brands, such as the easy -to -reach Pepperridge Farm, also work well.

Whichever brand you choose, here's the well -baked key. Under -consumed puff pastry is rubber and boring, and unfortunately this is a common event. To avoid this, the thawed puffs must be baked until the “well -worked” French expression, which refers to the deep, dark color of the bark. To achieve this, it takes longer than you can expect to pass through, fold the moisture and fully express its fluffy layers.

While many recipes require the puffy pasta before the cake to ensure proper baking before the cake, the RENU has found that this cake can skip this step, as the carrot has a relatively low water content to throw more moisture than much other vegetables and fruits than this.

Instead, he scores and dock the dough before adding the tops. Scoring the dough perimeter with pairing knife and slipping the dough with fork (also known as docking) to ensure that the edges of the bark are rubbed properly while the center remains smooth and flat while baking. This saves you time and effort, while still a crunchy crust from the edge to the wind.

How to make a tasty carrot top that does not cause wet bark

The key to securing the crust of cake barks relies not only on the preparation of the dough, but also on the preparation of the carrot and the aggregate layer of all components.

First, bake the carrots separately before the cake is assembled. If the raw carrots are glued to the raw cake dough and cookies, there will be a cake with brown edges, a damp substrate and still crispy carrots. This step should not be avoided – these carrots first need a little time in the oven to melt the cheese after assembling and baking the cake and the dough.

While carrots are not very juicy vegetables, roasting first still helps to cook excess moisture, which makes the puff dough wet and prevents it from rising properly. Before roasting, the carrots are thrown with oil, garlic powder and ground ginger, which complements their natural sweet taste. For visual contrast and fun presentation, we want the carrot to cut the carrots into round coins and others into long strands.

The second tip is to ensure that the sharp cake is layered for the purpose. Start with the brie cheese over the prepared dough. Not only does Brie give a creamy, rich taste for the cake, it also works as a protective layer of the cheese to prevent excess moisture leak into the dough. The cheese is then grasped with a honey-mustard vinaigrette and then with the carrot. As the cheese bakes and melts, it also secures the carrots to get into each interconnected bite: the lower bark is crispy, the carrot on the top is soft and is glued with fine melted cheese.

Note that when the cake is cooking, it can be difficult to say that the lower part is crisp, just on top, so we recommend that you carefully lift the edge of the cake with a spatula and run a butter at the bottom to feel how crunchy. If you are still soft, cover the top with aluminum foil and let it bake for a few more minutes until the bottom is crisp.

After removing the cake from the oven, let it cool (uncovered – you don't want to trap the steam!) For a few minutes before cutting the cheese slightly. The cake can be cooled to warm room temperature.

Cooking method
(Keep on the screen awake)

• 2 pound (907 g) carrot (approx.

• 5 teaspoon (25 ml) virgin extra olive oilshared

• 1 1/2 teaspoon (5 g) Diamond crystal kosher saltshared; For table salt use half and the same weight

• 1 teaspoon garlic powdershared

• 1 teaspoon ground gingershared

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple vinegar

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honeyshared

• 1 plate frozen puff pastrymelted

• Universal flourthe dough to rolling dough

• 8 ounce (226 g) double creamy brie cheesethinly sliced

• 1 large yolkBe beaten

• Soil black pepper, for serving

• Fresh thyme leavesTo serve

1. Set the baking rack to the lower third position; Heat the oven to 400 ° F (205 ° C). Slice the 2nd carrot in a 1/2 inch thick circle; Staying in half the carrots in the longitudinal direction.

2. Discard all carrots with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger until evenly coated. Arrange the carrot wheels and length in a layer, cut off the side. Fry until the carrots are gentle and slightly browned at the edges, approx. 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, approx. 5 minutes; Hold the oven.

3. While the carrot roasts in a large bowl, thoroughly whisk vinegar, mustard, honey, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon ginger and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sift the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil while constantly whisk.

4. Remove a rim baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. On a lightly flour work surface, use a rolling tap for a puffed dough sheet in a 13 and 11 -inch rectangle. Transfer to the parchment lined sheet. With a pair of knives, lightly acquire a border around the Puff Dough Bound, approx. 1/2 inches from the edges. With a fork, drill the dough at 1 inch intervals within the border (do not pierce the edge). Cover loosely with plastic packaging and cool until it is ready for baking.

5. When ready for baking, arrange the brie slices in a even layer within the dough score boundary. Arrange carrot wheels and lengths on top of the cheese; Sift and brush evenly with 2 tablespoons of honey-mustard mixture. Lightly brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg yolks.

6. Bake until the cheese melts and the dough is deeply browned at the edges and crisp, 25-35 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire stand and let it cool for 5 minutes. Place the cake in the cutting board and sift the top with the remaining honey-mustard mixture and garnish, black pepper and thyme leaves. Slice and serve at warm or room temperature.

Special equipment

2 rims baking sheets, parchment paper

Make-Head and Storage

This cake is best served after baking, but the rest can be cooled for up to 3 days. For heating, move it to a parchment paper, the flanging baking sheet, loosely cover with aluminum foil and heat it in a 350 ° F (175 ° C) until it heats up, the cheese softens and the puff dough is reflected.