Nan's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Monday 1 April at 7:39pm

Nan's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Hands-on prep time: 30 mins

Bake time: 30 mins

Serves 12

For the cake:

150g light brown sugar

135g golden caster sugar

225ml sunflower oil

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

180g carrot, grated

150g tinned crushed pineapple, drained

315g self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp mixed spice

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

For the icing:

100g unsalted butter, room temperature

200g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g cream cheese, cold (and must be full fat)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160C (fan) or 170C (convection).
Grease and line two 20cm round tins.
Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, nutmeg, mixed spice, cinnamon and ginger into a bowl.
In a separate large mixing bowl, beat both sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth.
Sift in half the flour mixture and fold into the wet mixture. Fold in half of the carrot and pineapple. Sift in the rest of the flour mixture and fold in. Fold in the remaining carrot and pineapple. Do not overmix.
Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until the sponges are springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.
Cool in the tins for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While the sponges are cooling, make the icing.
Beat butter and add icing sugar gradually. Beat until light and creamy (an electric whisk is much easier if you have one!). When all the icing sugar has been added and the buttercream is light and creamy, beat in the cream cheese. Only beat until the cream cheese is just incorporated into the buttercream as if you overmix it, it will go runny!
Use a serrated knife to level the sponges. Keep the offcuts!
Spread a layer of icing on one sponge and top with the other sponge. Spread the remaining icing on top of the second sponge and smooth with a knife. You can decorate however you wish! I crumble the offcuts and sprinkle them around the edge. Some people use walnuts but I prefer keeping carrot cake nut free.