Ingredients
Carrot Cake
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4 large eggs
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1 1/3 cup (215g) brown sugar
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1 1/3 cup (330ml) vegetable oil
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1 tsp Queen Organic Vanilla Bean paste
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2 2/3 cup (400g) plain flour
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2 tsp baking soda
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2 tsp cinnamon
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2/3 cup (80) pecans, chopped
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2 cups grated carrot (240g)
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½ cup (125ml/g) sour cream
Icing & Decorating
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150g butter, softened
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150g cream cheese, softened
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3 cups (450g) icing sugar
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1 tsp Queen Organic Vanilla Bean Paste
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220g white chocolate
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Queen Food Colour (blue, red, green, yellow)
Method - Cake
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1
Preheat oven to 160C (fan forced) and grease and line a 32x20cm baking tin (or similar size).
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2
Place the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla into a large bowl and whisk with electric beaters for about 2 minutes or until very well combined.
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3
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pecans and carrot. Stir until combined.
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4
Finally, stir through the sour cream until no streaks remain.
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5
Tip batter into prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Method - Icing & Decorating
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1
To make icing, beat butter until pale and fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat again until completely incorporated.
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2
Add icing sugar and vanilla then beat, slowly at first until everything comes together in a smooth, thick icing. Be careful not to over-mix.
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3
Spread icing evenly over the completely cooled cake, and then place in fridge to firm up slightly.
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4
While cake is in the fridge, melt chocolate, either in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave.
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5
Take about a quarter of the chocolate and place in a small bowl. Tint the smaller amount green (for the carrot tops) being careful not to add too much gel – go slowly and add more if needed.
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6
Tint the larger amount orange, using a combination of the red and yellow food colour gels, again adding a small amount and then more if needed.
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7
Slice the cake in half, and then slice each half into long, thin triangles.
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8
Using a piping bag with a small, round tip, or a sandwich bag with the very end of one of the corners snipped off, pipe a carrot-shaped outline onto each slice of cake, using the orange chocolate. Pipe a squiggle of orange into the centre of each carrot. Switch to the green chocolate, and then pipe a top onto each carrot.
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9
Place back in the fridge to set for a minute, and then serve!
If using Queen Cinnamon Baking Paste, incorporate paste into wet ingredients.
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