Carrot cake
Lovely and moist carrot cake
I’ll let you in on a little secret; up till not so very long ago I always thought that carrot cake wasn’t real. That it didn’t really exist other then in a stupid joke that I heard when I was a kid. The joke was about a bunny going to a bakery asking for a carrot cake, which they didn’t have. He came back every day asking for that same cake, until the baker felt sorry for the bunny and made him one. So the next time the bunny came and asked for the carrot cake he proudly said that yes he had made it especially. At which the bunny looked at him and said; ‘Do you hate it as much as I do?”
Admittedly a very very bad joke really but it sort of stuck with me. And the fact that it was a cake with vegetables in it, had me convinced that it was an actual joke and not real.
I’ve never told anyone about this until now. Of course I’ve known for a couple of years now that carrot cake is in fact a very real thing. My mistake is probably also due to the fact that I don’t think it is very popular here in the Netherlands or maybe I just haven’t seen any. Fact is that up until yesterday I had never tasted one! It was just one of those things that didn’t occur to me to make. But when I wanted to try out our new oven yesterday and I ‘bumped’ into this recipe on the Good Food website which was a makeover to make it more healthy I figured it was a sign.
So the very first thing out of our brand new oven is this carrot cake. And I can tell you now that I will definitely be making it a few more times! This is good, seriously good. I haven’t checked against a regular carrot cake recipe why this one is considered to be more healthy apart from the fact that it uses wholemeal flour instead of plain flour and the frosting is made of cream cheese combined with quark which gives it a lovely acidity.
And am I glad to be back cooking and baking! I seriously missed it!
Carrot cake
Yield: 16
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hrs
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 medium orange
- 140g raisins
- 125ml rapeseed oil (I used sunflower oil as I couldn't find rapeseed)
- 115g wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (plus a pinch)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 140g dark moscovado sugar
- 280g carrots (finely grated)
- 2 eggs
- 115g self raising flour
Frosting
- 100g light soft cheese (I used philadelphia light)
- 100g quark
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar (sifted)
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (grated)
- 1,5 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
| Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. For the cake, finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze 3 tbsp of juice. Pour the juice over the raisins in a bowl, stir in zest, then leave to soak while you make the cake. Lightly oil and line the base of a deep 20cm square cake tin. Mix the flours with 1 tsp baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon. | |
| Separate one of the eggs. Put the white in a small bowl and the yolk in a large one. Break the remaining whole egg in with the yolk, then tip in the sugar. Whisk together for 1-2 mins until thick and foamy. Slowly pour in the oil and continue to whisk on a low speed until well mixed. Tip in the flour mix, half at a time, and gently stir it into the egg mixture with a rubber spatula or big spoon. The mix will be quite stiff. Put the extra pinch of baking powder in with the egg white and whisk to soft peaks. | |
| Fold the carrot, raisins (and any liquid) into the flour mixture. Gently fold in the whisked egg white, then pour into the tin. Jiggle the tin to level the mixture. Bake for 1 hr until risen and firm or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin 5 mins, turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the paper, then leave until cold. | |
| Frosting | |
| To make the frosting, stir the soft cheese, Quark, icing sugar and orange zest together - don't overbeat. Stir in the lemon juice. Swirl the frosting over the cake and cut into 16 square. This cake is even better if left well wrapped for a day or two before icing and eating. Will keep up to 5 days uniced in an airtight tin, or in the fridge if iced. | |
Recipe from BBC Good Food
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Ohhh ziet er super lekker uit. Je kunt volgende ook gember poeder erdoor doen, geeft het net een beetje extra kick.
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 13:07
Ah goed idee inderdaad! Ik zat nog te twijfelen met mijn doosjes met koekkruiden in de hand…
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So, so pretty, Simone. Love your new kitchen BTW!! Hope to see many amazing meals made in there!
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 15:14
Thanks so much Nina! I’m loving it too!
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So tempting! A wonderful cake to celebrate spring.
Good to see that you are cooking/baking again.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 15:38
Thanks Rosa and I am thrilled to be back cooking and baking again!
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Yammie, die moet ik ook maar eens maken. Lurv’ the photos, btw!
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 11th, 2012 at 00:06
Zeker doen! Is superlekker!
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ooohh I love carrot cake! This looks delicious Simone!
Congrats on the new kitchen!
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 23:39
Thanks Regula! We’re pretty happy with it too..
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Sounds a lot like the carrot cake I baked for Easter. One of our favorites!
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 23:39
They even look alike! lol..
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Simone you are just hilarious!! I cannot stop laughing and can almost see the bunny walking up and talking for real LOL
I love carrot cakes. I will use coconut in mine sometimes, and also a lot of spices and it is the most beautiful thing ever… the texture, the flavor everything! And I love your new kitchen. What a joy it must be to be spending time there with everything looking so pretty and with so much light.
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 23:40
Haha… I’m definitely going to be making this cake again and will add different spices to it next time as well. Love the idea of adding coconut too.
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This is a more interesting recipe than I’m used to seeing for carrot cake, and the dark rich color is gorgeous. A fitting cake for your oven’s debut!
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 10th, 2012 at 23:41
I have nothing to compare it with really since this is my first ever carrot cake but I have been seeing different recipes out there.
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Sounds like you are having a grand time in your brand new kitchen. Love your healthy version of the carrot cake.
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It is…a very bad joke… haha! But nevertheless, still amazing! Congrats on the brand new oven, I’ve been biting my lips for a new one. Better, a brand new kitchen! Must be loving it…
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Maar het is zeker lekker en ik wil het nog altijd een keer maken.
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Welcome back, baby and how exciting is the first cake out of a new oven??? I have a lovely carrot cake recipe I got from my brother. Like yours it is a simple snack cake and I love it! Next I’ll try your recipe! I’m so curious to see how the orange changes the flavor. Looks fantastic!
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Your new kitchen is a dream. Simone..I’m so jealous..but in a ‘happy for you’ way
I love the twist of orange in your carrot cake, it looks so moist and lovely – what a great treat to break in the new kitchen!. On another note – thanks so much for your kind thoughts for my Dad *hugs*
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Love the pic that partial iced, and the ingredient of a whole orange. I want a piece now. Simone, Did you mean rapeseed oil or grapeseed oil? Never heard of rapeseed oil.
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Beautiful cake! It looks so moist and tender, and I love your addition of orange flavor. Sounds like it would add a nice zesty bite.
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Hahahaha, poor baker! I didn’t know carrot cake existed until I moved to the US and at first, I was like that bunny. I hated it, or maybe just the idea, but after I tried some great carrot cakes I became a convert. I love those beautiful carrots on your picture!
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