Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake
25 min bake, 160°C, three 24cm tins, serves 12
Ingredients
Cake pecans 260g brown sugar 300g caster sugar 100g vegetable oil 240ml eggs 4 apple sauce 180g vanilla extract 5ml plain flour 313g baking powder 8g bicarbonate of soda 6g salt 3g ground cinnamon 4g ground ginger 2g ground nutmeg 0.5g ground cloves 0.5g carrots (grated) 260g Frosting cream cheese 340g unsalted butter 113g icing sugar 480g vanilla extract 7.5ml salt pinch
Pecans or walnuts, half in the batter, half on top.
Carrots grated fine.
Full fat soft cheese, the light stuff goes runny.
A jar of apple sauce is fine.
Recipe
1. Heat the oven to 130°C. Toast the pecans on a tray for 7 minutes, then chop. Turn the oven up to 160°C. Grease and line three 24cm tins.
2. Whisk until smooth:
[oil 240ml, brown sugar 300g, caster sugar 100g, eggs 4, apple sauce 180g, vanilla 5ml]
Stand mixer: whisk attachment, medium.
3. Whisk the dry in another bowl:
[flour 313g, baking powder 8g, bicarb 6g, salt 3g, cinnamon 4g, ginger 2g, nutmeg 0.5g, cloves 0.5g]
Fold into the wet with the carrots and half the pecans, until just combined.
By hand, not the mixer, or it toughens.
4. Divide between the tins and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a skewer in the middle comes out clean and the top springs back when pressed. Cool in the tins 1 hour, turn out onto a rack, and frost only when cold.
5. Drain the cream cheese in a paper lined sieve for 30 minutes.
6. Paddle the butter on its own, medium, 1 minute, until creamy. Add the icing sugar, low then medium, 2 to 3 minutes, to a thick buttercream:
[unsalted butter 113g, icing sugar 480g]
7. Add the drained cream cheese, vanilla and salt. Mix on low 30 to 60 seconds, just until smooth:
[cream cheese 340g, vanilla extract 7.5ml, salt pinch]
Stop as soon as it is smooth. Beating on past that pulls the water back out of the cheese and it goes runny.
Still slack, beat in more icing sugar a spoon at a time until it holds its shape. It firms up cold, so chill it before spreading.
show photo
8. Stack the layers with frosting between each, then coat the top and sides and press the rest of the pecans on top. Chill a few hours, ideally overnight, to set fully before slicing.
❄ Freezer
Freeze: wrap the unfrosted layers well, or freeze finished slices.
Reheat: thaw at room temperature.
Keeps: 3 months frozen, 5 days in the fridge once frosted.