Spring asks us to come back to the senses – to lean into flavour and feeling as the world wakes up. What better way to celebrate this awakening than with a spiced and generously frosted cake?
Soft and rich with sweetness and spice, our much-loved Carrot Cake is made with cinnamon, muscovado sugar, chopped pecans and, believe it or not, smashed pineapple. Crowned with a dollop of cream cheese frosting, it’s perfect with a pot of tea or coffee in the garden.
It's also one of our most requested recipes, so we’re delighted to share how to make our GAIL's carrot cake at home. Bake a batch and bring them to the first barbecue of the season, or keep them at home to savour in the (hopefully abundant) sunshine.
Carrot Cake Recipe (makes 6 cakes)
INGREDIENTS
117 g rapeseed oil
117 g grated carrot
117 g golden syrup
82 g white flour
82 g heritage white flour
71 g muscovado sugar
One egg
56 g tinned pineapple
47 g pecan nuts
23 g granulated sugar
1 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Salt, small pinch
215 g full-fat cream cheese (softened)
110 g unsalted butter (softened)
75–80 g icing sugar (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp lemon juice
METHOD
1) Preheat your oven to 135°C and line six cake moulds.
2) Whisk the egg, rapeseed oil, golden syrup, muscovado sugar and granulated sugar.
3) Drain your chopped pineapple from the tin and stir it into the egg mix with the grated carrot.
4) Sieve the white flour and heritage flour. Mix these together and add the bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.
5) Fold the dry mixture into the egg mix and stir in the chopped pecan nuts.
7) Pour into moulds and bake at 135°C for 40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
8) While your cakes are baking, make the cream cheese frosting by beating the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
9) Add the icing sugar gradually, mixing until fully combined, then stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice.
11) Once your cakes have cooled, top with a generous dollop of the cream cheese frosting.
