Carrot Cake :)

I bake and sell cakes to a little cafe where i will be starting work at this weekend, I made a carrot cake this saturday hoping it would go to plan... and it went better than i expected ! I only had one problem which was i picked us 12% fat cream cheese for the topping, instead of full fat cream cheese. But only that i had to go back to the shop again and look like a comlete cheese freak, but that was ok.... i guess :)

 Here are the ingredients:

For the cake:
2 medium carrots
3 medium eggs
some raisins or sultanas (however many you like)
175ml sunflower oil
200g caster sugar
100g chopped pecans or walnuts (i used walnuts)
200g plain flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
½  teaspoon salt


For the topping

350g icing sugar
200g of full fat cream cheese (dont make the mistake that i did) :) ... or if your not a cheesy person... then butter icing is allways nice :).
1 tablespoon of lemon juice and lemon rind
½  teaspoon of vanilla essence
pecan or walnut halves decorate (walnut halves look better)... :)

and you also need a square cake tin :)

Method:

♥ 1.  Heat the oven to 180°C, grease the tin with some butter, then put the tin on some baking paper and draw around it. Then cut it out and place it in the tin.

♥ 2. Wash the carrots and cut off the tops, hold onto the bottom of the carrots firmly and grate it on the biggest holes and chop the nuts.

♥ 3. Crack the eggs into a cup and beat them with a fork. Put the sunflower oil and sugar into a larger bowl and mix them with a wodden spoon.

♥ 4. Add the beaten eggs into the larger bowl, a little at a time. Then stir in the chopped nuts and grated carrots.

♥ 5. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt over the mixture then gently fold everything in.


♥ 6. Spoon the mixture into the tin. Then use the back of the spoon to smooth the mixture down. Bake the cake for 45 minutes. (to check the cake is cooked inside, poke a sharp knife into the cake and if it still has mixture on it put it back in, but if the knife is clean the cake is ready) :)


♥ 7. Leave the cake to cool, then run a knife around the sides of the cake, then carefully turn the cake out onto a wired rack.


♥8. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the cream cheese/ butter, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat the mixture well, then spoon the topping on.


♥9. Spread the topping over the cake with a blunt knife, making lots of swirly patterns.


♥ 10. Then cut the cake into squares (hold the knife downwards into the surface of the chopping board, so you dont smudge the icing into the sides of the cake)


♥ 11. Then decorate with peacan or walnut halves and lamon rind.

☺Y.U.M☺    enjoy ;)

             

           

this isn't mine, but this is how it looks.. apart form mine is a bit more raisiny :) and with some walnuts ontop toooo :)


I promise i will put a picture of mine up next time,

Also if there is anything you recommend, or want me to try out or want any other recipes then leave a comment below  ;)

XXX