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This is a classic cake that is simple yet rich, you can have it as your teatime cake, without frosting. Doubles up as a birthday cake or a showstopper for your next festive meal!
- 150 grams all purpose flour
- 50 grams almonds with or without skin, ground to a powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 3/4 teaspoon mixed spice (1/4 tsp each of clove cinnamon & nutmeg powder)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 175 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- 175 grams soft brown light or dark-muscovado sugar * see notes
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 100 grams carrots grated 1 loosely packed cup
- zest/grated rind of 1 orange
- 1/3 cup unsweetened orange juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
- 280 grams cream cheese
- 150 grams confectioners' icing/powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup or more crushed walnuts
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Grease a 9" round pan with butter and dust some flour. You can also line it with baking parchment if you wish. Keep it aside. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
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Sift the flour with the almond powder, ginger, clove, cinnamon & nutmeg powders, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Repeat one more time to make the cake fluffier. Keep aside.
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Beat the butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add in the egg one at a time and beat until the mixture looks creamy
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Blend in the orange zest, juice and the grated carrots.
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Now add the flour mixture in parts & gently fold until all the flour has been incorporated.
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Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and level up the surface. Tap twice to remove any excess air bubbles.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or till the skewer inserted comes out clean.
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Remove & cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then turn out the cake on a wire rack and cool completely.
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When the cake has cooled, slice it horizontally into two halves. Keep aside.
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Prepare the frosting by mixing the butter, icing sugar and cream cheese together until blended. Then beat using a whisk till the mixture is smooth & fluffy and no lumps remain.
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Dab the centre of a cake stand/serving tray with a little frosting to keep the cake in place.
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Place one layer on top of it and cover the surface with 1/3 of the frosting. Place the second layer of the cake over it and cover the top and sides with the rest of the frosting. Level up the surface.
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Decorate the entire surface with the crushed walnuts. Serve immediately. The cake tastes good even when served slightly chilled, for about 30-45 minutes.
If you do not have soft brown sugar, you can use caster sugar. The cake may be a tad sweet but the cream cheese will balance it.
If you prefer a sweeter cake you can add 25 grams of white sugar to the brown sugar and beat it along with the butter.
The butter & eggs should always be at room temperature otherwise the batter resembles curd like consistency. The flour should be sifted with baking powder from a height as this also ensures that the cake turns out fluffy.
The picture of when I first baked this cake in a microwave with convection 10 years ago!
Second attempt – when I made the cake using white sugar
Should i use the electric beater whn im doing no 4 and no 5 method?
You can gently mix everything together using a rubber spatula. Do not beat with an electric whisk once the flour is added
I too have a microwave oven. Cakes never come out cooked evenly. What additional settings/ timngs did u use while using it in convection mode?
I made this cake several years ago and reposted the recipe a couple of years ago. I just used the bake mode on my convection oven
Made this cake today. It turned out super moist and super tasty. Thank you for the wonderful receipe.
Thank you so much for the feedback Suzan! Glad to know that you liked it so much!
The cake looks simply awesome.Can we substitute the egg with something else.
can u share the recipe for cream cheese,as ,it is not readily available in India.
Hi Rashmi,
Thank you so much! Well, I have not tried an eggless version of this cake but you could try using yogurt or flaxseed powder dissolved in water. At the moment I don’t have a good recipe for cream cheese, but as mentioned in my post you could use regular buttercream frosting instead!
Sieht lecker aus, hier in Deutschland, Berlin hat der Herbst angefangen da kann man super die Karotte, Möhre gegen Winter Kürbis austauschen, yummi!
Jesse-Gabriel
Vielen Dank! 🙂
Please give us the options of measurements in Cup size
Thank you
Hi Jennifer,
Sorry I haven’t measured the recipe in cups yet as I always prefer weighing them in grams. I will check now and update the post
Hi, 3/4 of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg…. Does that mean 3/4 each or 1/4 each?
Can the butter be replaced to oil.? Same weight? Thx
Hi, its 1/4 tsp each of clove, cinnamon & nutmeg powders…I have updated my recipe 🙂
I haven’t tried this recipe with oil but you can try. Same weight should be ok.
I have tried other carrot cake recipes..but yours was the best…The recipe is easy to follow and the end result is a wonderfully moist and yummy cake!!!
Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you so much for the great feedback Flavia!! I am so happy to hear this 🙂