National Carrot Cake Day

It's #nationalcarrotcakeday today so it’s only fitting that we share with you one of our favourites.

This is an easy recipe and very easy to make. The prep time is quick with the longest element being the grating of the carrots (without, hopefully, grating your knuckles).

​This one was made with half the topping and no nuts at the request of the client, a simple finish dusted with coconut instead. Delicious, moist  and almost healthy! :)  


Ingredients:
Cake

• 3 medium eggs
• 250g soft brown sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 200g grated carrot
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped tsp cinnamon
• 1 heaped tsp mixed spice
• 1 heaped tsp ginger
• Zest of an orange
• 1 small drained tin of chopped pineapple (the value stuff is fine)
• 250ml sunflower oil
• 100g sultanas
• 100g chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut

Topping

• 50g butter
• 175g full fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 160g icing sugar

Equipment

• 2 x mixing bowls
• A sieve
• 1 x 23cm springform cake tin

Method

• Switch the oven on and set it to 170 degrees.
• Grease your baking tin with butter and line the base with baking paper
• Grate your carrot and drain in a sieve. Pat it dry with kitchen towel
• Open your tin of pineapple, drain it and dry it off on kitchen towel. Chop it up to break it down.
• In a large bowl beat together the eggs and soft brown sugar and chuck in the carrot and pineapple. Then add in your sultanas, walnuts, coconut, orange zest and the sunflower oil
• In your second bowl weigh out your flour and add your baking powder (best to sift these together though it’s not essential). Then add in the cinnamon, ginger and mixed spice (our measurements for these are approximate, as it depends how spiced you want your cake. We also like to sometimes add some cardamom seeds (about a half teaspoon) too which give as more fragrant and exotic taste).
• Tip the dry mix of flour, baking powder, etc., into the large mixing bowl containing the wet mix and mix it all together thoroughly.
• Pour the mix into the baking tin
• Bake for approximately one hour (give it a test after an hour with a skewer). If it is still too moist give it another five to ten minutes.
• Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
• When cool remove from the tin and prepare your topping by melting the butter, then sifting the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the cream cheese, melted butter and vanilla into the bowl and mix together by hand until all of the lumps have gone (a silicon spatula is great for this). Then smooth on the top and decorate with a few walnuts.

In the unlikely event that this cake survives the afternoon it keeps beautifully because of the moist pineapple. Enjoy!  

---