As an avid fan of carrot cake, I’ve enjoyed creating and tasting a variety of it across the years. One of my earliest and favourite recipes can be found in my 2011 cookbook, “Make Bake Love”. My twist on the traditional recipe includes an addition of pineapple, which once caramelised, beautifully complements the cream cheese topping with its slightly tart sweetness.
My passion for baking takes me around the globe for inspiration. This led me to discover ‘bolo de cenoura’, a Brazilian version of the carrot cake topped with an irresistible chocolate brigadero. The making process is straightforward and yields an impressively moist cake every time. The core ingredients, carrots, eggs, and oil are blended together in a food processor, and then the flour and sugar are mixed in. It’s an enjoyable baking project to engage children.
The Brazilian cake carries a delectable balanced sweetness and the vibrant flavour of carrot. Although I’ve baked it traditionally numerous times, for this recipe, I’ve fused elements of both recipes by incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg and a cream-cheese frosting.
The typical cream-cheese frosting for a carrot cake can have different versions. Contrary to conventional baking wisdom, I don’t find it necessary to include icing sugar and butter. Instead, I suggest combining pure Irish honey with cold cream cheese to achieve an ideal balance of sweetness.
While the seasonal allure may turn towards airy desserts like meringues and pavlovas, a traybake-style carrot cake that can be conveniently sectioned is perfect to enjoy with a cuppa during visitor calls or as a host gift for Easter Sunday dinner.
The cake can be embellished with toasted walnuts or pecans, chocolate carrots or shavings of carrot. I have a particular fondness for edible spring flowers during this season. Primroses add a charming touch as an Easter decoration as do dried rose petals, lavender buds or calendula petals from last year, which can be used as natural homemade sprinkles. Cultivating edible flowers is a delightful hobby that not only enhances your garden but your culinary endeavours too. Irrespective of your choice of final decoration, this carrot-infused, deliciously sweet treat is delightfully easy to bake for the Easter holidays.
Recipe included: Brazilian carrot cake
Advice from Lilly’s kitchen
– Ordinarily, I nurture consumable flowers amongst a variety of vegetables. Planting rows beautifully coloured calendula are highly beneficial for crops like beans and broccoli, among others. They serve as a distraction for aphids, drawing them away from the crops and also attract advantageous insects such as ladybirds, which are natural predators of aphids. Borage, another favourite of mine, blooms into splendid blue flowers, much beloved by bees.
– For those who desire to incorporate some conventional elements into their carrot cake, I recommend enmeshing toasted walnuts and a generous serving of sultanas into the mix.
– Without the icing, this cake retains its freshness even after freezing, making it an excellent choice for the packed lunches.