This carrot cake is one of my favorite recipes because it fills the house with such bright colors and sweet and spiced scents. We recently moved into our new flat, and it was the first thing I made to break in the kitchen and oven. A housewarming gift to ourselves!
It's been a while since I last posted because Jonathan and I were in a bit of a whirl trying to get moved into our new place. Between our first place in London, and now, we have lived in a couple of AirBnBs, a couple of hotels, a short-term apartment, and a canal boat in Wales. We kept all our boxes in storage, while we lugged our suitcases everywhere, and packed and unpacked so many times. Somewhere along the way too, I accidentally left my basil plant on someone's windowsill ... : ( Needless to say, I didn't really have a kitchen until now.
Now that we are settled in, besides being really happy to have more than one pair of jeans again (and finally, warm clothes for the winter), a part of me came back alive after being reunited with my pots and pans and spatulas. The new place felt like home as soon as the kitchen boxes were unpacked!
I don't make this carrot cake recipe too often because it takes a lot of work. Grating all the carrots is no small feat. But I can't really complain this time, because Jonathan saved me halfway through and finished grating. It's probably the only time I allow him to come into the kitchen ... !
I'm not sure where I first came across this recipe, but it has served me well over the past few years. I don't always follow it exactly as I wrote it down in my recipe book, and this time I used about half white flour and half wholemeal (whole wheat) flour. I also cut down on the sugar in both the cake and the frosting. It makes the frosting a little less stiff, but I definitely did not miss the sweetness. You can see from the pictures that instead of a double layer cake, I baked it into 7.5 cm individual cakes. Ah, right now, I'm really loving individually sized desserts!
Housewarming Simple Carrot Cake
Print Recipe Save RecipeMakes one 2-layer 8 inch cake / 12 7.5 cm mini cakes / 24 regular cupcakes / lots of mini cupcakes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots - grated (½ kg)
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (170 grams)
- ¼ cup sunflower oil (60 milliliters)
- 1 teaspoon quality vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (140 grams)
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour (105 grams) (wholemeal flour)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup raisins
Instructions
- This recipe makes one 2-layer 8-inch cake or 12 7.5-cm mini cakes or 24 regular cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C and grease your choice of pans with a bit of oil.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking power, salt and ¾ cups of the sugar. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 cup of the sugar until it is thick but airy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer on medium speed. Slowly add in the sunflower oil and vanilla, and beat for another 5 minutes on medium speed, until well incorporated.
- Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture, and beat until mixed. Gently fold in the carrots and raisins.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the baking pans.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, and the cake is springy to the touch. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then gently transfer to finish cooling on a cooling rack.
- When the carrot cake has cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter -cold (225 grams)
- 1 pound cream cheese (500 grams)
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (435 grams)
- 1 teaspoon quality vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cut the butter into small cubes. Mix the butter with the cream cheese until smooth.
- Mix in the vanilla. Slowly add in the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, mixing after each addition.
- If needed, refrigerate to stiffen the frosting.
Nicole Cameron says
hello, what cake pans did you use for these mini cakes i cannot find any with straight sides . all the best
Tina Jui says
Hi - I can't find the exact pan I have at the moment, but it is a pan that looks like these mini cheesecake pan.
Joan says
Very nice. God bless.
btjui says
Wow, that's easy to make a mini cakes. I'll try this weekends. Thanks Tina.
Michelle Shulman says
Hello, what would you recommend the baking time be for the mini-cakes?
Tina Jui says
Hi Michelle - I would start checking the mini-cakes with a toothpick at 30 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the mini-cakes come out clean.
Stefy says
New house, new kitchen, such warm and welcoming mini cakes! Something like a dream!
jj says
SO GOOD!! Even after two weeks in the fridge :D