Easy, Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake, With Mascarpone Cream
This Easy Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake is one of my favourite cakes. Great for making in advance as the flavour develops over a couple of days. The cake also becomes moister as the sugar in the cake absorbs moisture from the air. I sometimes make two at once and freeze one for later use.
It seems odd to many people that carrots find their way into desserts and baking. In fact, carrots were used in the Middle Ages as a source of sweetness. Recipes for carrot-based puddings can be found both in European and Asian cooking. Today the main examples remaining been Carrot cake, Christmas pudding and Indian Gajar Halva.
You will need.
- Mixing bowl
- Medium bowl
- Scales
- Fine sieve
- Silicone spatula
- Whisk, hand or electric
- Coarse grater
- Measuring jug
- Measuring spoons
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Loose bottomed Cake tin 20 x 10 cm
- Baking parchment
- Cooling wire
Easy Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake.
Serves 8.
Wet Mix
- 170ml vegetable oil
- 325g light soft brown sugar
- 3 large free-range eggs
- finely grated zest of 1 large orange
- finely grated zest of 1 large orange
Dry Mix
- 165g plain flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 90g chopped Walnuts
- 325g carrots, peeled and grated
Conventional oven175˚c/340˚f
Fan oven 160˚c/325˚f
Preparation.
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Take your eggs out of the fridge well in advance to warm up. Then line a 20cm (8in) springform cake tin with baking parchment.
Tip. – Lightly greasing the baking tin before lining will help keep the paper in place. And make life a lot easier.
You can make this cake by hand, but an electric whisk will take all the hard work out of the mixing.
Wash the carrots then top, tail, and peel them. Grate the carrots using the coarse plate of a box grater until you have 325g.
Sift the flour raising agents, salt, and spices into a bowl and mix well.
If you can’t find ground cardamom, break down cardamom pods and pass then through a fine sieve. The best way of doing this is an electric spice, aka coffee mill.
Pick eight perfect walnut nut halves and put to one side for the decoration. Once you have done that, roughly chop the remaining nuts.
When all that’s done, turn on the oven to pre heat ready to receive the cake.
Making the batter- My method.
Put the eggs, orange zest and sugar into the medium bowl and whisk until well mixed, about two minutes. Slowly add the oil to the eggs whisking all the time. When all the oil has been added you should have a thick-ish batter.
Most recipes of this type simply mix the sugar and oil together in one go. I think this works better. Its more work, but the fat binds with the egg better if worked in slowly.
The final mixing.
Put the whisk to one side then sieve the flour/spice mix over the egg batter. Fold the flour into the batter using a spatula. Make sure you get right to the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the flour.
Fold the chopped walnuts and grated and carrots and mix well.
Pour in the cake mixture and bake in a preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. I prefer to use a conventional oven but a fan oven is fine. You may need to protect the top of the cake with tinfoil if the fan is very strong.
If you have a probe thermometer the core temperature should be between 93˚c (just cooked) and 98˚c (nearing over done).
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the tin, before removing.
Finishing the Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake.
Traditionally the cake is usually finished with a soft butter cream icing which should be kept in the fridge. I prefer to finish the cake with an orange water icing and serve mascarpone cream dusted with walnut dust alongside the cake.
By using the water icing the cake can be kept in a box at room temperature which is the best way to serve it. Keeping the cake in the fridge will dry it out and spoil the texture.
To make the orange icing.
- 9tbsp sieved icing sugar
- 1tbsp strained orange juice
- 16 perfect walnut halves
Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl. Gradually add the orange juice and mix until you have a thick batter.
Spread onto the cake with the back of a spoon and set the walnut halves into the wet icing. Let the icing dry uncovered for at least half an hour before storing.
Mascarpone cream.
- 100g whipping cream
- 50g icing sugar
- Dash vanilla essence
- 180g mascarpone cheese.
If the mascarpone is quite wet, drain in a sieve for 15 minutes to remove any excess liquid. Be careful the keep the cheese as cold as possible.
Add the icing sugar to the cheese and beat until the cheese becomes quite soft.
Add the vanilla to the Mascarpone then stir in the cream.
Take a whisk and beat the mix until it holds a peak for a second then falls back. Take care not to over beat the t mixture or it may curdle. When you serve the cream give it one or two more beats of the whisk before use.
.
Can I freeze the cake?
Yes, the uniced cake freezes well. Fully defrost the cake before use and let the top dry before adding the water ice. The recipe multiplies up easily. So, bake a few at a time and freeze what you don’t need at once. That way you will be saving both energy and effort!!
Can I use the mascarpone cream on the cake instead of the icing?
Yes, use the recipe below, using butter instead of cream gives us a stiffer icing. Add the zest to the butter with the sugar. Then fold in the cheese and whisk well.
65g unsalted butter, softened
Good dash vanilla extract
125g mascarpone cheese
250g/8¾oz icing sugar
Finely grated zest of ½ an orange
Do I have to use Walnuts?
No, pecan nuts are a good alternative. Try sultanas soaked overnight in a drop of rum in place of the nuts, or just leave them out.
Want more ideas with carrots? look up http://britishcarrots.co.uk/
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
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