I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the mother of all carrot cakes. It’s one that became a firm favourite in my family home back in the mid-80′s and is simply referred to as THE carrot cake by those who have tried it. The cake recipe came from the Food Aid Cookery Book, which was published during the Live Aid/Band Aid era. I can also tell you for a fact that the name is not just something pulled out of thin air. When on honeymoon in New Zealand I was at a café one day and, to my delight, was presented with a slice of carrot cake that must have been made using the same recipe. I’ve always wondered if the Food Aid Cookery Book people had been there and nabbed the recipe.
The icing is an adaptation of one from Robert Carrier‘s Kitchen. I prefer to use mascarpone instead of cream cheese, as I think it is heavenly.
250g wholemeal flour*
175g Muscovado sugar
175g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
175ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
55ml creme fraiche/sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
2 level teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
300g grated carrots
75g desiccated coconut
Icing
125g mascarpone
2 tablespoons cream
100g icing sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
*Danish readers, I find the wholemeal (fuldkorns) flour here to be coarser that the one I was used to in Ireland. Therefore I would recommend using 200g Grahamsmel and 50g plain flour instead.
Pre-heat the oven to 150° C, 300º F, gas mark 2. Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm grease-proof tin.
Place the eggs, oil, vanilla, creme fraiche and sugars in a bowl and beat well. Sift the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, soda and salt into the wet ingredients and combine. Next, add the grated carrot and the coconut, and mix well. Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 hours or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. (If you are using a smaller tin than suggested here, you will probably have to cook the cake for longer). Once the cake has cooled slightly, turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, mix all the ingredients together. Spread the icing over the top of the cake once it has cooled
44 Comments
Love it Kerry!!!! This stirs up childhood memories…. I used to love seeing your parents arrive at grandad’s as there was always homemade goodies from your mum!!!
Thanks, Orinda. That’s really nice to know :)
OMG it looks soooo good! :-) I love carrotcake…..
Birthe
Thanks, Birthe :)
It looks SO GOOD!!! I love how you added coconut to it! I never would have thought of that! :)
Thanks, Kathleen. Yes, the coconut gives a nice little bite to it :)
Mouthwatering!
Ah, so you do have a sweet tooth sometimes ;-)
Hey – new fork;-) Love the styling here. Simple yet very deliberately chosen colours and composition. That’s the touch of a pro. (And I love the look of that icing too and the coconut twist to a classic. Must try it some time.)
Thanks :) Yes, I finally took the plunge and introduced some new cutlery – living on the edge!
Yum. The most delicious cake of all time! I can’t wait to make this. Thank you!
Do you know it, Liz? I’m sure my mother has made it for you by now..
She has indeed made this cake. It was a huge hit with the two Dubliners!
Looks heavenly! Both the cake and the icing, though I’ve never tried this kind of icing before. I would have thought it would be too much to have cinnamon in the icing as well, but appearently not, if this is THE carrot cake! ;)
…I guess there’s only one way to find out ;-)
Thanks for stopping by!
Looks amazing!
Thanks and welcome – my first visitor from Novia Scotia!
Yum. This looks delectable.
Thanks :)
I can’t wait to try this! Your pictures are fantastic!
Thank you!
A cake from New Zealand? Thanks.
http://calogeromira.wordpress.com
http://calogeromirafoodand.wordpress.com
Oh wow Kerry. Your photos take my breath away. AMAZING. This reminds me once again that I must do a photography course sometime. Think I will spend the weekend going through second hand shops in Dublin looking for cool cutlery and such.
X Nadia
Thanks for the feedback, Nadia :) I’m also enjoying all the wonderful pastry creations you’re whipping up these days. I should also start blogging more meaty stuff…
(Weird I actually wrote a reply to you several days ago, but only just realised that it never published – 2nd time lucky, hopefully)
OHMYGOSH!!! Your Carrot Cake looks SO GOOD!!! Can you send a slice over my way? :)
Thanks! I would if I could, but it all disappeared ;-)
Ooowww that cake looks divine, It is so yummy
Raymund
http://angsarap.wordpress.com
Thanks, Raymund :)
The cake is right now in the oven – in 1½ hours we’ll know, if this will be our new favourite :)
My spouse has a problem with cream though, so I made the icing with a drop of limoncello and a bit of lemon juice instead. I can’t wait to find out if it suits the cake (it suits my taste buds for sure!).
Mmmmmmm…come on now, little oven!
Wow! Let me know how it goes, Lotte. I’m feeling some performance anxiety here ;-)
Oh my, your photos have me salivating here! This cake sounds and looks amazing, it is on my list to try! Beautiful blog, I will be back!
Thank you! Please do come back :)
You sold me with the title. Two of my favorite things. Carrot Cake and New Zealand. This looks simply fantastic!
Carrot Cake is my mom’s favorite! LOVE THIS!
xoxox
Kathleen
My husband’s groom’s cake was a carrot cake close to this one. I’d love to give it a try and surprise him. Anniversary, maybe? Hmm… Thanks for the post.
http://pantrychef.wordpress.com
You’re welcome :) Let me know how the cake turns out, if you try it…
that looks amazing, definitely on my next to bake list
ooh my lord….i love carrott cake and think this is the best EVER. i made this cake at the weekend with the kiddies and gave only 2 pieces away and could not resist eating the rest.I ended up eating the whole cake barring 2 pieces….whoops. i would definatly recommend anyone to make this cake…………yum!! happy baking.
Hi Sheree, that’s the kind of comment that makes my day :) Thank you for giving my recipe a go and for taking the time to write a comment. Glad you liked it!
This DOES look beautiful. I’ve never had carrot cake with cinnamon icing before, always straight creamcheese! Stunning photos – I like the patterned crockery (and mixing bowl) :)
Thanks, Christina. Funny you write that because I was admiring a plate in one of your posts yesterday – I’ll leave a comment to show you which one.
Wow, I came across your carrot cake today! I always make the moist bbc goodfood version for friends, but I’m trying to bake more healthy these days…your wholemeal version is perfect! Can’t wait to try it this weekend ;) cheers from Dubai
Hi
I baked your carrot cake today & must say it is truly fabulous!! Love the moistness, taste is amazing especially with the tangy frosting! I added sweet dates & walnuts to cake batter. I also doubled the frosting quantity to cover whole cake & layer the middle after having sliced the cake in half & finally padded the whole cake with freshly grated coconut! Yummy!
Above all what I love best, is that I can enjoy its ‘wholewheatness” & lightness without too much of a guilty cake-conscience! ;)
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Hi Shema,
That is so cool! I’m really glad you liked the recipe too and I like the sound of the changes you made to it. Thanks for taking the time to leave your comment :)
Kerry
2 Trackbacks
[...] Kerry @ Foody Two Shoes [...]
[...] thought it was appropriate to bake a carrot cake for the weekend. I have until now only ever baked the family favourite, but this time I thought we’d live on the edge a little and try a new recipe. A few months [...]