Carrot Cake
This classic Carrot Cake is soft, moist, spiced, and slathered in the dreamiest buttercream icing.
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Servings: 10 slices
INGREDIENTS
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- 75 g Soft Light Brown Sugar
- 150 ml Sunflower Oil
- 3 Free-range Eggs (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- 140 g Grated Carrot (approx. one medium-large carrot)
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 75 g Sultanas or Raisins
- 50 g Walnuts (roughly chopped)
- 175 g Self-raising Flour (see Self-raising Flour note below)
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
For the Buttercream
- 150 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- 300 g Icing Sugar
- Zest of an Orange or ½ tsp Cinnamon (optional)
- 1 handful Walnuts (roughly chopped; optional)
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F). Grease and line two 18cm (7 inch) sandwich cake tins with
greaseproof paper . Set aside. - In a large bowl, mix the oil, "caster and brown sugar before adding the eggs one at a time, ensuring they are mixed through well. Add the carrot, raisins/sultanas, walnuts and orange zest, and mix to combine.
- Sift in the flour and
bicarbonate of soda , add the cinnamon and nutmeg before folding the mixture together to create a batter. - Spoon the batter evenly into your prepared tins and bake in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for a little while, before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- In a large bowl, mix the butter/margarine with the
icing sugar (and orange zest/cinnamon, if using) until you have a smooth buttercream. - Once completely cool, spread half the buttercream on the top of one of your Carrot Cake layers, sandwich the other on top and spread the remaining buttercream on top. Finish with chopped walnuts to finish, if desired.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Egg Size: When it comes to eggs, I always buy mixed-weight free-range eggs. Generally, egg size doesn't make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean towards the extremes. If you're unsure which eggs to use, I recommend medium eggs in the UK, which are roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US. That's what this recipe has been tested with.
Self-raising Flour: Don't have self-raising flour? For this recipe, simply whisk together 175g (1⅓ cups) plain flour and 2¼ teaspoons baking powder instead. If you bake regularly, you can also make a larger batch to keep in your baking cupboard. For full instructions, cup conversions and answers to common questions, see my Self-raising Flour Ingredient Guide.
Storage: Carrot Cake should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for about 1 week.
Freezing: You can freeze Carrot Cake, preferably before adding the buttercream icing. Tightly wrap your Carrot Cakes in cling film, then again in tin foil. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to warm to room temperature before adding the buttercream to the middle and top. Do not re-freeze once defrosted, and do not leave in your freezer for more than 3 months to avoid freezer-burn.
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