A ‘Prime’ restaurant carrot cake

(Editor”™s note:  Ocean Prime is one of Manhattan”™s premier surf-and-turf establishments, but there”™s also one in Big Apple rival Boston. There Westfair senior luxury travel and beauty writer Debbi K. Kickham got the recipe for her favorite dessert, Ocean Prime”™s carrot Cake, from pastry chef Summer Schott for you to try at home: ) 

I love to dine at Ocean Prime.  Chef Steve Acker offers inimitable cuisine where even just the house salad is dressed to impress ”“ with a sherry-mustard vinaigrette.  We loved the pretzel rolls, the shrimp dynamite ”“ and yes, it sure was ”“ and our entrées of filet mignon and simple grilled salmon.  We took home our grilled Brussels sprouts and they were even better the next day at dinner. 

The restaurant is owned by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants out of Columbus, Ohio, and their passion for fine food and service is obvious. 

The highlight to our meal was the layered carrot cake  by pastry chef Summer Schott ”“ and yes, it takes the cake: 

Ocean Prime”™s layered carrot cake 

Ingredients for the cake: 

4 ½ cups sugar 

2 ¼ cups corn or vegetable oil 

8 eggs 

1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract 

6 ounces finely shredded coconut 

7 ounces crushed pineapple 

2 ½ cups carrot purée (about four to six large carrots) 

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt 

1 ½ tablespoons baking soda 

1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon 

Directions: 

Place whole carrots in a large saucepan with water, bring to a boil and cook until very soft. 

Drain and reserve some of the cooking liquid. Purée carrots in food processor, using reserved liquid as needed. Refrigerate. Purée must be cold before using. 

Place coconut in food processor and pulse until fine if it is large. 

Place drained pineapple in food processor and blend until fine (no large chunks). 

Prepare 10 13-by-9-inch baking pans with pan spray and line them with parchment paper. Spray pans a second time.  

Mix sugar and oil together, then whisk in eggs.  Then whisk in purée, extract, pineapple and coconut.  

In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Then gently fold into to the first mixture.  Mix until smooth but not for an extended period of time.  

Place ¾ pound (or about one heaping cup) of batter on each prepared pan, spread out to an even layer with an offset cake spatula. 

Bake in 350-degree oven for 7 minutes, rotate and cook another 5 to 7 minutes or until edges pull away from the side of the pan and cake lightly springs back to the touch in the center.  

Cool to room temperature. 

(Notes: The cake is easier to build if you refrigerate or even freeze the layers overnight.  

If you do not have a lot of pans, you can look for cheap disposable pans or bake some layers in batches.  Just don”™t let the batter sit for too long or it may lose its leavening power.  

Another great option is to skip the many layers and still make a great carrot cake.  Just cut this recipe in half to fill 2 13-by-9-inch pans evenly.  The cake will need longer until it springs back, most likely about 20 minutes. You can cut the icing in half as well and make a great and thicker two-layer iced carrot cake: ) 

Ingredients for the icing (makes about 7 cups): 

6 ounces or 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter 

4 ½ cups powdered sugar 

1 pound cream cheese 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 tablespoon lemon juice  

Directions:  

Using the paddle attachment on a mixer, cream the butter until pale yellow in color. 

Add the powdered sugar to the butter, a cup at a time, until mixture is like a smooth paste.  

Blend in cream cheese until smooth. 

Add vanilla and lemon juice for extra flavor. 

Assembling the cake:  

Place first layer on a cardboard cake rectangle or on a serving platter.  

Top with about ¾ cup of icing, spread evenly with an offset cake spatula.  

Top with second layer and repeat until all 10 layers are completed. Press each layer slightly to even entire cake before adding icing. 

For the top layer, use about a full cup or more of icing.  

Place cake in refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours for icing to set. 

Remove from freezer and trim edges to get a clean edge. 

Mark cake into 12 squares, approximately 2 ¾ by 2 ¾ inches. Then cut cake.  

Serve or wrap cut edges of cake with plastic wrap if planning to refrigerate. 

(Notes: If the cake is soft, you can build five layers and freeze for 30 minutes. Then build remaining layers and freeze for 30 minutes.)  

For more, click here. 

And follow Debbi on Instagram @ Debbi Kickham.