CARROT CAKE
This deliciously moist Carrot Cake recipe is filled with fresh carrots and aromatic spices topped with rich homemade cream cheese frosting, making it the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea.
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (coarsely chopped, if you prefer)
For the cream cheese frosting:
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
220 grams softened Philadelphia cheese
PREPARATION
1. Grease a (9-inch) round cake pan with flour and butter. Set pan aside.
2. In a bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix until evenly combined.
3. In another bowl, beat eggs with sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract at medium speed using a handheld mixer until smooth.
4. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until well-blended.
5. Fold in grated carrot and nuts.
6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan.
7. Bake at 175°C for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan on wire rack up to an hour. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks.
8. Spread cream cheese frosting to cover cake completely, then top with crushed pecans or walnuts for a nice decorative touch.
Notes:
It is almost impossible to find buttermilk in the UAE, so to make the buttermilk add 1 cup of full fat milk with 1 tbsp of lemon. Stir, set aside for 5 minutes, and it turns into buttermilk.
If you want to make a layered carrot cake, grease 2 or 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with flour and butter, divide the batter evenly amongst the cake pans and bake at the same temperature for 25-30 minutes.
