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Carrot Cake in an Instant

I understand the irony of this week’s post, given Hilary’s inspiring post about her weight loss last week. But, I think a little treat every now and then is good … and I was excited to try baking a cake in my Instant Pot. 

My husband’s favorite is carrot cake, so I decided to try my hand at a fast carrot cake. This was easy and quick, and while it was shorter than I expected, it was delicious. Now, when I’m crunched for time and need to make a cake in a pinch, this will be my go to.

I like to think of myself as self-taught, guerrilla baker … so I decided to film and share my little cake-baking experiment so you could see for yourself that it’s not really that hard, and you certainly don’t have to be Rachel Ray or Giada to do this. 

Take a look for yourself and find the recipe below!

Instant Pot Carrot Cake

Instant Pot Carrot Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2-cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 tbsp. butter (unsalted)
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice
  • 3 tbsp. of greek yogurt
  • 1/3 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
  • Aluminum foil
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • Optional, add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces

Instructions

  1. Spray your 8-inch springform pan
  2. Pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together
  4. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and whisk together (butter should be melted)
  5. Add carrots and coconut to the wet ingredients and mix
  6. Fold wet ingredients into dry and incorporate the two, mix well
  7. Pour batter into the springform pan
  8. Fold a piece of foil into a 2-3 inch sling
  9. Place the sling under the pan and lower into the Instant Pot
  10. Fold in foil, close Pot
  11. On the cake setting, cook for 35 minutes
  12. For icing, combine 4 tbsp. of softened butter with confectioners sugar, cream cheese and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
  13. Refrigerate frosting until you're ready to frost cake
  14. Once the cake is done cooking, you can let the Pot do a slow release or you can manually release.
  15. Be careful as you remove the lid so water doesn't drip on the cake
  16. Release and remove the cake from the springform pan and allow to cool completely.
  17. Frost cake and top with walnut pieces.
http://www.plankblog.com/video/carrot-cake-instant/

0 Comments

  1. Margaret

    sorry i was a little disappointed….tried making the recipe and thought i had done something wrong as it was so thick. (thicker then when i make a regular carrot cake). I watched the video to see where i went wrong and again disappointed even the host pointed out that what she was doing was hush hush…sorry not a blog I would follow….to bad too as the host seems to be an avid baker. thanks anyhow!

    • Mary Beth

      Hush hush? I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but if any part of the recipe is unclear, i’m happy to elaborate.

  2. HOW WAS IT??? (sorry, didn’t mean to shout – but you didn’t say!)

  3. Looks great. How did the cake taste?

  4. Anita Cole-Smith

    I think if you doubled the recipe you would have a perfectly high cake. Of course you would have to increase the cook time to 55 to 60 minutes. PS For added zing I’d add 1/4 cup (for a doubled recipe) of crystallized ginger, diced very finely. Also, after the cake has cooled completely you could slice the cake in half and frost the middle for a two layer cake. Hope this adds to your baking fun. xxoo

  5. I love my instant pot. It makes the best pot roast and pulled pork. I haven’t tried a cake yet; maybe for Valentine’s Day. I bet your Carrot Cake was yummy!

  6. I❤️mysnk

    Nice! That’s good to know for those of us with almost no time. Now to get that instant pot. Hint hint sis😉

  7. This looks scrumptious, Mary Beth! I don’t have an Instant Pot but might try other alternatives!

  8. Looks delicious! If you had 2 Insta Pots or a lot of time, you can make 2 round cakes and stack them. But you’re right. It’s a great go-to when you are
    in a hurry! Thanks for the video!!

  9. Christine Laver

    I love that Michael walked in during the video!

  10. nancy wolfe

    Your cake looks great. If you still want to make some macaron I strongly suggest looking up Gesine Bullock Prado ( yes, Sandra’s sister). She is the most awesome baker. Lives near me in VT , has cookbooks, classes at her house etc.. Thanks for this blog !!

  11. Christie

    Adorable vlog.
    My hubs favorite is carrot cake also. I’ll give this one a try.
    I’m pretty sure we’ll need to hashtag and use this one… #gorilla-chef
    🤣🤣🦍👨🏼‍🍳😂😂

  12. Yum! Sadly, we don’t have an Instant Pot. Would this work in a crockpot by chance?

    • Mary Beth

      Hmmm… that would definitely require some different instructions. The instant pot is a pressure cooker, so it cooks super fast, as opposed to a crock pot. But you could probably find something online??

      • Haha I didn’t know what an instant pot was (as you can guess I’m not a big baker unless it comes in a box!) I’m trying to be better though and actually got my first kitchenAid stand mixer! Baby steps for me 😂

  13. What size Instant Pot do you have? Is it 8qt.-might have missed hearing that? Sounds like a tasty recipe-did your husband like it? I haven’t dived into getting one yet but a local lady is offering a free class this Saturday using 3 different size for Instant Pots , so I may take advantage of it and learn before I purchase. Thanks for sharing your experience Mary Beth!

    Kelly Getter
    Nashville, TN

  14. Barbara levy

    I don’t have an instant pot, so this was very informative on it’s us.

    Thanks, b

  15. Cindy Nelson

    Love this segment and watching you in the kitchen! I am wondering also why the cakes baked in the Instant Pot do not rise as high as when oven baked, but ours tasted just the same. Loved loved that your husband walked in during the filming, and everything was like oh well life happens. As always loved the PLANK

  16. It looks delicious!!

    You mentioned a cheesecake in the Instant Pot. I did a low carb version of one for Christmas…it was WONDERFUL!!

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