I’ve tried various recipes for carrot cake from my collection of cookbooks over the years but was never completely ecstatic about any of them. In fact one of them turned out so awful that I actually wrote "horrible and inedible" at the top of the page because that’s what it was - soggy, oily, dull and unpleasant and I hadn’t made another one since!
So, with a surfeit of carrots in the veg drawer and a carrot soup already gurgling away in the soup maker, I decided to have another go. This time I used a recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible, the latest edition thereof. There were no spices or dried fruit in this recipe, unlike some of the others I had tried.
It turned out really well, delicious in fact. I then discovered that the same recipe appears in some of Mary's previous books with one principle difference; this most recent recipe says to use one teaspoon of baking powder and all the others say two! How odd! However, it rose well so one is clearly enough! Also, the instructions say to bake for 50-60 minutes. Mine was done in 50 minutes and if anything was slightly over. I would check after 40 minutes next time.
It's a pity I hadn't spotted this Mary Berry recipe before as I would have made dozens of them by now, especially as they are immensely popular at cake sales, especially it seems with the French.
I made this one as an uniced traybake for ease of cutting and handing round. I decided that the next time I would try adding a little mixed spice, and for a cake sale I would definitely ice it, but it was really good just as per the recipe. Very simple to make and delicious.
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I have a tip for grating carrots. Weigh slightly more than you want and grate as far down as you dare until you have a short stump which you can do something else with (such as chomp on it while you grate the next carrot). That way you get the amount of grated carrot you want with your fingers intact!
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As is the way of things here, the opportunity arose to make the cake again for a cake sale at an event in the next village a few weeks later. This time I added a teaspoon of mixed spice and iced it as per Mary's recipe, decorating it with chopped walnuts and banana chips. It looked the business and sold out early in the day.
I would happily have used the little marzipan carrot decorations that identify it immediately as a carrot cake but the only place I could find them in France was online and the price worked out at 1€ per carrot! I resisted, as the cost of a pack of decorations would have been more than the cost of making the whole cake!
As an aside, it’s amazing how much the French seem to love English cakes, considering their reputation for fine patisserie. On the cake stall this time we were asked by a French couple if we ran a course on how to make them! Now there’s an idea……..
This is the recipe for the iced version with a little added spice.
Ingredients
For the cake
225g self raising flour, sifted
1 level tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice (optional)
150g light muscovado sugar
50g chopped walnuts
115g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
150ml sunflower or vegetable oil
For the icing (if using)
175g full fat cream cheese
55g softened butter
115g icing sugar, sifted
To decorate
banana chips
2 tblsp chopped walnuts
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4. Butter a 20cm square or round springform cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
Put all the cake into a large bowl and beat until smooth.
Spoon into the tin and level the top. Tap a couple of times on the worktop to dispel any air bubbles.
Bake for 50-60 minutes but check after 40 minutes as mine was well done by 50 minutes and a square cake may also be done sooner.
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out, remove the baking paper and leave to cool on a wire rack. Once cool it can be frozen by wrapping tightly in foil.
To make the icing, put all the ingredients into a bowl or food processor and beat well until smooth. Make sure the cake is completely cold (or thawed if it's been frozen) and spread the icing over the top. Decorate with the chopped walnuts and banana chips (or any decoration of your choice such as purchased sugar paste carrots).
Cuts into 10-12 slices.
I make cakes all the time for my French choir. They absolutely love them. Carrot or pumpkin tray bakes are regulars; I always put plenty of spice in it, and some dried fruit (candied peel, cranberries, sultanas, crystallized ginger …). I don’t ice it for reasons of keeping it at room temperature for several hours. They love the ginger cake I make too, and when I want to push the boat out I make millionaire’s shortbread or chocolate tiffin. All of these are so different from French cakes.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the ginger cake before, a Lynn Hill recipe I think. It's a lovely cake, very moist and I made it last week for Nick's birthday. Ginger cake is his favourite!
DeleteOn the cake stall at the recent event in the next village it was the usual favourites that sold out first but the ginger cake was one of the last to go. I wondered if that was because it looked very plain and not as "English" as some of the others that were slathered in buttercream! I shall try it on my walking group and see how it goes.
Lovely cake. It's a while since I made a carrot cake and I don't remember ever making one in France. I did find the French enjoyed classic British cakes, though, especially fruit cakes. I also came across a few French people who were massive fans of scones.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the scones. If you try to describe them to a French person they think you're completely mad but once they've tried them, they love them. We were asked for them over and again at the cake stall last month but nobody had thought to make any!
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