Carrot Cake

With carrots in season this is fun cake to make and eat. The right amount of spice, carrots and nuts. It is moist with the addition of  crushed pineapple.

2 ¼ cup All purpose flour (this flour will hold the moisture well from the carrots and pineapple)

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch salt (I like to put about ¼ teaspoon)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 ½ cup brown sugar
4 eggs separated

¾ cup canola oil

½ cup crushed pineapple (I like to use the canned one in it’s juice not syrup)

4 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts (you can add nuts of your choice-pecans, cashews you can add raisins too)

Equipment Required-

8 inch square pan
A beater 

• Prepare an 8-inch square pan by greasing the sides, line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper. Preheat oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
• In a second bowl whisk the egg whites till soft peaks form.
• In a third bowl, add the oil and brown sugar and beat well till creamy. While continuing to beat add egg yolks  one at a time (make sure it is well incorporated).
• Add the vanilla and continue mixing.
• With a spatula (I like to use the silicone one), mix the pineapple. Fold in the flour mixture and walnuts using the spatula (do it in three parts to ensure proper incorporation of the ingredients and not over mixing). 
• Fold in the whisked egg whites and mix well.
• Pour the batter in the prepared tin, let it stand for about 5 minutes and bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hr 15 minutes (sometimes it takes extra 5 minutes to be ready) check by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake . If it comes out clean it’s ready. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand in the pan for about 5 minutes on a cooling rack before turning it out (this helps the cake to settle down and not crumble). Cool completely to frost with cream cheese frosting.

My secret cream cheese frosting (super light)

1 package cream cheese (250 grams) soft

2 cups whipping cream cold

1 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Using a whisk attachment, whip the cream. When it slightly gets stiffer add the icing sugar and continue to whisk till it forms stiff peaks. In another bowl, whisk the cream cheese and vanilla till creamy. Add it to the whipped cream and continue whisking till well incorporated. Use as needed.

For the above cake I used tip 12 round to make the carrot shape using orange food gel color and for the greenery I used tip 3 round and green food gel color.

Tip- I usually put the cream back and forth in the fridge to maintain the coolness.