Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Any excuse for a cake or two! 

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It’s Grandma’s birthday tomorrow and she’ll be spending her fun filled day with the kids while I head off to work.  Of course we need a cake to sing happy birthday as soon as she walks in the door, probably multiple times throughout the day, then again for a family dinner. 

The kids at the park with Grandma

 Another reason to celebrate is about half of the people at work completed the Run Geelong like I did on the weekend.  Run Geelong was a huge success with 11,792 Participants and over $500, 000 raised for the children’s ward at the Geelong Hospital. 

The quickly devoured cake at work - most of it gone by 11am!

 So I think everyone deserves cake!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

 I decided on carrot cake as Grandma is not really a sweet tooth and this is the type of cake I don’t mind the kids sharing.  In fact for the 2 cakes I had Summer count out 10 carrots which adds plenty of fibre and vitamins not to mention moisture and taste.  I put all those carrots straight into the Thermomix and in just a few seconds I had a bowl full of bright orange goodness. I chopped the pecans and mixed the icing for both cakes at once also and just made the rest of the cakes separately (only because the mix is quiet large).

This cake is actually a Donna Hay recipe with my predictable variations of much less sugar, a little honey and some nutmeg.  Very easy but a real crowd pleaser!

 Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

60g pecans
5 carrots (preferably organic)
110g rapadura (or raw) sugar
60g local honey
180g grapesed or other neutral flavoured oil
3 eggs
100g wholemeal flour
125g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
80g sultanas

250g cream cheese
100g icing sugar (I milled raw sugar)
1 tbls lemon juice

• Preheat oven to 180°C and grease or line a 20cm baking tin (square or round) with baking paper
• Place pecans in Thermomix bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 6 then set aside
• Place carrots in bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 6 then set aside
• Place sugar, honey and oil in bowl and mix for 1 minute on speed 6 (no need to clean bowl between)
• Add eggs and mix for another 20 seconds on speed 6
• Add flours and spices and mix for 5 seconds on speed 5
• Add carrots, pecans and sultanas and mix for 10 seconds, speed 2 on Reverse
• Pour into baking tin and bake for 55 – 60 minutes or until inserted skewer comes out clean
• Allow to cool before removing
• For the icing, in a clean Thermomix bowl mill raw sugar to icing sugar (30 seconds speed 9)
• Add cream cheese and icing sugar and mix about 30 seconds speed 6
• Refrigerate a little while cake is cooling then simply pour over.

This cake is best stored in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese frosting  

Enjoy!