”You have to taste a culture to understand it.”

– Deborah Cater

Carrot sheet cake (Latvian burkānu plātsmaize)

Thin layer of dough and thick, rich layer of carrot… That’s how my mom described her memories about the Latvian carrot sheet cake (burkānu plātsmaize), which her grandma used to bake. My mom loves the cake, therefore we baked it regularly at home for the holidays in my childhood.

Step by step video tutorial
Serving Size:
12 – 16 pieces
Time:
Prep time: 1 h
Wait time: up to 2 h
Bake time: 30 min
Difficulty:
Medium

Equipment

  • I am using a baking tray of size: 24.5 x 21 x 4 cm / 9.5 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches (fits 1.5 litres / 6.25 cups)

Ingredients

For the carrot layer:
  • 1 kg / 2.2 lbs carrots
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 200 g / 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon or gingerbread spices
  • 50 g / 0.4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 100 g / 0.4 cups whipping cream
For the yeast dough base:
  • 70 ml / 0.3 cups milk (2% or full fat)
  • 15 g fresh yeast (or 6 g active dry yeast)
  • 150 g / 1.3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 40 g / 0.2 cups butter (unsalted)
  • 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Boil carrots with 1/2 tsp salt till they are soft. Drain, leave to cool and peel.
  2. Put milk, butter, sugar and salt in a small pot and warm on medium heat till the butter melts. Let it cool so that it is fine to touch before adding to the yeast.
  3. Crumble yeast in a bowl, add to it about half of the warm milk and a few tablespoons of flour to activate it. Mix and leave for about 10 min till the yeast becomes bubbly and grows in volume.
  4. Sift flour in a big bowl. Add to it the remaining milk and the yeast. Mix everything well to form consistent dough. If the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. The dough should not stick to hands or the bowl. Knead the dough on the kitchen countertop for a few minutes till it is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, put in a bowl, cover with a towel and leave in a warm place till the dough doubles in size. It can take an hour or two depending on how warm the place is where you put the dough.
  5. Put a piece of parchment paper in the baking tray so that it is easier to remove the cake when it’s done. And grease the parchment paper with a bit of oil or butter.
  6. Dust the kitchen countertop with a bit of flour and roll the dough thin, approximately in the size of the baking tray. Move the dough to the baking tray and fold the sides down so that the dough is only on the bottom of the baking tray. Cover the baking tray with a towel and leave the dough to rest while preparing the carrot filling.
  7. Set the oven to heat to 180 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  8. Either grate or blend the carrots. If blending, add eggs to the carrots in the blender.
  9. Put the carrot puree in a big bowl, add eggs if not done yet, about 3/4ts of the sugar, spices and flour. Mix everything well.
  10. Pour the carrot mixture over the dough in the baking tray and level.
  11. Mix the whipping cream with the remaining sugar and drizzle it over the carrot filling.
  12. Bake the carrot sheet cake for about 30 min till the top of the cake looks set and has browned a little. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool a little before removing from the baking tray.
  13. Cut off the sides of the sheet cake to better see the layers and enjoy!

Notes

For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are made with weighed ingredients using grams. Cup measurements are provided for your convenience.