Comforting Carrot Cake

So, it seems that Autumn has arrived, too quickly for my liking. But considering Scotland had a dismal summer it is actually quite nice to move on, get over it and enjoy the benefits of colder days and darker nights; comfort food!

When I decided to bake my first carrot cake it was on one of those days, leaves started being blown off the trees in the park that my lounge window looks on to and it just felt like i needed a warm hug in the form of food. The flavours of spice in a good carrot cake always deliver on this and the frosting would put a smile on the most miserable face!

Here is my first go, it's a mongrel of two recipes. The cake i adapted from Joy The Baker and the cream cheese frosting is from the delicious magazine website. have a go...it will warm your wee souls!

Ingredients:

4 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups golden caster sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

25g olive oil spread
300g half-fat cream cheese
25g unrefined golden icing sugar
1 orange



1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease with butter, then line a standard square tin with baking paper. In a bowl, whisk together carrots, eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and coconut, and nuts if desired. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well combined.
2. Pour the batter into the lined baking tin and cook in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. To check if it is thoroughly cooked, take a knife or skewer and put it into the middle of the cake. It should come out clean, if there is some batter on it, put the cake back into the oven for a further 5 mins and check again until cooked.
3. remove the cake from the tin and place on a cooling/wire rack for at least 20minutes before frosting.
4. Smother the cake with the orange cream cheese frosting and enjoy!

Frosting

Put the olive oil spread and cream cheese into a bowl. Mix until soft and smooth. Put a sieve over the bowl and add the icing sugar, pushing it through with a spoon. Rub the orange against the fine side of a grater, stopping when you get to the white pith. Add half the zest to the bowl, mix, then spread over the cake. Sprinkle the rest of the zest over the cake and cut it into 12 squares.