Passport & Plate - A carrot cake with spice
Ukraine | Tuesday, February 18, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
For the cake:
250 g softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
200g golden caster sugar
5 large eggs (yolks and whites separated)
1 orange (zest and juice)
200g self-raising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g ground almonds
100 g walnuts, plus a handful for serving
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
250g carrots, peeled and grated
salt
For the icing:
150g Philadelphia cheese
300ml organic double cream
100g icing sugar
How to prepare this recipePreheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 25cm - round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Beat the butter and sugar together by hand until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one by one, and add the orange zest and juice. Stir in the sifted flour and baking powder, and add the ground almonds, walnuts, spices and grated carrot and mix together well.
In a separate and clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then gently fold them into the cake mixture (without losing the air inside).
Scoop the mixture into the prepared cake tin and cook in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes until golden and risen. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave it to cool for 15 min, then remove from the tin. Leave it to cool completely for at least an hour.
For the icing, mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer or by hand.
Split the cake into two layers, using a dental floss. Evenly spread half of the icing on the base layer and top with the other layer. Spread the remaining icing over the top layer. Finish off with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.
The story behind this recipeThe ideal occasion for cooking this cake is St. Valentine's Day. It has a symbolic shape of heart and an inimitable flavor!
When I first tried the carrot cake, the incredible flavor of it immediately took me away. I was with my boyfriend at our first date in one of Kiev’s restaurants. The dish of the day was a carrot cake and the waiter advertised it so passionately so we decided to taste that masterpiece.
Prior to that, I was confident that carrots, sugar and spices do not mix together. It turned out I was so wrong! My delusions about the mix crushed in one moment after the first piece of that awesome treat was in my mouth. The cake was as delicious as I would want the perfect treat to be! I could compare the feeling after eating that miracle with an afterglow. The cake was soft and tender, carrots and spices added unforgettable flavor, and fluffy cream finalized the palette of senses.
I wanted to have the recipe of that carrot cake in my collection of cakes for special occasions. Since I did not have anything similar I started to search for the recipe that would create an inimitable flavor equal to the one I tasted in the restaurant. I have been experimenting to reach my “own recipe” and now I think it is ready for your judgment.
