September 11, 2017

My most favourite Carrot Cake Recipe



my most favourite carrot cake recipe


Carrot harvest has started here. The days got cooler. I have started to light fires in our fire place again.  This time of the year simply calls, no what do I say it cries for carrot cake and some hot cafĂ© au lait!




carrots freshly harvested
I have tried many carrot cake recipes over the years, and for the past 12 years I keep going back to this one, as I simple haven't found another one I like as much as this simply perfect carrot cake. It is very moist and full of taste with a lovely organgy taste in the icing. The original recipe is out of an old english baking book I once bought in this amazing second hand book shop that I never wanted to leave again in Bude/Cornwall, that has sadly closed down. I have tweaked the recipe a good bit over the years to get to this final recipe for the perfect carrot cake in my eyes.

There are many reasons why I like this recipe so much. The above mentioned moistness, the orange flavouring contrast to the icing, walnuts (or pecans are ok, too. I have tried it!) They all just add that bit of extra taste. And then the combination of cinnamon and fresh ground nutmeg just give it that last kick.
So these are the steps to this heavenly carrot cake:

my favourite carrot cake recipe


my favourite carrot cake recipe


Boil the kettle with roughly 1 cup of water and pour the hot water over
50grams of dried cranberries.
Mix one ground apple and
4 ground carrots (~ 225-250 grams), add
50 grams chopped walnuts (or pecan nuts)
add 200 grams of soft butter and 
3 eggs, mix well! I actually do this in the food processor, which whizzes the carrots and walnuts further. This also helps the moistness. Now add 
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and
1/3 teaspoon of fresh ground nutmeg,
200grams of plain flour,
1 teaspoon of baking powder, 
1 teaspoon of baking soda and
120 grams of raw brown cane sugar and
20 grams of vanilla sugar. (find out here how to make your own vanilla sugar)
Mix all well and at last pour your cranberries through a strainer and discard the water, now fold the cranberries gently under your dough.

the perfect carrot cake recipe
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Preheated oven to 150C/300F.
Grease or line a 15cm/6inch square cake tin.
Bake for 1h-1 1/4h.
Check with little wooden tooth pick if backed. My oven is one of those incredible fast baking ones (I guess it might be hotter than it should be) and it is usually baked at around 55mins to one hour.

Let cool on wire rack for 10-15 mins, then put wooden board on top of baking tin and flip it carefully but fast upside down. The cake should be on your wooden board now and hopefully didn't break or stick to tin. (If it did break you can cover up with icing later, no worries, but usually it doesn't)

For the cream cheese carrot cake icing you need:

175 grams of cream cheese or quark (if I have both at hand, I find cream cheese better, but both work, the quark just leaves little curds, that doesn't change the goodness in taste just in looks. For the one in the pictures I actually used quark cheese, as you might spot but it still tasted wonderful) how to make your own cream cheese or quark cheese you can find out by clicking the links behind the words)
the zest of one organic orange and 
1 tablespoon of orange juice,
20 grams of vanilla sugar and
85 grams of icing sugar (my icing looks a little brown, because I make my own icing sugar out of raw brown cane sugar, I like the caramelised taste of it, but some find the brownish look disturbing. I don't mind. If you use icing sugar made out of white ordinary sugar the icing will be white!)
Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl and spread over cooled carrot cake.

best ever carrot cake recipe


Serve and enjoy!

Are you looking for other recipes with carrots? How about a nice home baked carrot bread? Find the recipe here!


3 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading your post thanks for sharing it,

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed reading about our fav carrot cake!

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  2. Very useful post. Thanks for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete