Carrot Cake With Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

Carrot cake is a classic time honoured cake with many families having a recipe handed down through the family. This 2 layer carrot cake is a beautiful moist cake, light in texture and lightly spiced with cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg. The vanilla cream cheese icing is light and fluffy and perfectly complements the amazing cake. Topped with pecan nuts to add a little crunch and nutty flavour and you have a cake where once you start eating it, it is hard to stop.

Ingredients
Carrot Cake
• 2 1/2 cups Plain Flour sifted
• 3 cups Grated Carrot finely grated. Will be about 7-9 carrots
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Bicarb Soda
• 1 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 cups White Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar firmly packed
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Canola Oil or vegetable oil
• Pecan Nuts for cake decoration

Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
• 500 g Cream Cheese softened
• 150 g Butter softened
• 2 tbsp Sour Cream use light sour cream
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 1/2 cups Icing Sugar or icing powder

Instructions:
Carrot Cake
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan forced).
2. Grease and line with baking paper two 20cm (8 inch) round springform baking pans.
3. In a medium bowl add flour, baking powder,bicarb soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to fully combine.
4. Using a food processor, shred carrots to a produce a finely grated mixture. Create about 3 cups of grated carrots and set aside. Note: use whatever method you prefer to produce finely grated carrots.
5. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, add white & brown sugar and eggs. Beat until fully combined and lighter in colour.
6. Add canola oil and beat on slow to initially combine. Increase speed and continue beating until well combined.
7. Add carrots and using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix through by hand until fully combined.
8. Add flour mixture and continue mixing by hand until just combined.
9. Pour mixture evenly into the 2 prepared baking pans.
10. Place in oven and cook for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
11. Remove from oven and cool in pans for about 10 minutes before inverting them onto wire racks to cool completing.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
1. In a large bowl add cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla extract and using an electric mixer, beat until fully combined.
2. Add icing sugar and continue beating until mixture is well combined and fluffy.

Cake Assembly
1. Place one cake on a plate and layer with cream cheese icing.
2. Place second cake on top and layer top and sides with cream cheese icing.
3. Add pecan nuts to the top of the cake as decoration. Grind some pecan nuts into smaller pieces to sprinkle on top of the cake. If you have cream cheese icing left over you may alternately pipe some decorations onto the top of the cake.
4. Place and store in refrigerator to allow icing to firm and remove from refrigerator only when ready to eat.

For pictures & more follow the link below:
Carrot Cake With Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

bon appetit