Learn how to make Carrot and pecan cake
Ingredients:
- 300 g carrots, peeled and finely grated
- 100 g pecan nuts, chopped
- 2 oranges, 1 zested, both juiced
- 475 g butter
- 150 g caster sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 eggs
- 75 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 250 g hazelnuts, chopped
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 400 g icing sugar
- 400 g cream cheese
- 25 g pistachio nuts, chopped
- 18 marzipan carrots
How it's made:
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3. Mix 75 g of butter, the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir the eggs one by one and add 2 1/2 tbsp of orange juice and the orange peel. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nuts and fold it into the cake mixture. Stir in the carrots.
Pour the cake mixture into a greased, 26 cm diameter springform cake tin, smooth it over and bake for 35-40 mins. Check that's done by sticking a wooden skewer in to the middle of the cake; if it comes out dry, it's done. Remove the cake from the oven, put it on a cooling rack, and loosen it from the edge of the cake tin. Immediately sprinkle it with 100 ml of orange juice and leave it to cool.
When the cake is cool cut it in half horizontally. Beat 400 g of butter with a whisk for 3-4 mins until creamy. Stir in the icing sugar and cream cheese and whisk the mixture well. Put the lower half of the cake on a cake plate and spread it with 1/4 of the cream. Put the upper half on top and spread the remaining cream on the top and sides of the cake. Chill it for 1 hour, and serve sprinkled with chopped pistachios, and decorated with marzipan carrots.
