Easy carrot and walnut cake with cream cheese frosting

Easy carrot and walnut cake with cream cheese frosting

Makes one double layered 22 cm cake. Make one and a half times this recipe if you would like a higher cake.  This is so easy – dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another – then mix them together to make the batter!

625 ml flour
350 ml sugar
10 ml bicarbonate of soda
2,5 ml salt
10 ml ground cinnamon
75 g walnuts, chopped smaller
350 ml sunflower oil
250 ml buttermilk OR maas
30 ml white wine vinegar
1 tin crushed pineapple (drained)
3 eggs
10 ml Vanilla essence
400 g grated carrots (about 2 cups)

METHOD:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Sift together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and the cinnamon and mix in the nuts
• Mix together the sunflower oil, buttermilk or maas, vinegar, crushed pineapple, eggs and the vanilla.  Add the grated carrots
• Mix together the dry ingredients with the liquids (carrot mixture)  and mix well to make the batter
• Spoon the batter into two greased, lined 22cm cake tins (or 24 muffin cups)
• Bake for about 30 minutes at 180°C
• Cool and decorate with the cream cheese frosting

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

180 g     butter (I prefer salted butter), cold but not straight out of the fridge
250 g     LANCEWOOD FULL FAT CREAM CHEESE
180 g     sifted icing sugar
5 ml       vanilla extract

METHOD:

• Beat the butter until light and fluffy.  Add the cream cheese and vanilla and beat until very light and fluffy
• Add the icing sugar and beat well for sugar to dissolve.

Decorate the cake with the cream cheese frosting between the layers and on top.  Top with more walnuts and a dusting of cinnamon.