“I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.”
Mae West

Carrot Walnut Cake with Mascarpone Frosting …  a carrot cake doesn’t get better than this. I’ve made a few in the past. One from Ottolenghi, the Cookbook, and then another a few weeks ago with butter instead of oil. The one with butter was kind of OK. This one a few days ago was fabulous! Sang out loud you can say….

A few days ago, my ‘almost good for nothing‘ gardener harvested the last bunch of carrots from my little patch. They were so pretty. I made a chicken, carrot and broccoli stir fried rice for the kids. Some were shared with labourers working in the area. I still had quite a few. I knew it was time for carrot cake.

The recipe I picked was the BBC Good Food ‘Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake’ recipe. I adapted it slightly, and it turned out to be the best carrot cake ever … yummy scrummy too as they declare it to be. I’m not going to need another recipe for carrot cake again.

I substituted a few things. Skipped the raisins and threw in walnuts, used some whole wheat flour too. Changed the frosting entirely. Once again made the cardinal error of forgetting that the recipe said self raising flour. Forgot to add baking powder, and used just baking soda! Call it good fortune. I got the best cake ever!

Frosting? In the fridge was some leftover homemade mascarpone from the Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Strawberry Mascarpone Gateau. I spiked the frosting with a teeny dash of  Grand Marnier {isn’t necessary though}. I also added a tbsp of homemade bitter kumquat marmalade to the whipped frosting.

I licked the bowl clean after I was done frosting … it was that good! To tie the flavours and colours together, I added slivers of walnuts {a nut slicer is quite handy here}, and snipped some candied orange over the top. Garnishing is the fun part, therapeutic too. I love the whimsical slivers of walnuts on the top,  and the contrast of the orange against the deep white mascarpone frosting.

Time for the taste test. as it was time for the teens to come in from school. Vegetables in a cake is always scary ground. I offered them a square each. It hit the spot with both. They had seconds, the lad thirds. Kept praising it.  I think it was the frosting that added to the appeal of the cake. It’s a nice Easter Carrot Cake! Simple too.

As I go, I’d like to share a little feature about Passionate About Baking that The Crest Edition of  The Times of India carried yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself there as I flipped through the pages sipping my morning coffee. Thank you TOI!!

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Recipe: Carrot Walnut Cake with Mascarpone Frosting 

Summary:

Light, moist, full of flavour, this Carrot Walnut Cake is the best I’ve ever made. Walnuts, orange, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and whole wheat all give this great texture and taste! Adapted from BBC Good Food

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:

• Carrot Walnut Cake
• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 175ml sunflower oil
• 3 large eggs , lightly beaten
• 140g grated carrots (about 3 medium)
• grated zest of 1 large orange
• 100g walnuts
• 125g plain flour
• 45g whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Frosting
• 100g low fat cream, chilled
• 50g icing sugar {to taste}
• 150g mascarpone, chilled
• 1 tbsp bitter orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp Grand Marnier {optional}
• Sliced walnuts, candied orange peel etc for garnishing

Method:

1. Carrot Cake
2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the base and sides of an 8″ square baking tin.
3. Place the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Whisk with a wooden spoon until mixed.
4. Add the oranges zest, carrots and walnuts. Whisk to mix.
5. Add the baking soda, whisk again, and then add both flours. Mix until just blended and pour batter into baking tin
6. Bake for about 45 minutes until done.
7. Cool completely.
8. Frosting
9. Place all ingredients in large bowl and whip until thick. Taste and adjust for sweetness.
10. Spread frosting over cake. Garnish with snipped candied orange peel, slivered walnuts etc.

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