Carrot Cake
A spiced carrot cake with cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and walnuts. Serve with a citrus icing, or bake as cake layers and use the French country cake cream cheese frosting (recipe included). Note from the author: I make it as cake layers and use the cream for French country cake.
Ingredients
| 1 1/2 tea cup | sugar | |
| 1 tea cup | oil | |
| 3 | eggs | |
| 2 tea cups | flour | |
| 1 1/2 tsp | 7.5 ml | cinnamon |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | baking soda |
| 1 lemon | lemon zest | |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | salt |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | nutmeg |
| 3 tea cups | carrots, coarsely grated | |
| 1 tea cup | walnuts, crushed | |
| 1 fruit | lemon or orange juice (for glaze) | |
| 4-5 tbsp | 60–75 ml | powdered sugar (for glaze) |
| — | vanilla (for glaze) | |
| 350 g | Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature (for cream) | |
| 100 g | soft butter (for cream) | |
| 200 g | powdered sugar (for cream) | |
| 50 ml | maple syrup (for cream) | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | vanilla essence (for cream) |
Instructions
- Using a mixer, beat the sugar, oil and eggs until you get a homogeneous mixture.
- By hand, mix the flour, baking soda, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg. Combine the two mixtures, add the carrots and walnuts and mix well.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick; if not baked through, cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
- After the cake cools, spread with the glaze and wait for it to set.
Note: I make it as cake layers and use the cream for French country cake.
For the glaze:
- The juice of 1 lemon or, best of all, an orange
- About 4-5 tbsp powdered sugar (or enough to make a thick white paste)
- Vanilla
For the cream:
- 350 g Philadelphia cream cheese (2 packs), at room temperature
- 100 g soft butter
- 200 g powdered sugar
- 50 ml maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Leave the cream cheese at room temperature for a few hours or from the previous evening. Remove any water that has separated from it. Combine the cheese and the butter and beat into a fluffy cream. Add the powdered sugar, the maple syrup and the vanilla. Beat the cream well until it thickens and becomes smooth. If necessary, leave it for a few hours in the refrigerator. (In my case it was not necessary, but it depends on room temperature, the butter, and possibly if the Philadelphia is replaced with another cream cheese.)