cat-got-the-cream carrot cake.

as i write this i am still riding the high from watching beyonce's half-time superbowl performance, ah-maz-ing! seriously, if you haven't seen it go and watch it then proceed to dance around your room to her hits!

but now onto a more cakey note... this weekend april and i furthered our baking adventures and made a carrot cake (to kid ourselves that if was perfectly acceptable to eat two slices of it a day...)

this is a cake i discovered later than most other types, because like most people the idea of a vegetable based cake was not top of my list. however once i discovered it i was an instant convert - it's so moist and light and then there's the cream cheese topping... (insert drool here!)

surprise surprise this was another hummingbird recipe, from the first book though as i think the one in cake days looks a bit fiddly.

ingredients and recipe book all ready to go

the use of oil rather than butter means this recipe has much less fat than most cake recipes. it also makes the sponge lighter, which is great combined with the texture of the chopped walnuts.

use a long bladed knife for chopping nuts. place the tip in the centre of the board and, resting your palm on the top of the blade, lift up and down without lifting the point from the board. work from side to side and occasionally rotate the board.

mix the grated carrot and walnuts in by hand so as not to overwork the mixture.

the recipe book said to bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes which, before we even started, seemed hopelessly optimistic. it took much closer to an hour. remember it is important that the cake is cooked! if the tops are catching turn the oven temperature down and cover them with foil. similarly it is best not to cook cakes on the top shelf as they are likely to catch.

another tip is to buy cake tins of the same size! makes constructing the cake much easier...!

while the cake is in the oven it's a great opportunity to make the cream cheese frosting (which does still have butter in it!)

(please excuse the scruffy hair)

once again this is a hummingbird frosting recipe so it makes sooooo much! similarly it's a nightmare to make without a cloud of icing sugar enveloping everything (including hair, clothes and glasses...)

stirring in the cream cheese

all ready to go (minus a few 'tasters'....)

another note: wait for your cakes to cool! (yeah we were impatient again!) this is important, especially with frosting and even more so with cream cheese in it. we did hold out for longer this time but the frosting between the two sponges definitely melted a bit...

the finished product







the cinnamon and chopped walnuts sprinkled on the top make a great finishing touch

going quickly...

first slice (complete with melted frosting, but hey sacrifices can be made for warm cake...)

this has definitely been one of my most popular bakes to do (i'm looking at you jamie...!) and it was claimed to be the best carrot cake someone had ever tasted! you can't ask much better than that, and it has been demolished in two days.

i'd really recommend this as something slightly different from your standard vanilla or chocolate sponges - it is so different from what people expect and i'm sure you could create a few converts!

have a good week everyone!

love,

nen

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