Carrot cake

19 Nov Carrot cake

Ingredients

• 500g demerara sugar
• 250g butter
• 5 eggs
• about 400g grated carrots
• 50g walnuts
• 50g walnut flour
• 60g whole grain wheat flour
• 180g wheat flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/3 tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp  baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder

Frosting

• 100g Philadelphia cheese – cream cheese
• 200g mascarpone
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 8 tbsp Date vinegar

1. Melt the butter and let it cool.
2. Grate the carrots.
3. Mix the flours and spices together. You can vary the spice mix according to your liking.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. This takes about 10 min. with an electric mixer.
5. Fold the flour mix into the egg mix. Add the carrots and walnuts and then the melted butter. Try not to over mix so that the dough stays as airy as possible, but make sure you mix in the carrots evenly
6. Bake on the lower shelf of the oven at 175º C for 30-50 min. The time needed depends on the size of the baking tin. The thicker the dough layer the longer the baking time. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake after 30 min. If there is dough on the toothpick, keep baking – if it comes out clean, the cake is done. Do try not to overbake the cake, since it is supposed to be nice and moist.
7. Let it cool to room temperature.
8. Mix all the ingredients for the frosting until well combined and smooth and then spread it evenly on top of the cake and decorate with walnuts. You could also use orange peel or candied carrot stripes to decorate the cake.
9. Put it in the fridge for a while.

The cake is actually much nicer the next day and it keeps very well for several days under a cloche in the fridge. This recipe is for a 28 cm springform, a 25 x 38 cm baking tin or several smaller ones.

TIP: Apple Balsam or Apricot vinegar also work in the frosting. You could also use the recipe to make muffins.