Carrot Cake
The classic cake with pecans and cream cheese frosting
Servings 16
Calories 595kcal
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 200 g Self raising flour
- 115 g Wholemeal plain flour
- 265 g Light brown soft sugar
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tsp Mixed spice
- 1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 265 g Vegetable oil
- 4 Eggs large
- 1 Orange zest and juice
- 325 g Carrots grated
- 95 g Pecans chopped
- 95 g Sultanas
For the frosting
- 200 g Butter softened
- 200 g Icing sugar
- 400 g Full fat cream cheese I use Philadelphia
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
For decoration
- Fondant carrot decorations
- 4 Pecans chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line two 8 inch sandwich tins (that are at least 2" deep)
- In a large bowl, stir together the self raising flour, wholemeal flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice, cinnamon and light brown sugar
- In another bowl or large jug, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, orange zest and orange juice. Then add it to the flour mixture and whisk everything together
- Mix in the grated carrot, chopped pecans and sultanas
- Divide the mixture evenly between the cake tins, use scales for accuracy
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and a thin skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove them from the tin and leave them to cool on wire racks
- If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller or a knife
- To make the frosting, use an electric mixer to beat the butter on it's own until soft and creamy
- Add the icing sugar, and mix in until well combined
- Add the cream cheese and the vanilla extract, mix until just combined and smooth
- Place one of the sponges onto a plate or cake stand and spread or pipe some of the frosting over it
- Top with the second sponge, then pipe or spread the remaining frosting on top
- Decorate with fondant carrots and chopped pecans
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days
Video
Notes
- Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
- I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
- If you don't have wholemeal plain flour, you can use regular plain flour, or the same amount of self raising flour and omit the baking powder.
- Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento, and ground ginger. If you can't get hold of it where you're based, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead or add a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and ground cloves.
- You can swap the pecans out for the same amount of walnuts, or you can leave them out altogether if you want the cake nut free.
- I like to use sultanas as they are more juicy, but you can swap them out for raisins, or again leave them out if you prefer.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
Nutrition
Calories: 595kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 298mg | Potassium: 268mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 4123IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 1mg
