Go to the Recipe: Flourless Carrot Cake
I'm doing a Modernist dinner for 6 of my friends soon looks like I just found my dessert! Thanks!
- originally posted by Able Blakley
Gorgeous.
You're welcome. If you need help, ask on our forum. We're very active with troubleshooting there.
Thank you!
Now that is one beautiful and technique driven dessert if I've ever seen one myself, love it!
Looks fantastic.There is any other method to do STEP 3 without pressure cooker ?I'd like to do this cake but unfortunately I have no pressure cooker so far
Was able to find Carregeenan Iota on Amazon for a reasonable price. Carrageenan Kappa is way more expensive. Any ideas on where I can find it or if I could use something else instead?
You can use gelatin(about 2.5% of 170 bloom) to the total base to be set. We use carrageenan because it sets extremely fast and allows us to serve the "cake" warm.
- originally posted by Grant Lee Crilly
You can make it without a pressure cooker but it won't be as deep in favor. It will be brighter orange however and it is beautiful.
Thank you for information about the gelatin. I wouldn't have thought about serving the cake warm!
Deborah — You can get the carageenans at ModernistPantry.com
What's the reasoning for mixing two different types of carregeenan? Why not add Iota only to the carrot base and Kappa only to the cream cheese base?
Both Iota and Kappa are thermoreversible gels. Iota creates a soft, elastic gel where as Kappa creates a firm, brittle gel. When used together, synergy occurs to create this desired texture.
From reading the description of both compounds on modernist pantry. Iota should only be used for carbohydrates (sugars -->carrots) and Kappa should only be used with Dairy (cream cheese) based. It seems like both were mixed into carrots and cream cheese. I guess it doesnt matter.
Hi Mike:Kappa generally gives a brittle texture; iota gives a pliable texture, and we blend these to get the texture we prefer. Lambda can be used to thicken, but does not gel on its own. Other than these guidelines, there is no reason to never or always use one or the other in a particular food.
That looks yummy, but I'm not sure I would spend 2 days on a dessert.
- originally posted by RoyB
Definitely not an everyday dessert for most of us, but it wouldn't take two days to prepare this. Probably a few dedicated hours the first time you prepare it.
Want to try this this weekend for some GF customers but. I'm out of iota and no time to get some. I've got kappa, agar, and menthol cel , and gelatine. Ideas, amountsThanks
You can prepare this with gelatin (use about 1.5% relative to the weight of the base). You'll need to serve it cold, and you'll need to wait longer between each layer for it to fully set. But it can be done.
so eliminate the carrageenans and use gelatin instead?
would it work to use just straight Kappa? or wil it be too "brittle"
The texture would be far too brittle. The gel structure would be unstable and more prone to syneresis. The mouth feel would be unpleasant as well.
What temp and time would you use to serve this "cake" warm?
I'm thing about trying this with a cheesecake. Remove the eggs and replace with Kappa and Iota. Do you think this technique would work?
Yes, it would work. The texture will be fairly light and delicate.
Can it be frozen?
Yes.
Oooh! A cake version of the fab Caramelized Carrot Soup from MC/MC@H. And GF as a bonus. It's so beautiful, I think I got a little verklempt.
I was thinking of making this but instead of using ring molds, doing individual servings in a silicone ice cube tray (king cubes, 2 inches.) To remove the cakes, would they slide out easily, or would I want to freeze them, remove them, and then let them thaw back out?Also, how much does this recipe make? Just the one ring mold's worth that is shown in the video, or is that one of a few? I'm looking to do about 12-15 2 inch cubes, I'm trying to figure out how much to scale up the recipe. Thanks!
I would make a large one then cut them into small portions, then glaze them as well. They are very delicate so getting them out of any mold won't be easy. You can freeze them as they will go through a lot of syneresis(think frozen then thawed vegetables).
Maybe I'm misreading this, but wouldn't syneresis be an argument AGAINST freezing them?
Typo in Grant's response. Corrected now.
I love the look of this. Just wondering how much pressure to use in the pressure cooker. Mine has 5, 10 and 15lb options?? Thanks
- originally posted by Rosemary Potter
Use the 15lbs option.
hi guys, I'm in the process of making this cake. I'm curious about two things though. Why create so much carrot puree (400g approx) and then use only 150g of it? I'm confused but I have a lot of the puree left over and I don't see where it gets used. Feels like I'm missing something here.Also, what temprature should you set your stove to when pressure cooking the carrots?
I followed the instructions to the tee but when I removed the mould from the cake it just slid apart like unset jelly, my ingredients measurements were pretty accurate. What could have gone wrong?
It's really important to pipe the layers on to each other before the one beneath it has fully set, otherwise they won't bond together and will slide apart when de-molded. It takes a bit of practice, and very good organization to do things at just the right speed.
Because it's hard to blend a smaller amount. We freeze the extra and use it another day.
I really wish you had mentioned that then I would have done so and saved myself a lot of trouble in recreating it (since I screwed up the next steps)
The layers didn't really slide apart as much as the cake itself didn't have enough viscosity to maintain it's shape. Would it perhaps not be a good idea to refrigerate the cake before taking off the mould and applying the layer of icing? My kitchen was pretty hot at the time although I'm not sure if that a factor.
You certainly want to cake to be chilled in between layer application.
Thank you guys Chris & Grant. I make one and served. (In Latvia) It was very light, yummy and tasty.
You're welcome. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
I would be super curious to know the science behind this: why does the pressure cooker deepen the flavor?
Is it possible to use agar agar instead kappa and iota? In which proportion? Thanks
What's the purpose of the pressure cooker in this recipe?
The pressure cooker is used to caramelize the carrots, when used with baking soda it developers a rich toasted flavor.
I have to say no Giuseppe, you will never achieve that same custardy texture using agar agar.
If I don't have sous vide . Can I boil them straight and use it? Without keeping.
Hi. I've tried this 3 times now - the first was at my parents on a visit - they only had a old set of scales and I had estimate amounts - worked well though. At home i have all the scales and equipment. But, the frosting is just too thick. It is setting in seconds out of the bath. No time to cut the bag, never mind poor. What can I do to give more time? More milk? less of the carrageenan? The video shows a much thinner viscosity than I am getting.
hi,
I've tried the recipe tonight and it's very good, but I think the sea foam powder is required to make it a complete dish (the cake by itself doesn't have the same WOW factor). Just like every one else, my frosting seemed a lot denser than the one in the video, even if I agitated the pouch before removing from the circulator. Next time I'll try to transfer the frosting to a glass beaker fixed inside the circulator and shake it with a spoon or immersion blender (might add too much air) for a minute or two, to see if it makes it thinner. I admit that after reading the description of the cake, I expected the frosting to be a little more tart/acidic to cut the sweetness/richness of the carrot base. I think I'll use the remaining carrot puree to try the recipe next week, but I'll replace half of the regular cream cheese with a sheep's milk cream cheese (or replace it altogether with half mascarpone / half sheep's milk cream cheese).
Thank you guys (and girls) for all you're hard work, I've done dozen of you're recipe and so far, the results are great!!!
So, I had already bought Iota Carageenan and this week I ordered the Kappa so I could try out this recipe. I was already cooking the carrots when I realized that they had shipped me Iota instead of Kappa. Grrrr... I ended up trying Agar Agar in place of the Kappa, but the texture was way off. Here's hoping I have time to try it out again next weekend.
So i am planning to make this with pumpkin instead of carrot, for a bit of a spin on pumpkin cheesecake (which is not a cake) and actually making a pumpkin and cheese cake.
As far as i can see, it should be pretty similar to this, I believe i should be close on the liquid component (though there is a slight difference in water content of pumpkin and carrot (90 and 92% respectively from my research), so i may have to add some liquid or reduce the amount of hydrocolloids to make up for the difference (~8 grams). As far as preparation goes, I believe that it should be pretty close as well; i believe pumpkin will also benefit from pressure cooking with baking soda and dark rum and raisins should work well with pumpkin and pumpkin spice (though i have not tested this hypothesis). Oh yeah, I will also replace mace with pumpkin spice, or rather the remaining ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.
But, there are still a few unknowns, and any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!
I've tried this with sweet potato (baked then peeled) in place of the carrot and it worked out very well with no other changes. I had a little synersis (weeping) after a few days, but this is not a big deal, I may try xanthan to mop up the excess water or modified starch, but I don't want to impact the texture. I suspect the sugar content of the sweet potato was slightly lower, because the result was good but the salt was aggressive, though not in an unpleasant way. I've never made this with carrot as listed. Regarding pumpkin, Modernist Cuisine posted a recipe that you might be interested in. In short, yes, they still use the pressure cooker on canned pumpkin : http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/caramelized-pumpkin-pie/
In this day first time I tried do this wonderful cake but I lost I tried do without lota, but tommorow I gonna try one more time:) Thx all persons who work here, and allways I wonder after making video who cleans all this stuff? :P
Can I make this recipe in advance until i have the pouch bags ready? And then freeze the whole lot and make it on the day itself. In other words, will freezing the two bases effect the carrageenan to work properly?
I imagine getting the carrageenan measurements precise is key. You can get a really inexpensive, precise scale from Amazon. I just bought one, shipped same day shipping with tax for about $20 total.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012N1NAA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've tested it's accuracy with a nickel (weighs 5 grams) and it's pretty much spot on.
Ming, the temperature is pretty key. You don't need sous vide to do this, but you can use your stove top to get the right temp. It will just require some patience and attention.
Chris, you are active in your responses. Thank you very much for that. Your responses have been most helpful.
Is it possible to make the cake without the rum?
I am looking for acetate sheets and am not sure if the ones available in office supply stores are OK to use. What is the difference between these and those labeled "food grade" except the price!
The cream cheese mixture seems to thicken to a gel almost instantaneously, yet the carrot mixture thickens, and doesn't fully gel- it stays a partially liquid state. Should I increase the milk in the carrot mixture? or the Iota and Kappa? Any suggestions?
I'd like to know the answer here too. It would be great to make the bases ahead of time and have them on-hand to minimize the prep, assuming this all happens prior to dropping in the 194 water bath. But is it best to freeze the pouches or keep them in the fridge and is it better to add the carrageenan right before cooking it all or does that act ok if frozen and hawed and then re-cooked?
