Moist and infused with the aroma of mixed spices and orange, and loaded with fibres!
The next item in our picnic basket is a moist and slightly dense carrot cake, infused with the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg, with a crunch of chopped walnuts, and topped with a delightful citrusy orange cream cheese frosting. We use soft brown sugar for this recipe for a denser flavour, but if you don’t have it stocked in your kitchen, you can always replace it with caster sugar.
It is a great way to get your children to eat vegetables as the cake is made with a hearty quantity of grated carrots, which is loaded with a good amount of fibres.
What’s more, this carrot cake is made with our quality QL Omega eggs, produced under stringent conditions, and only contain 50% of the cholesterol compared to normal eggs in the market, so that you can enjoy your banana cake with peace of mind.
Ingredients
For the cake: | ||
|---|---|---|
| To be sifted together (A): | ||
| 180 g | self-raising flour | |
| ½ tsp | bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) | |
| ½ tsp | ground cinnamon | |
| ½ tsp | ground nutmeg | |
Other cake ingredients: | ||
| 150 ml | light tasting vegetable oil (such as canola, sunflower, corn or soybean) | |
| 150 g | soft brown sugar | |
| 2 | QL Omega eggs | |
| Pinch of salt | ||
| 300 g | grated carrots (weight after grating) | |
| 80 g | walnuts (roughly chopped) | |
For the orange cream cheese frosting: | ||
| 100 g | cream cheese | |
| 150 g | icing sugar | |
| ¼ cup | freshly squeezed orange juice | |
| 2 tsp | orange zest | |
Method
- Preheat oven to 170 C. Line a 7-inch square cake tin with parchment paper or greaseproof paper.
- Sift together all ingredients in (A).
- Mix vegetable oil, soft brown sugar, QL Omega eggs and pinch of salt with an electric mixer for approximately 4 to 5 minutes until well combined.
- Fold in flour mixture (A) gently with a rubber or spatula or large metal spoon until well combined.
- Fold in carrots, mix well, followed by chopped nuts until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake at 180 C for about 35 - 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack.
- Lift the cake out of the tin, peel off the parchment/greaseproof paper. (You can also overturn the cake tin then peel off the parchment/greaseproof paper.)
- To make the orange cream cheese frosting, beat cream cheese, icing sugar and orange juice until well combined. Add in orange zest and mix well.
- Spread the frosting on the cake, cut and serve. The cake is best eaten at room temperature.
QL Kitchen Tips:
- The baking time differs between 35-40 minutes depending on your oven.
- If you like your carrot cake sweeter, increase sugar to 180 or 200g.
QL Omega & QL Deli Fresh eggs are available at major hypermarkets and supermarkets. For more information on QL Eggs, click here.
