Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Leave the butter and cream cheese out to come to room temperature; preheat the oven to 350F.

Shred the carrots in a food processor with the grating attachment, or on a box grater.

Tip the shreds onto a cutting board and run a knife through them five to six times until the texture is ground rather than shredded.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together.

In a stand mixer with the paddle, combine white sugar, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs and applesauce on low speed so no air is whipped into the eggs.

Add the dry to the wet and mix on medium until there are no lumps of sugar or flour.

Add the carrots and mix slowly to fold them in, about a minute; scrape down the sides.

Spray two 9-inch springforms, line each with a traced 9-inch parchment round, spray again, and set them on sheet trays.

Divide the batter between the pans and bake at 350F for 60 to 70 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Variation, sheet cake: mix the same way in a smaller batch, pour into a pan-sprayed 9x13 and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool the layers completely, about an hour.

Whip the room temperature butter and cream cheese with the vanilla, salt and sour cream on the whisk attachment 3 to 4 minutes, scraping halfway, until there are no lumps.

Add the powdered sugar and cornstarch and spin one minute to a lumpless, matte frosting.

Move the frosting to a plastic freezer bag and chill in the fridge.

Cover the cooled cakes in plastic wrap and freeze 30 minutes if rushed, preferably two hours.

With a long slicer or serrated knife, cut the domed top off each layer in a flat plane, then trim the bottom more lightly.

Trace a bowl or plate just shy of nine inches with a paring knife held vertical and remove the collar of cake.

Freeze the trimmed layers 15 to 20 minutes.

Dab frosting on the turntable, press down a cardboard round, dab again and set the first layer down.

Pipe a half inch layer of frosting edge to edge and flatten it evenly with a flat spatula.

Set the second layer on, press, and apply a crumb coat about a sixteenth of an inch thick over the whole cake.

Set in the fridge or freezer 25 minutes.

Apply the outer frosting slightly thicker than a quarter inch, keeping a thick bead under the spatula and using the turntable for the sides.

Set the cake in a large bowl and press toasted chopped pecans onto the sides only; scrape the excess off the bottom edge with a dull knife and lift the cake onto a plate with a spatula.