Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing Recipe
A moist and flavorful carrot cake infused with warm spices and crushed pineapple, topped with a rich and creamy cream cheese icing. Perfect for sharing at gatherings or enjoying as a delightful dessert.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Western
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 250 ml unflavoured oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup milk (60 ml)
- 2 cups plain flour (300g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 350g grated carrot (around 3 carrots)
- 1 x 225g can crushed pineapple (juice drained and discarded)
Icing Ingredients
- 60g butter (softened)
- 200g cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 cups icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 160°C fanbake to ensure an even and gentle cooking environment for the cake.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar and eggs until well blended, then add the oil, vanilla essence, salt, and milk. Whisk everything together until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients: Sift plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mixed spice into the wet mixture, then mix well until fully incorporated.
- Incorporate carrot and pineapple: Drain the juice from the crushed pineapple and discard it. Add the crushed pineapple along with the grated carrot into the batter, folding gently to combine evenly.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into a pre-lined cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Cool the cake: Let the cake cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely, preparing for icing.
- Prepare the icing: In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter until smooth. Add the cream cheese, vanilla essence, and lemon zest, whipping until light and well combined for a smooth icing texture.
- Add icing sugar: Gradually add the icing sugar in two halves, mixing well after each addition. Continue to whip until the icing becomes smooth, fluffy, and white in color.
- Ice the cake: Once the cake is completely cooled, spread the cream cheese icing evenly over the top. Optionally, place the iced cake in the fridge to firm up before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Make sure the cream cheese and butter are softened to room temperature for smooth and easy icing preparation.
- Draining the pineapple juice is crucial to prevent the cake from being too wet.
- Check the cake with a skewer at the 40-minute mark to avoid overbaking.
- For added texture, you can fold in chopped walnuts or pecans along with the carrot and pineapple.
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
