Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is a sweet alternative to have kids and adults eat vegetable. Like the brilliant colours of autumn bringing good emotions, the carrot cake is a healthier option as carrots are known for its antioxidants and antiseptic properties. I used a recipe from frame>by>frame baking Cookbook of Parragon Books Ltd. and added some personal touches.  To add a healthier twist, I added crushed pineapple to make it more moist, used less fat cream cheese and gluten free icing sugar for the cream icing. Once you get used to doing this recipe, you can make your own version as well, as it is quite flexible.

It is an easy cake if you have already prepared all the ingredients especially the carrots and the walnuts. All the rest is just basically a dump, mix and pour process. Take this carrot cake, a sweet treat adventure you can also try, as I welcome my first Autumn experience in Melbourne, Australia.

You can also make cupcakes of this recipe.Bake it for 20 minutes.

Ingredients

¾ cup sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing

Generous ¾ cup light brown sugar

3 eggs beaten

1 ½ cups grated carrots

½ cup golden raisins

½ cup walnut pieces (roughly crushed), plus extra for decorate

½ cup crushed pineapple

 Grated rind of 1 orange

1 ¼ cups self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Candied carrot strips to decorate

Frosting

 Scant 1 cup cream cheese

Generous ¾ cup confectioners’/icing sugar

2 teaspoon orange juice

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350^oF/180^oC. Grease and line a 9-inch/23-cm square cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar and eggs. Stir in the grated carrots, raisin, walnut pieces, pineapple, and orange rind.
3. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl, and then mix evenly into the carrot mixture.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until well risen and firm to touch.
5. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire to cool completely.
6. For the frosting, mix the cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and orange juice in a bowl and beat until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake and swirl with a palette knife.
7. Decorate with candied carrot strips and chopped walnuts