Delicious Carrot Cake

Delicious carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a generous helping of hazelnuts!

Yesterday i was asked for my carrot cake recipe.  I love carrot cake because of the nuts and the spices, it's just got that little bit more depth than vanilla or chocolate.  Another great thing about carrot cake, as i said earlier in the week, it is lovely and moist and stays fresh for longer.


Carrot Cake (another great one à la Peggy Porschen)


400 g grated carrots
100 g chopped nuts (i usually use pecan nuts, but hazelnuts are also delicious)
360 g brown sugar (i use white if i don't have brown - doesn't make a difference)
180 g butter, melted
4 eggs
400 g cake flour
1 t bicarb
1 T baking powder
2 t cinnamon

Mix the carrots, nuts and sugar together. With a handheld beater or in a mixer, add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Slowly pour in the melted butter. Sift the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture and stir to combine. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes.

This recipe yields one 20 cm sponge or 20-24 cupcakes.

Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

As far as i am concerned, the best frosting for a carrot cake is a cream cheese frosting, but one can make a lemon, orange or pine-apple buttercream frosting too.  A nice fruity alternative!

Cream Cheese Frosting

125 g butter
400 g cream cheese (has to be proper cream cheese, not creamed cottage cheese, else it won't work)
2 t lemon juice
6 cups icing sugar, sifted

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add 3 cups of icing sugar and the lemon juice. Beat for 3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the rest of the icing sugar and beat for another few minutes.

Carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting

Buttercream Frosting 

200 g butter
1.5 kg icing sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 orange or 2 lemons or 125 ml pineapple juice
80 ml milk


 Beat the butter with half the icing sugar, zest and juice.  Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the rest of the icing sugar as well as the milk and carry on beating until light and fluffy.