I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but I absolutely love the Flour Bakery cookbook.
It’s been one of the staples in my kitchen for the last few years, from way back before my proper pastry days.
It’s been a guide when trying out new baked goods, a referral when developing recipes, and a bible for some of my kitchen basics.
The book even saw me make brioche for the first time, just because the photo of the brioche au chocolate was that drool worthy. That brioche saw my stand mixer start struggling, smoking, making strange noises and needing to be replaced (whoops!), but it was entirely worth all the buttery goodness.
Some of my favourites from the book are the oreos, their pastry cream, the banana bread (yum!), and this carrot cake. I really want to try out the sticky buns too, but that calls for another round of brioche, so it will unfortunately have to wait for another day (as I really like my new ruby-red scraper mixer, and am not ready for him to die just yet).
But today is all about this carrot cake. It’s moist, delicious and beautifully spiced. It’s also very easy to make, which I always count as a huge bonus. Frosting is optional! But makes it look so pretty. X
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar (220g)
- ¾ cup canola oil (150g)
- 3 tbsp buttermilk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp plain flour (160g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 2 cups grated carrot, tightly packed (260g)
- ½ cup raisins (80g)
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped (50g)
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 340g cream cheese, softened (12 oz)
- 110g unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
- 1⅔ cup icing (powdered) sugar (230g)
- Candied walnuts, optional, to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease and line a round 8 inch cake pan with baking paper.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the eggs and sugar together until it is thick and pale (about 5 minutes).
- Turn the mixer to low, and pour the oil, buttermilk and vanilla in in a slow stream.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger and fold in with a rubber spatula.
- Stir through the carrot, walnuts and sultanas until evenly dispersed.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about an hour, until it springs back when pressed or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.
- Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the icing sugar and beat on a low speed just until it's incorporated.
- Cover with cling film and refrigerate until required.
- Once it is cool, remove the cake from the pan and frost the cake as desired. I spread a layer over the top with an offset spatula, then piped the edges with a star nozzle, and garnished with candied walnuts.
- Serves 8.
- Happy baking!
Recipe adapted from Flour Bakery.