Ultimate Carrot Cake recipe tutorial

This is the best carrot cake recipe in the whole world!!!* (my opinion & I'm pretty biased!)

I have made carrot cake so many times over the years, I've lost count. I am fairly certain that I could make it in my sleep.

This carrot cake has walnuts and sultanas in and is so moist and delicious; it'll become an instant favourite!

You will need:

• 3 medium free range eggs
• approx. 70-100ml/3oz orange juice
• 125g/4oz room temp butter
• approx. 40-50g/1-2oz sultanas (small handful)
• 160ml/5.5fl oz/ 2/3 cup veg oil
• 2 teaspoons dried mixed spice
• 2 teaspoons dried nutmeg (you can add just 1 if you prefer)
• 100g/3.5oz room temp full fat cream cheese
• 50g/2oz walnuts
• About 400g/14oz/3.5 cups icing sugar -- more or less depending on water content of cream cheese
• 150g/5oz/ 2/3 cup golden caster sugar
• 200g/7oz/ 1+ 1/3 cup self-raising flour plus 1 scant teaspoon baking powder (or plain/all-purpose flour plus 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoons dried cinnamon
• about 350g/12.5oz carrot (weight before peeled and grated)

How to:

1. Prep your ingredients -- soak your sultanas (directions below), peel and grate your carrots & chop your walnuts
2. Mix your sifted dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk
3. Add your carrots, oil, eggs, sultanas (inc juice) and walnuts the mix briefly
4. Distribute evenly into muffin cups or a cake pan (7 inch)
5. Put cupcakes or cake into a pre-heated oven at 180 C/350F/G4 for 25 minutes for cupcakes and 45 minutes for a cake (approx)
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then place on a rack for at least an hour until cold before decorating
7. Mix the butter and cheese together until smooth then add icing sugar. Mix well with paddle attachment until smooth
8. Pipe or spoon the mixture on the cakes

Tips:

• +Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before making the batter
• +Don't chop your walnuts too fine (you want small chunks not powder)
• +You can use regular white sugar instead of golden caster if you prefer
• +Pre-heat your oven
• +Peel your carrots after weighing and always use the freshest you can
• +Smaller carrots are often sweeter than larger carrots
• +Use a good quality orange juice (i.e. not the kind full of flavourings and additives. I used Tropicana)
• +Make sure your frosting ingredients are at room temperature and sift your icing sugar
• These cakes will keep for several days well. You can store them in the fridge covered

Method for soaking your sultanas- put a smallish handful of sultanas in a cup (about 35grams) and pour orange juice over the top until you have covered all the fruit. Then put the cup in the microwave and heat until the fruit/juice is very warm (no too hot though) mine takes around 30-40 seconds or so. Leave the fruit for at least 20 minutes to soak in the warm juice.