Carrot Cake

A divine carrot cake

There are some recipes so perfect that substitutions or alterations would result in a less worthy dish. Such is the case with this luxuriously rich, crowd-pleasing, triumph of a cake created by Bonnie Winston for the Prospect Restaurant in Kansas City. 

Bonnie was arguably one of Kansas City’s first celebrity chefs. She made her mark in every area of cuisine—cooking, catering, consulting, teaching, crafting menus, styling—you get the picture. She was part of The Divine Ladies, a group of a dozen of us up-and-coming entrepreneurs and artists in Kansas City who regularly dined together for well over a decade. We all adored Bonnie. As Ann Willoughby, a noteworthy graphic designer, recently said, “Bonnie taught me that cooking is a life-long adventure and an act of love.” Marcie Cecil, another Divine Lady, elaborated: “Bonnie created magic. Only she could take an ordinary vegetable and turn it into a decadent dessert.”

Bonnie left this world at far too young an age. Her legacy remains and this recipe stands as a tribute to her many talents. Years ago, she gave me this recipe, before It was included in Beyond Parsley, a stellar cookbook by the KC Junior League. In the years since, I have made this cake at least once a year, always saying a word of thanks to Bon-Bon, as we called her.

This is an excellent dessert for entertaining as it has to be started the day before and baked in the morning. The cake is just as good the second day.

Bonnie Winston’s Extraordinary Carrot Cake
14 generous servings

Filling

Make this the day before serving
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

1. Whisk sugar, flour, and salt together in a small, heavy-duty saucepan. Slowly whisk in cream, then breakup the butter into small chunks and add. Place over medium heat and constantly whisk until butter melts.

2. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir until simmering. This takes about 15 minutes. Be careful not to crank up the heat or the mixture will burn. Simmer for 4 minutes, until filling is thick and coats the spoon.

3. Remove from heat, cool to lukewarm, and stir in pecans and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

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Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups canola or vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten together in a small bowl
1 pound carrots, peeled and grated
1 cup coarse chopped pecans
1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

2. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat oil and sugar until light and pale yellow. Alternate adding a third of the flour mixture and eggs to the sugar, starting with flour, and mixing well after each addition. Stir in grated carrots, pecans, and raisins. Mix well. Batter will be thick.

3. Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven until a fork comes out clean, or the cake springs back when pressed with your fingers, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and cool upright in the pan.

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Frosting

4 ounces shredded coconut, divided
1 eight-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Toast coconut at 300° until lightly brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.

2. Combine cream cheese and butter in a food processor or mixer. Whip until light. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in half the coconut. 

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Assembly

1. Remove cake from pan and split into three horizontal layers. The easiest way to do this is either by looping the cake with a thin kitchen string and pulling it together. You can also use a bread knife. The carrot and nuts chunks add a challenge, but the cake can all be pushed back together if pieces fall off.

2. Place bottom layer on serving plate, spread with half of the filling. If filling is too hard, place in a microwave for 15 seconds to soften. Add next layer and top with rest of filling. Add top layer. Frost top and sides with frosting then pat the remaining toasted coconut onto just the sides of the cake.