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Carrot Cake

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 50 minutes
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 12 to 16 slices
Author: Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE

  • 280 g plain flour
  • 2 tsp bi-barb soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

  • 500 g carrot peeled weight, chopped into chunks

  • 300 g raw caster sugar or plain caster sugar
  • 100 g dark brown muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
  • 220 g light olive oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

  • 3 x 60g eggs

  • 1 rounded cup walnut halves see notes for nut free
  • 1 rounded cup shredded coconut or 1 flat cup (80g) desiccated coconut
  • 1 x 440 g tin crushed pineapple in juice drained, discard juice

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAM CHEESE ICING

  • 125 g cream cheese
  • grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 400 g icing sugar added in four lots of 100g each
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 1 tbls lemon juice use 20ml spoon measure and not the scales

  • Extra walnuts if using, pepitas, sunflower seeds and shredded coconut for decoration

Instructions

METHOD FOR CAKE

  • Grease and line 24cm cake tin (base measurement) and place onto baking tray
  • Preheat oven to 160 degrees fan forced and place rack into middle of oven
  • Place flour, bi-carb soda, baking powder, salt and spices into TM bowl and mix 5 seconds / speed 5, put aside into a large mixing bowl, do not clean TM bowl
  • Place carrots into TM bowl and chop 5 seconds / speed 5, scrape around bowl and repeat 2 seconds / speed 5 … add to flour mix and stir through until carrot is well coated by the flour mix, do not clean TM bowl
  • Place sugars, olive oil and vanilla into TM bowl and blend 10 seconds / speed 5
  • Add eggs and blend 10 seconds / speed 5
  • Add wet mix to flour and carrots in the mixing bowl, along with the walnuts (if using, or seeds if you are including those), coconut and drained pineapple
  • Stir through mixture until everything is well incorporated
  • Place batter into cake tin and bake for 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into middle comes out clean (It takes exactly 1 hour and 50 minutes in my oven)
  • Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes in baking tin before turning out onto cake rack to cool completely
  • When cool, make the icing and pour it over the cake, spreading it to the edges and allowing it to very slightly run over the edge
  • Sprinkle the top with extra walnuts (if using), seeds and coconut and allow to set before cutting (icing will set quite quickly)

METHOD FOR LEMON CREAM CHEESE ICING

  • Place cream cheese and lemon rind into TM bowl and blend 20 seconds / speed 4
  • Add first 100g of icing sugar and mix 10 seconds / speed 4
  • Add second 100g of icing sugar and mix 10 seconds / speed 4
  • Add third 100g icing sugar and mix 10 seconds / speed 4
  • Add fourth 100g icing sugar, salt and lemon juice and mix 10 seconds / speed 4
  • Check consistency, if you wish it to be slightly looser then add another teaspoon of lemon juice and mix 10 seconds / speed 4 (be careful with adding liquid as it can very quickly become too loose ... I haven't found the need to do this)

Notes

I add quite a bit of spice to this recipe for flavour, and also dark brown muscovado sugar for richness.
You can use fresh pineapple in place of tinned pineapple if you can get some, just chop it up in small chunks so that it looks “crushed” more so than a puree.
I should add here that this cake is of the “chunky” variety with pieces of walnut, pineapple, and coconut shreds that you can feel in your mouth as you eat it. This is my preference for a carrot cake, but you can use desiccated coconut if you prefer a finer texture and that is indicated in the recipe.
If you wish to make it nut free but still want to have a little “crunch”, then add some pepitas and/or sunflower seeds … you don’t need a full cup, so add about ½ to ¾ of a cup which should be plenty. Or you can just leave the nuts/seeds out altogether. I like to added toasted seeds for bit more flavour.
This cake keeps well so can be made a day or two in advance of when you need it, making it a perfect cake for celebrations when you are under the pump. The icing is best made just before you plan to ice the cake, so that when you spread it you can make it “run over” the edge a little giving it a lovely finish.
I don’t normally store cakes in the fridge as they can firm up too much and dry out, but the carrot cake is very moist and holds up well to this. Just ensure it is in an airtight container, and if you are serving it cold from the fridge you will be able to cut slimmer slices due to the more solid texture of the cake. Whether you choose to keep it in or out of the fridge, it will keep well for a few days so enjoy!