Carrot cake

Name: Carrot cake
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 1 cake, 20 cm, two layers (12 slices)
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground ginger; 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg; 0.5 tsp salt; 4 eggs, medium, at room temperature; 250 ml sunflower oil; 200 g light brown sugar; 100 g caster sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 300 g carrots, peeled and finely grated (about 4 medium); 100 g walnuts, roughly chopped; 100 g sultanas; 100 g unsalted butter, soft, for the frosting; 250 g icing sugar, sifted; 300 g full-fat cream cheese, cold from the fridge; 1 tsp vanilla extract, for the frosting; 30 g walnut halves, to decorate

2 h 15
Prep 35 min
Cook 30 min
1 cake, 20 cm, two layers (12 slices)
easy

Start cooking

A moist, gently spiced two-layer cake packed with grated carrot, walnuts and sultanas, filled and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting.

Method

1
Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease the two sandwich tins and line the bases with circles of baking paper.
2
Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt together in a bowl.
3
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, both sugars and the vanilla until smooth and slightly thickened.
4
Add the dry ingredients and fold them in with a spatula until no streaks of flour remain.
5
Fold in the grated carrot, chopped walnuts and sultanas until evenly spread through the batter.
6
Divide the batter between the tins and level the tops.
7
Bake until risen and firm to the touch, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
8
Leave the cakes in their tins, then turn them out onto a wire rack and peel off the paper.
9
Let the cakes cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will slide off.
10
For the frosting, beat the soft butter and icing sugar together until smooth and pale.
11
Add the cold cream cheese and vanilla and beat briefly, just until smooth and thick. Stop as soon as it comes together.
12
Set one cake on a plate and spread it with a third of the frosting, then lay the second cake on top.
13
Spread the remaining frosting over the top in loose swirls and finish with the walnut halves.

Notes

Overbeating cream cheese frosting makes it runny. If it does go soft, chill it for 20 minutes before spreading.
Grate the carrots on the fine side of the grater so they melt into the crumb rather than staying in strands.
Because of the frosting, keep the cake covered in the fridge and take it out 30 minutes before serving. It keeps for 4 days.

Equipment

Two 20 cm deep sandwich tins, Baking paper, Box grater, Large mixing bowl, Electric hand mixer, Wire rack, Palette knife

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