Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm in a rush today so I'm going to keep this post short and sweet!Was browsing through Lorraine Pascale's first book Baking Made Easy at the weekend and I came across this carrot cake which I made last Easter.I instantly remembered how much of a hit it was with the family so I decided carrot cake would be on the cards for that evening.Lorraine's recipe make a massive three layer 9 inch cake and even though everyone loves this cake I knew that would simply be too big so I scaled it down to a 2 layer cake.The cake comes together very quickly,the only bit of work required is for grating the carrots.I doubled the frosting quantities as I like to frost the sides of my cake as well as the top and middle.In a nutshell,this cake was delicious.The sponges were so soft and moist and the frosting was to die for!I also found the cake lasted for days and still retained its flavour and moistness.The recipe given below is for the original 3 layer 9 inch cake and the frosting recipe given makes just enough to frost between the layers and the top of the cake.

Makes one 3 layer 9inch(23cm)cake

For The Sponges

525ml(18 1/2 fl oz) vegetable oil

9 eggs,lightly beaten

525g(1 lb 3 oz)soft dark brown sugar

420g(15oz) carrots,peeled & grated

Grated zest 3 large oranges

525g(1 lb 3 oz)self raising flour

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 tbsp mixed spice

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 2 drops vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

200g(7oz) icing sugar

40g(1 1/2 oz)butter,cubed

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod or 1 drop vanilla extract

115g(4 1/2 oz)low-fat cream cheese,chilled

Handful of pecans or walnuts to decorate

1.Preheat the oven to 180C(325F),Gas mark 4.Prepare the tins by oiling the insides and lining the bases with baking parchment.

2.Put the oil,eggs,sugar,carrots and orange zest in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon.

3.Mix the flour,salt,bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice together,then sift into the wet mixture.Add the vanilla and lightly mix until the mixture is uniform but still soft and runny.

4.Pour into the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.Check after 30 minutes as ovens vary(mine were done in 30 minutes).The cakes are ready when the sponge springs back when lightly pressed.A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.Leave to cool for 5 minutes or so,then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the baking paper.

5.For the cream cheese frosting,mix the icing sugar,butter,lemon zest and vanilla together in a bowl,then whisk well to combine.Stir in the cream cheese.If the mixture looks a little runny put it in the fridge to firm up for 10-12 minutes.

6.When the cakes are cool,place one one a serving plate and top with some of the cream cheese frosting.Place a second cake on top and spread some more of the frosting on this.Finally top with the third cake and spread the remaining frosting on top.Finish with walnuts or pecans if desired.

Carrot & Ginger Cake From Cake Days

I love,love,lovee carrot cake.It is easily one of my favourite cakes to eat!When I saw that there was a recipe for a carrot cake in Cake Days I knew I would have to bake it soon.I then got a request from someone to make a cake and I decided I would make this Carrot & Ginger Cake and see how it turned out.This recipe makes a massive four layer cake and therefore is only really suitable when catering for a large group of people.Alternatively you could half the quantities and make a smaller two layer cake which is what I think I will do when making this for my family.I found this recipe very easy and had no trouble with it at all.When the cakes came out of the oven they smelt divine and I wanted to have a slice right there and then but unfortunately this cake wasn't for me so I couldn't.While the cakes cooled I made up the cream cheese frosting and set it aside while the cakes cooled completely.When the cakes were cool I placed the first one on a plate and spread a small layer of frosting on top.I then placed the next cake on top and spread a small layer of frosting on it.I continued doing this until all four cakes were stacked one on top of the other.I then coated the whole four layer cake with a light covering of the cream cheese frosting.known as a crumb layer.This was suggested in the back of the book as it makes it much easier to frost the cake evenly.When I finished the crumb layer I then spread the rest of the frosting all over the cake and smoothed it out with a palette knife.I added a decorative swirl on the top of the cake using a palette knife as suggest in the book.I finished the cake off by topping with pecans.The cake was whisked away the next morning and as I didn't get to taste the cake myself I can't really comment on its taste.However,I did recieve rave reviews for this cake and was told not a crumb of it remained by the end of the day :P I think I will definitely be making this one again soon so I can taste it.

Carrot Cake

Sponge

450g(1lb) peeled,finely grated carrots

2 tbsp peeled,grated root ginger

80ml(3fl oz) buttermilk

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

350ml(12fl oz) vegetable oil

420g(15oz) caster sugar

500g(1lb 2oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

80g(3oz) pecans,roasted & chopped

Frosting

100g(3 1/2 oz) softened unsalted butter

600g(1lb 5oz)icing sugar

1 tbsp grated orange zest

250g(9 oz) full fat cream cheese

Pecan halves to decorate

1.Roast the pecans by heating over a medium heat in a saucepan for two to three minutes until they start to turn brown.Remove from the pan,chop and set aside.

2.Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C (325F),Gas mark 3,and line 4 20cm(8in) diameter cake tins with baking parchment.

3.Using a hand held electric whisk or freestanding mixer fitted with the paddle attatchment,mix together the carrots,root ginger,buttermilk,eggs,vanilla essence,vegetable oil and sugar until the ingredients are well combined.

4.Sift together the flour,baking powder,bicarbonate of soda,salt and ground spices,then slowly beat these into the egg and carrot mixture,adding the dry ingredients in three batches.Mix well after each addition,scraping down the sides of the bowl.Stir in the chopped pecans into the batter and mix until the cake batter is smooth and even.

5.Divide the batter between the four prepared sandwich tins and bake for about 30 minutes or until the top of each sponge bounces back when lightly pressed.Allow the cakes to cool completely,on a wire rack,while you make the frosting.

6.To make the frosting,using an electric whisk or freestanding mixer fitted with the paddle attatchment,mix together the butter and icing sugar on a low speed until combined but still powdery in consistency.Add the orange zest and cream cheese,increase the speed to medium to high and mix well until the frosting is smooth,light and fluffy.

7.When the sponges feel cold to the touch,spread some of the frosting between each layer and sandwich all four together.Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and outside of the assembled cake,then decorate with the pecan halves.