Carrot and Orange cake
Just imagine: Saturday morning, a hot, steamy cappuccino with frothy milk foam, lightly sweetened with caramel and the most deep, moist and delicious orange – carrot cake you have ever tasted. Tailored to taste, made with love and frosted with perfection. Paired with tranquility, relaxation and a long lazy morning ahead. And, yes, I am aware that it is only Monday today, with full week ahead, but we are allowed to dream a little bit, aren’t we?
If I could get this entire package somewhere, I would be rushing there right about now… Cappuccino would and is quite an attainable task, maybe even a few moments to look at the world pass by could be found, but a carrot cake that is pure and orange frosted? That’s one thing rather hard to find. You see, I don’t really like most of the carrot cakes, as they tend to have all sorts of things in the form of nuts or raisins added to them. They may work for some I admit, but for me, carrot cake heaven starts with cinnamon and vanilla spiced, baked to perfection and generously frosted culinary delight with maybe a few berries spinning around on the plate. Nothing too serious, nothing too complicated, just a cup of coffee and a piece of cake are all it takes for the good start of the day.
Ingredients:
350g carrots (about 3)
300ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 orange zest
150g flour
180g brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Process: Heat the oven to 175C. Start by finely grasping the carrots, then stir in the oil. Lightly beat the eggs and stir in the carrot –oil mixture followed by the zest, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla sugar. Sift the flour and mix with the baking powder. Slowly add the flour to the batter, stirring all the time.
Bake the carrot cake for 50 -60 minutes. To check the readiness, pierce it with a wooden skewer, it will be ready when it comes out clean. Let the cake cool down for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the tin.
Orange cream cheese frosting
250 g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
1 orange juice
2 tablespoons powder sugar (confectioners)
Mix the cream cheese, orange juice and sugar. Spread the frosting generously on top of the carrot cake. Some more orange zest can be used for decoration and some red currants add a nice sour kick to the cake.
One more thing you will definitely need – a steamy cappuccino with a drop of a caramel, and a minute, well, maybe two… no let’s make it three to stop and indulge in divinity.
what a cheerful little piece of sin…
i’ve been craving all things citrus lately. i’m saving this to my online cookbook, cookmarked.
A little sin of such kind, every now and then hasn’t hurt anybody yet…
I found your beautiful photo of this carrot cake on Dishfolio.com. I love how thin it is, and I can imagine how yummy it would be with a cup of cappuccino.
I made a coconut carrot cake yesterday (for V-Day and my blog), and I left out the nuts and fruit too. I like to make a simple cake : )
Jenné, I really like the twist of your carrot cake, very nice…and I’m happy I’m not the only one who likes to skip the nuts!
Thanks so much!
I added cayenne pepper because I felt it might help accentuate the other spices. It isn’t spicy, as I only added a pinch. At my job we add cayenne to our oatmeal raisin cookies, with similar results.
This cake is so beautiful, I don’t know if I could eat it! I just made a olive oil orange cake that was quite delightful. Love when oranges are in season!
This looks so lovely, beautiful pictures too!
Cassie, thanks!
I can say nothing but…wow. Just wow.
Let the carrots shine! Good rule. What a lovely recipe but I’m tempted to try it in cupcakes just so I could have a bite quicker :->
I adore carrot cake and LOVE the look of yours…such exquisite!!!
You really made me dream with this cake!
Are you sure about 300ml oil?… The result is VERY oily.
Hi Olga, yes 300 ml of oil are needed. This may not be the lightest of cakes but it does end up to be very moist, which was the effect i was going for.
I’m sorry, I find it uneatable. Just a matter of taste I guess.
Olga, I’m sorry to hear it was not to your liking. If it ended up very oily, maybe it needed a little more to bake or adjustment of temperature (just guessing)