Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

No one knows where carrot cake came from; it looks like it did evolve from the carrot pudding of medieval times. During the Middle Ages sugar and other sweeteners were difficult or expensive to come by in Britain and carrots had long been used as sugar substitutes. Now enough about history! When I first moved to the UK, carrot cake was one of those cakes that made me go ‘whaaaaaat’ and ‘yuck’ at the same time. I thought why on earth would someone put carrot in a cake?! I was immediately wrong! After all these years carrot cake is still my absolute favourite cake. No other cake has the moisture and delicate flavour of a carrot cake and when you combine it with vanilla cream cheese frosting you really have yourself a crowd pleaser!(If you do want to share it with anyone!) Anyone else salivating right now or just me?!

Make the carrot cake

Like any oil based cake the process is fairly easy and quick. First grate your carrots! When I used to work as a cake decorator we would cut the carrots roughly and place them in the blender until just chopped. The result is the same whether you grate or chop finely in a blender so it is entirely up to you. I normally blend them as it takes half the time which means a quicker way to indulgence! After your carrots are prepared mix eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil together on low speed until incorporated. You don’t have to use rapeseed oil; it could really be any neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower. Rapeseed is the ideal as it is the most neutral but also probably the most expensive, so don’t worry and use what you have! Mix all your dry ingredients together and add in two batches scraping down and up between each addition. For my spices I use cinnamon and ginger but you can use whatever you fancy like nutmeg, cloves or even zests like lemon and orange. There are really no limits to flavours. Add carrots and pecans or walnuts and mix on medium speed for 10 to 15 seconds. Scrape mix down and check if mix is incorporated. And you are done! Easy right?! You can either bake the mix straight away or it keeps in the fridge perfectly fine for 2-3 days. Bake at 140C for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You will notice with most of my cakes that the temperature is quite low compare to other recipes out there. That is because low and slow really does give you the best results. Good things come to those who wait right?!

Make the cream cheese frosting

Now the tricky bit! This cream cheese frosting is the best one I have tried in my time and I have tried a bunch of them! Reason why? Normally in most cream cheese frosting recipes you will find a big amount of butter and small amount of cream cheese resulting in something more of a butter cream. Reason why most recipes have big quantities of butter is the stability that gives the frosting, making it easier to work with a palette knife. To make this frosting you simply need to follow the instructions and be quite precise about it. Trust me when I tell you the result will worth the effort! First let’s talk cream cheese! For this recipe you need to use the one and only Philadelphia! Philadelphia cheese is best as it has a lower water content compared to other cream cheeses resulting in a firmer frosting. First cream the butter. You need to make sure is room temperature and soft enough to beat. If not, microwave until soft but still holding its shape. Using the paddle attachment on your standing mixer or hand mixer cream the butter until soft, fluffy and pale and when I say pale I mean your butter should look anaemic. This may be a long process but it is an important step to the recipe. You need to keep scraping and making sure that the butter is thoroughly mixed and very soft. This stage takes about 15-20 minutes. Next sieve your icing sugar. I am definitely not a fan of sieving ingredients but for any butter cream like recipe is a go to. If you do not your frosting will end being lumpy and there is no way to bring it back. Add half of your sugar to the butter and beat for 2-3 minutes. Stop and scrape down thoroughly. Next add the remaining icing sugar together with all your cream cheese in chunks. It is very important for the second part of the icing sugar to start mixing it together with the cream cheese. Turn mixer on to low and beat until everything comes together- stop and scrape down. Lastly turn mixer on to medium and beat until fluffy. DO NOT OVERMIX. Sorry for the caps I know it’s like someone is shouting at you but it is very crucial to not over mix as your frosting will be too soft otherwise. Ideally you should do this the night before so it has time to firm up in the fridge. The great thing about this frosting is that you do not have to remix it with your machine, simply take it out of the fridge and use!

For the carrot cake (makes a 20cm x 12cm tin)

• 200g grated or blended carrots
• 200g rapeseed or any other neutral oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• 200g light brown sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 4g baking soda
• 5g baking powder
• 40g chopped walnuts or pecans
• 4g ground ginger
• 7.5g ground cinnamon

For the cream cheese frosting

• 60g softened butter
• 115g cold Philadelphia full fat cream cheese
• 150g icing sugar
• 1tsp vanilla

How to make the carrot cake

1) Preheat your oven at 140C fan.

2) In a standing mixer with a paddle place eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla on low until incorporated. You can also make this by using a medium bowl and a spatula.

3) Mix all dry ingredients together and add in two batches scraping down and up between addition.

4) Add carrot and walnuts or pecans and blend on medium speed for 10 to 15 seconds until the mix is an even colour and well blended.

5) Scrape down and check if your mix is incorporated.

6) Pour in a 20cm x 12cm tin (don’t worry if your tin is slightly bigger or smaller the result will be very similar), making sure it is very well oiled and place in 140C oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the middle of your cake.

7)  Carefully remove from the tin and let it cool in a cooling rack.

How to make the cream cheese frosting

• Place softened butter in a standing mixer with a paddle.
• Cream butter until soft, fluffy and pale making sure you scrape down every 3 minutes.
• Sieve your icing sugar, add half to your butter and beat for 3 minutes.
• Stop and scrape down thoroughly.
• Add remaining icing sugar together with all your cream cheese in chunks and vanilla.
• Turn mixer on to low and beat until everything comes together- stop and scrape down.
• Turn mixer to medium and beat until fluffy. Do not over mix.
• Place in a small container in the fridge and leave preferably overnight before use.

Assembling your carrot cake

When your carrot cake is nice and cool simply take your cream cheese frosting out of the fridge and using a small palette knife place some on top of the carrot cake making it as smooth as possible. Decorate with any toppings you want. I used some sprinkles and a flower that I had leftover from other cakes. Enjoy J

Meringue kisses xx

Athina