Carrot Cake with Tahini Cream Cheese Frosting
One thing we can all agree on is that it must be served with an indulgent amount of cream cheese frosting. While I do love the classic frosting, I tested out a tahini version and the results were mouth-watering. It is definitely a match made in sesame carrot cream cheese heaven.
I had a lot of fun making some mini marzipan carrots for decoration based on a recipe I saw on Martha Stewart. I used sprigs of thyme for my carrot leaves and loved the effect. I did have a frustrating end to my carrot tahini cake test day: in a classic fit of bakers impatience, I made the mistake of trying to frost my cake rounds before they were fully cooled. I admit that I should know better by now, but I was so impatient to try the cake and photograph it that I threw caution to the wind. I think I was able to snap about three photos of the finished cake before the rounds started sliding in opposite directions! I decided to try and slice the cake immediately which resulted in gobs of frosting spilling out from all around the cake. It was a big tahini cream cheese mess but it tasted delicious nonetheless.
Tahini Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8oz package of cream cheese softened
- 2 cups of icing sugar
- 113 grams(1 stick) of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup of tahini
In a stand mixer on medium speed beat the butter, tahini and cream cheese together until smooth. Add in the icing sugar a little at a time until you reach a smooth consistency.(About 5 minutes) Refrigerate for up to 20 minutes until it is firm enough to frost your cakes with. Don't forget to let your cake rounds cool completely before frosting!
