CARROT CAKE

CARROT CAKE with a sweet cream cheese filling! My parents share a birthday, which is today. My moms birthday falls in the week of Mother’s Day every year. This is her favorite cake so I used pecan nuts, they aren’t as economic as I was hoping for, they can be substituted with a different nut (macadamia/brazil nuts) or a smaller amount of raisins.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Cake Flour
2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 ½ Cup White Sugar
1 Tso Vanilla Essence
4 Large Eggs
5 Carrots, peeled and grated
1 Cup Pecan Nuts, set aside a few for decorations
1 Cup Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Icing Sugar
¼ Cup Whipping Cream

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C, and prepare two baking pans by spraying with non-stick spray. For additional protection, cut a circle on baking paper and line the bottom of the baking tray, remember to spray the baking paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: oil, sugar, vanilla, and eggs.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until well combines. Add the grated carrots and pecan nuts, fold into the mixture.
5. Pour batter into prepared baking trays and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow sponges to cool before removing from pans.
6. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until creamy, add the icing sugar slowly while mixing. Then add the whipping cream and mix on high speed until thickened.
7. When ready, add the cream cheese frosting to the top of one cake layer then layer the cake, add a final layer of cream cheese frosting and top with additional nuts.