Give a citrus bite to your carrot cake with concentrated orange juice.
Consider a box of carrot cake mix the blank canvas for your culinary creativity. Anne Byrn, also known as the Cake Mix Doctor, has even made a career out of sharing ideas to improve cake mixes. Her recipes and ideas treat cake mixes as mere shortcuts to delectable desserts -- family members and guests won't ever guess they started with a box. A few easy and creative additions and replacements can turn your carrot cake mix into a gourmet pastry.
Instructions
1. Replace the water that your carrot cake mix instructions call for with the same amount of concentrated orange juice or crushed pineapple to add a subtle citrus flavor to the cake. For a stronger citrus flavor, add 1/2 tsp. fresh orange zest to the batter, and stir 1/2 tsp. fresh orange zest into the frosting before you ice the cake.
2. Stir 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, raisins or coconut into the batter before baking to add texture to the carrot cake. Stir 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon into the frosting.
3. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg to the batter for a spicier carrot cake. Many carrot cake mixes already contain cinnamon and nutmeg, so you may want to bake a test cake without any additions to determine whether additional cinnamon or nutmeg would improve the cake or give it an overwhelming flavor.
4. Pour the batter into muffin tins and top each one with a sweet, crumbly topping instead of frosting. Mix 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tbsp. softened butter and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans. Sprinkle the mixture on top of each muffin and follow the baking instructions on the carrot cake mix box.
Tags: carrot cake, cake mixes, chopped walnuts, cinnamon nutmeg, your carrot
