Ultimate Carrot Cake
After researching on google, it surprised me to read that no one really knows the origins of where this infamous cake came from. The evidence tends to point to an evolution from the Carrot Pudding of medieval times, where the addition of the sweet carrot was an excellent substitute for the very expensive and rare ingredient sugar, which was hard to come by in those early years. I always thought this cake had American origins, but after deep research I find out that I am quite wrong, however, one thing is for sure the classic Carrot Cake when traditionally layered with a creamy vanilla cream cheese icing is iconic and truly memorable. For me a true king of kings amongst cakes, however, if any of you do have more knowledge on this classic, send me an email and let me know.
Ingredients
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3 x 20cm non stick sandwich tins- lightly greased, lined with non stick baking paper
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Cake
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375g plain flour- white or brown, sieved
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185g light brown sugar- soft
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250ml vegetable oil
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4 large eggs
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60g dried raisins
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1 ½ tsp cinnamon powder
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½ tsp ginger powder
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¼ tsp nutmeg- freshly grated or powder
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2 tsp baking powder
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1 tsp baking soda
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4 large carrots- peeled, grated weighing approximately 350g
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Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
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370g cream cheese- softened
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250g butter- softened
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120g icing sugar
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1 tsp vanilla bean paste or essence
Instructions
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Prepare cake tins:
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01 Lightly grease the sides and bases of all 3 cake tins with oil or butter, and cover the bases with circles of non-stick baking paper.
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Prepare cake:
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02 In a large bowl add oil, sugar, eggs. Either by hand or in an electric mixer beat well.
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03 Now add flour, spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon. Add raisins and beat well until a smooth batter like mixture.
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04 Divide cake mixture between the 3 prepared cake tins. Smooth the top.
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05 Bake in the oven until firm to touch. Remove and allow to cool in the tins before turning out, and removing base paper.
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Prepare Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing:
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06 In a mixing bowl add cream cheese, butter, vanilla paste or essence and finally the icing sugar. Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Keep to one side.
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07 When cakes are cool, assemble in 3 layers with icing in between each layer. Top with remaining icing and all over the sides.
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08 Enjoy in slices with coffee or a friendly afternoon cuppa.
Notes
I like to make this cake in a stack of 3 cakes using 20cm cake tins with a 2cm depth, but this recipe will also work well divided into 2 x 20cm sandwich cake tins with a 5cm depth. This cake can also be made with grated apple - skin removed and only the grated flesh used (350g). This versatile cake will keep 4-5 days in an airtight tin, and it also freezes assembled and iced.
