Le Gateaux Carotte a.k.a Carrot Cake

I have always wondered how/why  spices like Cinnamon and Nutmeg can get into a baker's pantry. Carrot cake is one brilliant example how these spices can add so much flavour to a cake. Carrot Cake is one of those desserts which has various textures baked in - soft, moist and crunchy. Whenever I try a store bought cake the icing always puts me off - there's always so much icing and a bit too sweet. Here's my version of a soft, moist and crunchy carrot cake.

Ingredients

For Batter

1. All purpose flour - 2 cups
2. Baking powder - 3 teaspoons
3. Cinnamon powder - 2 teaspoons
4. Nutmeg powder - 2 teaspoons
5. Brown Sugar - 1 cup
6. Melted Butter - 125 gms (1/2 cup)
7. Cream - 2 tablespoons
8. Milk - 3-4 tablespoons
9. Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
10. Vanilla essence - 2 teaspoons
11. Eggs - 3
12. Grated Carrot - 1 1/2 cups
13. Crushed walnuts

For Icing

1. Cream cheese - 1 block
2. Butter - 125 gms
3. Vanilla essence - 2 teaspoons
4. Icing sugar - 2 cups

The Method

The Cake

1. Sift through all the dry ingredients (#1 - #5) in a large mixing bowl,
2. Whisk all the wet ingredients (#6 - #10) in another bowl. 
3. Blend the dry and wet ingredients along with the grated carrot and crushed walnuts until they are mixed evenly.
4. Grease a baking pan with butter or vegetable oil and pour the batter in.
5. Spread the batter around the pan so they are evenly filled.
6. Bake the batter in a 150 deg C oven - slightly higher temperature if not fan operated for a out 20 minutes
7. As always - follow your nose for baking until you get the aroma of something baking.
8. Test the cake by inserting a tooth pick in the middle and it should come out clean without any batter sticking on to it.
9. Remove the cake and let it cool while you work on the icing.

The Icing

1. Take the cream cheese and butter that is already is already in room temperature (keep them outside before you start the entire procedure) and whisk them on a high speed whisk /  blender until you get a smooth pasty texture.
2. Sift through the icing sugar along with the vanilla essence and blend it well.
3. If you would like to decorate your cake with some "carrots" you could take a few tablespoons of this icing separately and mix food colours as you need. (Green for the "leaves" , Red and yellow for the "carrot").

The finishing touches

1. By now you have what you need for a carrot cake. Apply the icing on top and all over the cake once the cake has cooled down (about 30 minutes post baking).
2. If you like a layered cake - slice the cake in the middle, apply a layer of icing on the bottom layer and then smother all the rest of icing all around.
3. You can bag the coloured icing in a ziploc bag and attempt your artistic talents to create the carrots on top of the icing. Being my first time I had mixed success. There are enough Youtube  videos on how to decorate your carrot cake.