A carrot cake that ticks all the boxes: subtle notes of cinnamon and nutmeg in a moist sponge, sweetened with dark muscovado sugar and slathered in a soft cream cheese icing.
If time is of the essence, try Paul Hollywood’s carrot cake recipe. It’s ready in 1 hour 20 minutes.
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Ingredients
- 260g wholemeal flour
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 170ml sunflower oil
- 60g soured cream
- 2 tsp vanilla bean extract
- 170g dark muscovado sugar
- 170g soft light brown sugar
- 320g carrots, grated
For the icing
- 220g full-fat cream cheese
- 110g unsalted butter, softened
- Juice 1 lemon
- 110g icing sugar
You’ll also need…
- 20cm non-stick, loose-bottomed cake tin, base lined with non-stick baking paper
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Method
- Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. Mix together the wholemeal flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate mixing bowl, use a balloon whisk to whisk the eggs, oil, soured cream and vanilla bean extract. Sift the sugars together into the mixture, then whisk until smooth.
- Using a large metal spoon and working in a figure-of-eight motion, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined. Stir in the grated carrots, then pour the batter into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 1 hour 15-20 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the icing. In a food processor (or in a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer), whizz the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the lemon juice and sift in the icing sugar. Whizz until smooth.
- When the cake is cool, dollop the icing on top, then use a palette knife to smooth over the top and around the edge of the cake. Chill for 1 hour, then slice generously to serve.
Nutrition
- 469kcal Calories
- 24.9g (9.8g saturated) Fat
- 6.1g Protein
- 53.4g (39.2g sugars) Carbs
- 3.4g Fibre
- 0.9g Salt
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Reviews
Great recipe! I made it with 3 heaped tblsps icing sugar-a bit less than recommended here, and 2 tsp mixed spice+1 tsp gr cinammon.It was beautifully moist from the dark sugars;and the lemon juice in the icing gave it a wonderful balancing act to the sugar. It is a keeper. Everybody loved it.
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