Are Frozen Carrots An Okay Shortcut For Carrot Cake?

Carrot cake is surely one of the most underrated types of cake out there. Not only does it give off the impression that it's "healthier" because it's full of grated vegetables, but it's also customizable. Elevate your carrot cake by adding dried fruits like golden raisins or chopped apricots, or go tropical with coconut flakes. Nuts can also be a great way to switch up the texture of your otherwise soft and decadent carrot cake. 

One of the things that all carrot cakes have to have, of course, is the carrots. The process of grating fresh carrots for your cake, though, can be arduous. Rest assured that if you have extra time on your hands, you can always grate a ton of carrots at once and freeze the rest of the shreds for a later carrot cake. 

While the carrot shreds won't have the exact same texture and flavor as when you put them into the freezer, they will still suffice for your carrot cake, since they're going to be mixed in with the batter and other ingredients anyway. Meanwhile, if you were to try to freeze whole carrots and shred them later, they would be too wet and create a soggy dish.

Once you've grated your carrots, you'll want to portion them out into smaller servings so you can grab the exact amount you need to cook with. A canning jar or a muffin tin works great for this purpose. If you go the muffin tin route, once the carrots are frozen in the tin, you can transfer the portions into a freezer bag so that they're easier to store. When you're ready to bake, remove the portion you need from the freezer and let it thaw out. It's important to squeeze out all the water with a kitchen towel to ensure the carrot cake batter doesn't become too wet. 

Some folks will blanch the carrots in hot water before they process and freeze them. However, since the carrots are not being used as a stand-alone item (like in a slaw or as a side dish), it's unlikely that you will really notice any texture or color change in a carrot cake made with frozen shredded carrots versus fresh ones, which is all the more reason why you should try this time-saving hack.