Carrot Cake with Ghee

Yield: One 9-inch, two-layer cake (approximately 12 pieces)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups grated jaggery, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup grass-fed organic ghee, melted
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp extract and 1 large vanilla bean, split and seeds removed
• zest from one orange
• 3 cups finely grated carrot

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with ghee. Line bottoms with parchment paper, grease the paper and then coat in flour.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Ensuring the brown sugar is not clumped up.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, buttermilk, clarified butter, vanilla (and bean, if using) and orange zest. Stir in the carrots.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, but do not over mix.
5. Pour the batter evenly between the two cake pans, and bake side by side in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

When done, allow to cool for 10 minutes in pans. You may need to run a knife around the edges to dislodge the cake. Turn upside down on cooling racks and peel paper off if needed. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Frosting recipe is provided below.

Frosting
Yield: Enough frosting for this cake
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (or 4 oz) salted butter, softened
• 2/3 – 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (approximately 1/2 a lemon)

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese and butter together until completely mixed, no lumps!
2. Add vanilla and lemon juice.
3. Add sugar gradually until the desired consistency is reached.
4. Frost cake immediately.