A good carrot cake recipe is a must have in everyone's recipe box. This one is as easy as it gets! It sounds fancy because of the layers, but it's really straightforward and easy to make. The cinnamon gives it a nice and warm flavor and smell, while the pistachios give just the right amount of crunch to each bite. Garnish the cake with a variety of nuts to give it a homemade look.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sunflower oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups shredded carrots
1 cup pistachios
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon flaxseed
1/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts
Cream cheese frosting:
300g of cream cheese
1/2 cup of icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Directions
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 175 C.
Put the pistachios in a blender and grind until they're broken apart but not too fine. You want the cake to have some chunks of pistachio.
Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix. You can use a stand mixer or a handheld mixer.
Mix really well until everything is well incorporated.
Line the bottom of two 6-inch cake pans with a piece of circular parchment paper.
Pour in equal amounts of the cake mixture into both pans.
Bake for 45- 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
If you don’t have two cake pans, you can pour half of the batter into your pan, bake it using the same directions as above, then remove the cake and repeat with the remaining batter.
Allow cakes to cool on a wire rack while you make the cream cheese frosting.
To make the frosting:
Place the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Mix until soft and creamy, but not too watery. It should be slightly firm.
To assemble:
When the cakes have cooled, place one cake on a serving plate and top it with ¾ of the cream cheese frosting.
Spread the frosting evenly across the top.
Place the other slice of cake on top of the layer of frosting and cover it with the remaining frosting.
Spread the frosting evenly on top and with a spatula or knife, create soft peaks.
Sprinkle the top of the cake with the seeds and nuts.
Serve and enjoy!
– Recipe and photography by Shaikha Al Ali
