I have always been very reluctant to make a carrot cake at home as a lot of the recipes were too spicy, too dry, or too soggy! This is one that I personally came up with after trying out a lot of cake recipes. Hope you like it!
Cake:
- 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground coconut shaves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3 and 1/2 cups grated peeled carrots
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon apricot jam
- zest of one orange
Cake moisture syrup:
Juice of 1 orange and 1/2 cup sugar, boiled together on low heat until you get a syrupy consistency.
Frosting:
- 1 pack mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Whip the cream and sugar until you get a fluffy cream. Add the cheese and mix for 30 seconds until you get a rich and cohesive mixture.
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to Medium. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of your baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk in eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until the mixture is fluffy and light yellow. Add in all ingredients, except the flour, and whisk until combined. gradually, star adding the flour. Pour into the pan and bake on medium for 5 minutes, lower the heat slightly and continue to bake until golden, 35 to 40 mins.
cake done test: the top of the cake is springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack. Bruch on the juice mixture and let to rest. Once completely cool, garnish it with the frosting and extra nuts depending on your personal preference. Enjoy!
Notes: It may seem like a lot of steps but they sure are worth it!
Also, you can make this as two small cakes instead of one large cake and stack them using some frosting in the middle. Hope you like it!
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