When you are after a sweet hit of intense flavour in your baking you cannot go past Carrot Cake, there is something about the rich dense delicious combination that is just so good! Whoever thought of putting carrot in a cake is a genius, then pairing with Cream Cheese Frosting – it just takes it to a whole new level of deliciousness!
I love creating recipes that are simple to make and that the whole family can enjoy, so for this recipe I decided to take a classic easy recipe and make it special but in a way that you can all easily recreate.
I love the stunning rich colour of this Carrot Cake, this is achieved by using unrefined raw sugar. Unlike refined white sugar, raw sugar retains its natural syrup coating which gives it added flavour and a golden colour. It’s this syrup coating that gives an extra depth to baking and cooking and is a perfect ingredient in any carrot cake recipe!
So with this cake I decided to go big and beautiful! Made for a special group of people I simply doubled the recipe and created this gorgeous two layer cake with velvety smooth cream cheese frosting it certainly looks impressive but in truth it is very easy.
Of course you do not have to create this massive masterpiece, the recipe is beautiful made into a simple cake spread liberally with cream cheese frosting. I have two different Cream Cheese Frosting recipes I use, one is perfect for spreading over a cake, and the other is great for piping as it holds its shape slightly better. For this cake I used the second recipe, however both can be found here –
Just A Mum’s Cream Cheese Frosting Recipes.
To prepare this double layer cake, I baked two separate cakes, trimmed the edges so they were in line then set about making a big batch of cream cheese frosting and started to ice! I iced with 3 layers of frosting, a crumb coat first, then I thinned the frosting slightly with a small amount of milk to achieve the second coat to smooth out the frosting finish and left it for a while in the fridge.
I then finished it off with a final layer of my delicious and easy Cream Cheese Frosting, a little piping around the edges and some walnuts to finish the top off and there you have it!
I hope you enjoy this recipe and cannot wait to see your recreations of it!
If you are a fan of Carrot Cakes you may wish to try this lighter version, with pineapple and walnuts it is absolutely divine – Recipe for Carrot, Pineapple & Walnut Cake here
Please note this is the recipe for a single cake, if you wish to make a double layer cake please double these ingredients 🙂
Carrot Cake
This is the basic single cake recipe, please double it for a double layer cake.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Wholemeal Flour
- 1 Cup Plain White Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 Cups Chelsea Raw Sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Cooking Oil (I used Canola)
- 4 Eggs - Beaten
- 3 Cups Finely Grated Carrot
- ¾ Cup Sultanas
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts (Optional)
Frosting - For One Cake
- 200g Butter (room temperature)
- 200g Cream Cheese
- 4 Cups Chelsea Icing Sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the butter for 4 minutes in a food mixer until it goes pale & creamy
- Add the cream cheese and beat in well
- Add the Chelsea Icing Sugar & vanilla and beat until just combined
- You may need to add more icing sugar if too soft or a little milk if too dry. Sometimes this is weather dependant!
- If you are spreading this over the cake initially for a crumb layer you may wish to separate a small amount out and add 1-2 teaspoons of milk for a thinner consistency. Leave in its thicker state for the final layer of icing.
- For Piping the edges, add nozzle to piping bag and spoon icing into bag and begin your pretty creations!
- This icing will become soft if your hands are warm when handling the piping bag - if this happens pop it in the fridge for 5 -10 minutes before continuing.
- You can also store this icing in the fridge for a few days if required, simply beat again before using once it reaches room temperature.
So delicious, so easy!
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Happy Baking!
Anna
Deborah Wood says
Sure does look a mighty fine cake !
Cream cheese icing and walnuts make a carrot cake, I reckon *
Leanne Birch says
Hi Anna, loving this Carrot Cake Recipe. When you say oven Temp is 180, is that for a fan forced oven?
justamumnz says
Standard bake not fan forced