Moist Carrot Cake with Pecans and Cream Cheese Frosting
We were looking for that perfectly moist and fruity carrot cake recipe and settled for a Mary Berry and Ottolenghi carrot cake hybrid. It’s light and fluffy, with a hint of coconut just like Ottolenghi’s, yet rich and fruity, just like Mary’s. The cream cheese frosting with a subtle hint of honey flavour adds yet another indulgence level to this wonderful cake. We present to you our Moist Carrot Cake with Pecans and Cream Cheese Frosting!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 160 g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 egg large
- 1 egg yolk large
- 2 egg whites large
- 200 g sunflower or vegetable oil
- 200 g caster sugar
- 50 g pecans roughly chopped
- 50 g desiccated coconut
- 40 g sultanas or raisins
- 150 g carrot coarsely grated
- a pinch of salt
For the Icing:
- 175 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 70 g unsalted butter softened
- 35 g icing sugar
- 25 g honey
- pecans to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan.
- Grease an 18cm (7in) springform cake tin with butter. Line the base with a circle of baking parchment.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices.
- Lightly whisk the whole egg with the egg yolk.
- Pour the oil and caster sugar into a deep large bowl. Using an electric handheld mixer beat for about a minute, then slowly add the beaten eggs from the previous step.
- Add the flour mixture, pecans, coconut and sultanas into your wet mixture. Don’t overmix. Finally, fold in the carrots.
- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt with a clean dry electric mixer until firm peaks form.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the cake mixture. Don't overmix - streaks of white in the mixture are okay.
- Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 1 hour (it can take 5-10 minutes longer. If you're using a larger cake tin, reduce the amount of cooking as your cake mixture will be spread thinner). A skewer inserted in the centre should come out dry.
- Let the cake cool completely and then remove from the tin.
- To make the icing, beat the soft butter, icing sugar and honey in the mixer until light and airy. Gradually add the room temperature cream cheese whilst still beating.
- Cut the cooled cake in two circles. Spread ⅓ of the cream cheese icing on the first half and stack the second half on top. Spread the remaining icing in waves on top of the cake and decorate with pecans.
Nutrition
Calories: 518kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 5gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 157mgPotassium: 182mgFiber: 2gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 2945IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!