I used to love baking but ever since Noah came along, my trusty (and gorgeous) Kitchen Aid has been replaced by the steriliser on our kitchen counter. Sob. Recently, a friend of mine contacted me to ask for my carrot cake recipe because she’s been, and I quote, ‘craving for‘ the carrot cake I used to bake. Heh. Anyway, I dug up my recipe, which I actually got from Kitchen Tigress.
What the inside of the carrot cake looks like
Okay, I know it may not look very yummy, but I think the fault lies with the photographer (me), not the cake itself. Try baking it and let me know how it goes!
CARROT CAKE Source: The Ultimate Recipe Book, Angela Nilsen (Cuts into 16 pieces)
85 g brazil nuts, toasted and fairly finely chopped finely grated zest of 1 orange 2 tbsp orange juice 115 g raisins 225 g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon 175 g dark muscovado sugar 175 g sunflower oil 3 eggs 280 g finely grated carrot (2-3 carrots) Icing 50 g icing sugar, sifted if very lumpy 50 g butter, at room temperature 100 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature 1 tsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Oil and line a deep 20 cm square cake tin with parchment paper. Soak raisins with orange juice. Mix flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
Put sugar in a large bowl. Rub with fingers to break up lumps. Add oil and beat till smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and gently stir till evenly mixed. Fold in carrots, nuts, raisins (and any liquid) and orange zest. Pour batter into cake tin.
Bake for 1 hour until risen, firm on top, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cake cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Turn it out onto a wire rack, peel off the paper and let it cool down completely.
To make icing, beat butter with icing sugar till smooth. Add cheese, orange zest and lemon juice and beat till smooth again. Spread over completely cold cake. Chill to firm up icing. Serve.
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