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.

Chocolate Cake

I usually make it my business to never let it go any longer than one week before I post but unfortunately last weekend between one thing and another I just ran out of time.So this post is a little later than usual but trust me this cake is worth the wait ;)With the evenings getting shorter by the minute and the weather getting noticeably colder,this cake is comfort food personified.Three layers of moist,chocolaty sponge covered in a silky smooth chocolate ganache.

I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't easy to please when it comes to desserts,or anything sweet now that I come to think of it.But I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that this really is one of the nicest chocolate cakes I have tried so far.And believe me I've tried many.This sponge is so moist,with a slight fudgy texture and it offers a full on chocolate flavour.The ganache is thick and smooth and pairs wonderfully with the cake.One slice of this cake and I knew it was my new go to recipe for when I'm craving something chocolate.

This was the third recipe I've tried from Edd Kimber's new book The Boy Who Bakes and once again the book has delivered.I seriously recommend this book to anyone with an interest in baking-his recipes all look to die for and I'm sure I'll be trying out many more in the coming weeks.Although this cake may look like it took a long time,it was actually surprisingly easy.The ganache is also so simple to apply,I wouldn't say it took me more than 15 minutes to assemble the cooled cakes.

Sponge

110 g unsalted butter,room temp.

110g plain chocolate(60-70%)

280ml boiling water

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

140 ml buttermilk

280g plain flour

2 Tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

340g soft brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs,lightly beaten

Ganache

225g butter

285g plain chocolate(60-70%)

2 Tbsp golden syrup

240ml double cream

1.Preheat the oven to 180C(160C fan)gas mark 4.Grease and line three 20cm round cake tins with baking parchment,then grease the parchment too.Melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water,making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.Set aside to cool slightly.Whisk the cocoa powder with the boiling water in a separate bowl.Whisk in the buttermilk and set aside.

2.Sift the flour,bicarbonate of soda and salt together into a bowl.In a separate bowl use an electric hand mixer to beat the butter,sugar,eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy,about 5 minutes.Beat in the eggs,a little at a time,beating until fully combined.With the mixer on low,pour the cooled chocolate down the side of the bowl and once fully combined,add a third of the flour mixture followed by half the buttermilk mixture.Repeat and then add the final third of the flour mixture.Divide equally among the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.

3.To make the ganache,melt the butter,chocolate and golden syrup in the microwave or heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.Once melted and smooth,add the cream and mix to combine.Remove from the heat and allow to set until spreadable,about 15-20 minutes.If the ganache is not setting at room temperature you can refrigerate it,but watch carefully that it stays spreadable.

4.To assemble the cake,put the first layer of cake on a serving plate and spread the top with a layer of ganache.Then place the second layer of cake on top and spread this with a layer of ganache.Finally place the third cake layer on top and cover the whole top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache.