I nearly always choose carrot as my cafe cake of choice when faced with the decision. It’s a safe bet, but it has made me pretty discerning when it comes to knowing what consists of a good one.
For me, it needs to be full of fruit and nuts - like packed. It also needs to have the tang of orange zest throughout. When it comes to the icing (the best bit), I much prefer it to be heavier on the cheese, as I think all that icing sugar needs to be offset with a more savoury tang.
A little trick if you can be bothered, blend some of the caramel nuts so they turn into a fine, crunchy, caramel gravel and pour over the cream cheese icing layer in the middle of the cake. It is the best kind of surprise.
I used the Good Housekeeping recipe as a base and then tweaked it with my icing, flavourings, and extra very necessary calories (aka. Pecan praline...)
Makes 10-12 slices
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
225 ml sunflower oil,
225 g light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 orange (zest)
2 teaspoons orange juice
225 g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon. bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons mixed spice
200g sultanas
250g carrots
100g pecans
For the icing:
200g unsalted butter, very soft
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 orange (zest)
400g Mascarpone or cream cheese
250g icing sugar
2 teaspoons orange juice
Pecan praline:
300g white caster sugar
6 tablespoons water
150g pecan nuts
Method
Pecan praline
Roughly chop the nuts and lay on a baking sheet with brown paper
In a saucepan stir together the water and sugar
Heat over a medium to high heat and do not stir
Leave for 15 minutes until the sugar turns caramel
Once all the sugar has caramelised quickly pour over the nuts and leave in a cool place for over an hour
Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/ 350°F
Grease two 6in-7in/15cm-17.5cm cake tins, I use butter and then dust with flour
Coarsely grate your carrot and put aside
Whisk together the eggs, oil, and sugar until smooth and glossy
Stir into the mixture the measured dry ingredients with the sultanas and chopped pecan nuts
Add the grated carrot, grated orange zest, orange juice and ensure everything is well mixed through
Pour the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes, check the cake is cooked by pushing a skewer through it - there should be no mixture attached to the skewer
Tip the cake out and leave to cool on a wire rack
Icing
Whilst the cake is cooling make your icing
Beat together the icing sugar and butter with the orange zest until light and fluffy
Gradually add the mascarpone beating continuously
Flavour with the orange zest, juice, and vanilla
Assemble the cake
Snap off about 1/4 of the pecan praline and crush up in a food processor or pestle and mortar until it resembles a fine gravel
Layer half the icing over the bottom cake and pour over the ‘gravel’ caramel nuts
Layer on you top cake layer and cover with the rest of the icing
Break up praline caramel into shards and decorate the top of the cake
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