Anyone have a carrot cake recipe?

[loucee]

Hi

Does anyone have a really good tried and tested carrot cake recipe?

I seem to be craving it at the moment and have bought the odd one from shops/coffee places but none of them have been as I'm imagining them - soft with a hint of spice and lovely icing?

thanks

Saint Delia never lets me down with cakes

I'll second that delias recipe is totally fabulous.

This is stupidly easy to make:Roseleen's Carrot and Walnut cake

The version of the recipe I have specifies walnut oil, but it's just as good with any non-strongly flavoured oil.

Carrot Cake

75g peeled and grated medium-sized carrot
110g plain wholewheat flour
½ level tsp bicarbonate soda
½ level tsp ground cinammon
75 ml groundnut oil
75g soft brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
50g chopped walnuts

Topping:
50g full-fat soft cream cheese
25g unsalted butter
25g icing sugar
8 walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat the oven to 150*C.
(You will need a 450g loaf tin ? 15 x 9.5 x 7 cm ? brushed with some melted butter, then line with some greaseproof paper and brush that as well.)
Grate the carrot straight into a mixing bowl, then sift in the dry ingredients to give them a good airing and tip any grains left behind in the seive into the bowl too.
Add all the rest of the cake ingredients and stir well until everything is well and truly mixed, then scrape the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for one hour, or until well risen.
When cooked it will come about 2/3rds of the way up the tin and just begin to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
After that remove it from the oven and leave the tin on a wire rack to cool for five minutes before turning the cake out and stripping off the paper.
When it has cooled 45 minutes or so, you can spread the topping.
Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and beat until smooth.
Spread it thickly on top of the cake and decorate it.
Store in an airtight container.

Is also a delia one "saturday" cake

Thanks for such quick replies!

I have searched for some recipes but I prefer to have ones recommended.

The cream cheese, do you just use philadelphia ?

Yep, Philadelphia - don't be tempted to try to use the low fat stuff, it makes the icing too wet!

just had to say - I went into a new cafe once and the owner (a woman in her late 40s) had clearly no experience of business or cafes in general and although she was nice she was all in a fluster over everything and when I ordered the carrot cake she freaked and said "dont worry there are no carrots in it!!!!" I was like... um... yes there are!!!

lol eenybeeny, poor woman!

I use tesco's own full fat cream cheese or other equivalents, as long as it if the full fat variety it will be fine.

Carrot cake is my favourite. I always add a good grating of nutmeg to mine. I've also succesfully added chestnuts, cut up pineapple, courgette, beetroot, apple, dates, nuts, sultanas and pear to my recipes (not all at once though lol)

Might make some this weekend in fact...

I know I laughed behind my hand but felt bad for her!

I swear this is the yummiest carrot cake in the world. A little bit of a faff to make, but truly worth it. I have had endless requests for the recipe.

OTTOLENGHI?S CARROT CAKE WITH MAPLE FROSTING

200g Self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs
250g sunflower oil
350g caster sugar
60g chopped walnuts
60g desiccated coconut
175g roughly grated carrot
salt

For the frosting and decoration

225g cream cheese at room temp
95g soft butter
50g icing sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
40g walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted to decorate

You will also need: 24 cm loose based cake tin, greased, the bottom lined with baking parchment

1. Preheat oven to 170C, 325F, gas mark 3
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices. Separate 2 of the 3 eggs and lightly whisk together the 2 yolks with the remaining whole egg. Set the 2 whites aside.
3. Using a mixer (or electric hand whist), beat together the oil and sugar for about 1 minute. Continue to beat on a low speed, slowly adding the yolk-and-egg mix. Add the walnuts, coconut and carrot and then the sifted dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix.
4. Now transfer the mixture into another large bowl. Thoroughly wash and dry the original bowl before adding the egg whites along with a pinch of salt. The whisk the egg whites on a high speed until they form firm peaks. Next, gently fold the egg whites into the carrot mixture in 3 additions. Again, be careful not to over mix; it is fine to have streaks of white remaining in the mixture.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1-11/4 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. If the cake starts going dark before the middle is cooked, cover the top of it with kitchen foil. Let the cake cool completely, then remove from the tin. You can freeze the cake at this stage, if you like. Just wrap it in a double layer of parchment paper and put it in a polythene freezer bag.
6. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese in the mixer (or with the electric hand whist) until light and smooth. Then remove it to another bowl. Beat the butter, icing sugar and maple syrup in the mixer (or with electric hand whisk) until light and airy. Fold together the cheese and butter mixture. Finally, spread the frosting on top of the cake and sprinkle with the chopped, toasted walnuts.

Enjoy x

Yummy, I'm making one too!!!!

eek so many delicious sounding cakes, might have to make two cakes!

loucee all carrot cakes start off with the same basic ingredients, and if you know this you can add whatever you like to them as extras.

I work wiht this basic mixture (I'm a chef):

1 cup sugar (could be white or brown)
1 cup oil

Beat together until light and combined. Add:

3 eggs

Beat together

Add
3 cups of flour,
1tspn baking powder
1 tspn bicarb

spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, your choice)

3cups grated carrot (or mix of carrot and other fruit/veg)

Then you can add your own extras like nuts, dried fruit, coconut etc.

thanks OMDB, when you add the extras do you have to adjust the measurements of the flour or anything? What flour do you use? I notice a couple of the recipes say self raising and some say wholemeal

Thanks

not sure about adjusting the measurements, I guess if you aim for 3 cups of carrots plus other extras it will be fine. I just bung everything in and go by the look of it

It will work succesfully with either white, or a mixture of flours. Wholemeal tends to result in a heavier cake. A mix of wholemeal and white is good though.

Sorry I didn't see this yesterday.

Tinned pineapple in place of some of the carrot is a good addition, I found out the other day...also I replace walnuts (I'm allergic to the buggers) with sultanas.

Also dessicated coconut.

Very forgiving, carrot cake - you can muck about with the basics no end & it's still yum.

any chance you're online OMDB? what temp and for how long should I cook the cake? Its in the oven at the moment!

Also, should the mixture be quite stiff? I think I did something wrong (I used walnut oil, is that ok?)

sorry I meant groundnut oil!

Lot's of good suggestions here.

I'd just say ALWAYS use a recipe with oil and eggs.

NEVER make carrot cake with butter - you do see this insanity around.

The icing MUST be made with cream cheese.

That is all.

I like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and you can use crushed pineapple to replace some of the liquid too

This is a classic I first made early 80's from the Moosewood Cookbook.
moosewoodcooks.com/2013/03/frosted-carrot-cake/

My favourite is the Rachel Allen carrot cake, very moist and fruity. You only need half the quantity of icing she recommends!

Inspired by this thread I've got the Moosewood one in the oven now

My favourite carrot cake recipe is this one from Saveur magazine. It does ask for 750g of carrots (equivalent to 1.5 pounds )so can even qualify as part of your 10 a day!