Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and walnuts, a family-favourite dessert not only for Easter, but also all year round. It is beautifully moist, with a dense texture and a magnificent blend of spices that works very well with the sweetness of the cream cheese icing. My kind of cake!
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 657kcal
Ingredients
- 300 g self-raising flour
- 250 ml sunflower oil
- 4 eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon mixed spices
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g grated carrots
- 100 g chopped walnuts + more for decorating
For the cream cheese icing
- 200 g full-fat cream cheese
- 150 g butter, soften
- 300 g icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To make the sponge, add the eggs, sugars and oil to a bowl and whisk well until you get a smooth, thick consistency.
- Add the grated carrots, sifted flour, spices, vanilla extract and chopped walnuts and mix everything well with a spatula.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- Oil and flour a round cake tin (mine is 23 cm, 9 inches), and add the batter to it.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until the sponge is firm to touch and well risen with a golden brown colour and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the tin and allow it to cool.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the sponge horizontally into 2 equal-sized sponges.
- Meantime, make the icing by adding all the ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth.
- Alternatively, use a hand mixer to get a smooth icing.
- Once the sponges have cooled down, arrange one cake on a plate or cake stand, spread half of the icing over, arrange the second cake on top, and spread the remaining icing over the top and sides.
- Decorate with more chopped walnuts.
Video
Notes
- Click on the US Customary link to see the measurements displayed in cups and ounces.
- The servings can be adjusted by clicking the number next to Servings.
- Some recipes call for a ridiculous amount of granulated sugar, which l don't seem to think necessary, since the icing is sweet anyway. For my easy carrot cake recipe, l cut down a lot on sugar and l'm happy with the amount of sweetness, so let's call it a lighter carrot cake.
- If you have 2 cake tins of the same diameter, you can divide the batter evenly and bake them at the same time - the baking time will probably reduce to 30-40 minutes maximum, so then all you have to do once the sponges have cooled, is ice them.
- If you choose to use one tin like I did, you have to allow it to cool then use a sharp knife to cut it in half horizontally, then ice it.
Nutrition
Calories: 657kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 248mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 3930IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2mg