Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese and Butter Icing
Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese and Butter Icing
Carrot cake is one of my favourites with a cream cheese frosting and not a raisin or nut in sight. My one and only Carrot cake, perfect with your cuppa.
Serves 8
Ingredients
225ml (8 fl oz/scant 1 cup) sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
225g (8 oz/11⁄4 cups) soft light brown sugar
3 eggs
225g (8 oz/13⁄4 cups) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
11/2 teaspoons ground ginger
11/2 teaspoons mixed spice
11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
7 carrots, grated (435 g/15 oz in weight)
For the icing
175 g (6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
250 g (9 oz/generous 1 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
200 g (7 oz/generous 11/2 cups) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
To Decorate (optional)
Edible viola flowers
Edible gold leaf or silver glitter
Method
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar and eggs until smooth. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices to the bowl and mix to combine. Stir in the carrots. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and level out the top with a palette knife. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 5 minutes–1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, beat the softened butter in a large bowl until completely smooth, then add the cream cheese and mix to combine. Beat until smooth. Sift over the icing sugar and mix (carefully at first, otherwise there will be clouds of icing sugar) until smooth and fluffy. Taste – it should be sweet and moreish.
Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally, then use half of the icing to sandwich the halves back together. Place the cake on a cake stand or plate and spread the remaining icing over the top of the cake. decorate with violas or follow Evie’s example and have fun with edible gold and silver glitter. Glitter in the kitchen for days...
Cook’s Note
Add 100g of chopped walnuts if you would like a nut affair.
