This Carrot Cake is well worth worth the effort. The list of ingredients might be long, but they are all readily available in the supermarket and many of them should also be everyday items in a well stocked pantry.  At Wickedfood Cooking School we make a fairly similar carrot cake in our baking class.  As with all baking, it is important that you follow the recipe exactly, otherwise there is a strong possibility that the carrot cake will flop.

Bourke Street Bakery says – “It’s necessary to work quickly to make this carrot cake recipe succeed. Everything is whipped to incorporate a lot of air and the dry ingredients are quickly folded through at the end. The whipped egg whites result in a fantastic crisp meringue-like top on the cake. We have a number of mixers. So we can have everything mixing at one time, but for a home kitchen you will get the best results working in the order listed within the carrot cake recipe.”

70 g walnuts
150 g self-raising flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
55 ml (about 2) egg whites
1/4 cup sugar for egg whites
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar for egg yolks
2/3 cup extra light olive oil
125 g carrots, peeled and grated

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1T icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra, for dusting
1T butter, softened
145 g cream cheese
2T pouring (whipping) cream

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C . Grease an 18 cm round cake tin and line the base and side with baking paper – the paper should protrude about 3cm above the tin.
2. Place the walnuts on a baking tray and toast in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes, or until lightly roasted (or in a dry frying pan). Cool and coarsely chop.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt into a bowl. Repeat to ensure they are evenly mixed, and well aired.
4. Whisk the  egg whites in a very clean bowl on high speed until soft peaks start to form. Slowly pour in the sugar for the egg whites, while the motor is still running, being careful not to overmix – the meringue should reach soft peak stage.
5. Put the 1 egg and 1 egg yolk in a bowl together with the 3/4 cup of sugar for the egg yolks. Mix on high speed for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture doubles in volume and is quite airy. With the motor still running, slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream being careful that it doesn’t split or deflate too much.
6. With a spatula, or metal spoon, gently fold in the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the carrots and walnuts. Quickly and lightly fold in the meringue (beaten egg whites) – do not fold it through completely, you should still be able to see streaks of meringue through the mix.
7. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into centre of the cake comes out clean. You may need to drop the oven temperature to 180°C  after the first 30 minutes if the top is browning too quickly).
8. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Cream the icing sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and smooth. Add the cream cheese in small amounts, allowing it to be completely incorporated before adding the rest. Scrape down the sides during the process to ensure even mixing. Add the cream and mix until smooth, being careful not to overmix at this stage or the cream may curdle and separate, you may need to add a little more cream – the frosting needs to be of a spreadable consistency but not at all runny.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for about 30 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Using a serrated knife, slice horizontally through the centre of the cake to form two even-sized layers and fill with cream cheese frosting.
11. Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar to serve.

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.