Carrot cake with cream cheese icing is my absolute favourite, and this combination of carrot, pineapple and hazelnut is divine. Recently I made it for a dear friend who had an awful week and needed a wee pick me up. Luxurious and moist, it is very hard to resist a slice or two. Often I find that carrot cake will have walnuts in the mix. While I love the contrast of the crunch of the nuts with the crumb of cake, but I find walnuts can be a little bitter. I’ve replaced them here with hazelnuts but pecans would also work beautifully. Alternatively, this cake is just as beautiful nut-free too.
The classic cream cheese icing is made with plain cream cheese. Sometimes, I can’t help but muddle with a classic. Hutchinson’s have a range of flavoured cream cheeses, available at most supermarkets. The vanilla, hazelnut and pear cream cheese adds another little layer of flavour to this beautiful cake, but do feel free to stick with the classic cream cheese. You can add a citrus zest to the icing for a different spin on things.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with whole grain flours, such as rye, spelt and other wholesome grains. Here I swapped 1/2 a cup of the standard white flour for 1/2 rye. The cake doesn’t rise quite as much as the rye flour has less gluten, meaning this cake is a little denser than normal. But the finished flavour is slightly nutty and caramel with just a hint of virtue. sometimes, we need our cake with a sprinkle of goodness. And while I advocate experimenting, I also stand by the classics. A quality chocolate cake recipe is not be messed with, however carrot cake can be much more forgiving.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
- 4 eggs
- 1¼ cups vegetable oil
- 227g tin crushed pineapple, drained in a sieve
- 90gm hazelnuts, whizzed in a food processor
Instructions
Sift all the dry ingredients together into a large bowl and stir to combine. Put the carrots, eggs and oil in a food processor and pulse quickly to combine. My food processor is a little bench top one, so I do this in batches. Fold into the dry ingredients, along with the pineapple and hazelnuts. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 65-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Turn the oven off but leave the cake in for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and ice once cooled.
