When I was pregnant with our third daughter, I couldn’t eat anything with cream or any kind of cake.
In the first few months I’d just vomit and for the rest of my pregnancy, the cream and cakes would taste nice but then I’d be left with a nasty taste that would leave me naustious for hours, so I didn’t make or eat any desserts.
In the last few weeks of my pregnancy I had a craving for carrot cake, but decided not to bother making it as I knew I’d be left with the nasty lingering taste.
When our little Princess was born and all my taste buds were back to their normal tantalizing self’s I was back in the kitchen experimenting and the first dessert I made was carrot cake (“,)
I wanted my cake to be moist and light,
I wanted CREAM! I mean jam packed cream coz I was deprived it for 9 months, and from experience I also wanted some texture to compliment all the smoothness.
So I added what everyone usually adds,
Chopped walnuts!
Hey if it works, why change it (“,)
But I wasn’t satisfied with just, moist sponge, velvety cream and crunchy walnuts. I wanted something with a bit of bite to it but not as crunchy as the walnuts and not as soft as the cream and sponge so I decided to add a few raisins for pops of juiciness and soft texture.
This though wasn’t enough.
I wanted more,
I wanted flavour,
And I wanted texture.
I’m telling you I wanted to go all out on this cake because I waited so long to eat cake (“,) The only taste buds that were not going to be satisfied were salty and bitter, and then it clicked just like a light bulb switching on in the cartoons when the character has an idea,
Yes, my salted caramel is both salty and bitter,
Ooey and gooey.
Thick and silky,
And totally decadent drizzled all over the soft fluffy cake and velvety cream (“,)
This led to me making the cake a drip cake because come on who isn’t enticed by caramel spilling over a cake? (“,)
Now I was left with one final question…..
Do I cover the cakes sides?
Well in the space of about 5 seconds, I decided,
YES!
But I knew that the caramel drip over a cream coating wouldn’t have the same indulgent look so I decided on giving the cake a naked look.
The sides would still have cream here and there, because who likes dry cake? and the whole dessert would still look irresistible and what makes it even better is it is so easy to replicate, that even an amateur baker with no special tools could give it a go and have the same results.
If you watch my video below you can see just how easy it is to make this delicious cake with no special equipment. I don’t use a turntable or a palette knife, I use a plate and a spatula all whilst carry our new born daughter in the baby carrier.
It’s that simple, yet so stylish and professional looking, everyone will be impressed by how amazing it looks, but the real surprise will be when they take a bite and their taste buds start having party.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 410g light muscovado sugar
- 450ml vegetable oil
- 350g carrots grated
- 420g plain flour, sieved
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, sieved
- 1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda, sieved
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon, ground
- 100g raisins
- 100g walnuts, chopped
- 250g mascarpone
- 360g cream cheese
- 230g golden icing sugar
- 600ml double cream
- 1 bath of my salted caramel , at room temperature
- 3 baking pans
- pastry brush
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment and whisk or a hand whisk
- Spatula
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Plate
- Serving plate
- Piping bag
- Scissors
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180'C/350'F/gas mark 4
- Get all ingredients ready and grate carrots
- Oil baking pans
- Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute
- Add oil and beat for another minute
- Add carrots and on a low speed beat until they are evenly distributed
- Add your flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, raisins and walnuts and beat on a medium speed until everything is combined
- Divide your mixture evenly between 3 pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or when you test with a skewer inserted in the middle and it comes out clean
- Put your cooked cakes on a cooling rack to cool
- Level the tops of each cake so they are even and flat
- Cover each cake with clingfilm and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
- Whisk your mascarpone and cream cheese until they are combined well
- Add your icing sugar and stir it into your cream a little so it doesn't go everywhere when you start to whisk. Then whisk everything together until combined
- Add your double cream and whisk so it's between thick and runny, so it holds when dropped from a spoon for a few seconds before it drops. Check the video below to this the exact consistency
- Get your layers out of the fridge and place your first layer on a plate
- Add a good dollop of cream to your first layer and spread it out evenly, try to keep about 1cm away from the edge, because when you add your next layer it will squash it out (check the video below to see how much and how far to spread it out)
- Add your next cake layer and repeat with the same amount of cream spread on top
- Add your last layer
- Get a good dollop of cream and spread it around the whole cake
- Hold your spatula vertically and pushing into your cake whilst moving it around take as much of your cream off, stopping to scrape all the excess back into your bowl
- Fill in any gaps with more cream and use your spatula as before to smooth the cream into your cake and scraping off the excess. Repeat this until your cake is smooth and has no gaps and cake is still visible (Watch the video below to see how to get the naked cake effect in more detail)
- Put your salted caramel in a piping bag and snip off about a 5mm hole at the end
- Holding your piping bag at the top edge of your cake pipe a few CMS around then let the tip of your piping bag run off the edge a few CMs to form a drip. Continue around the edge a few mms and then let your caramel drip down again a few CMS and repeat this process to until you have piped all the way round and are back where you started
- Fill the top of your cake with the rest of your salted caramel
- Add the remainder of your cream into a piping bag and pipe swirls all the way around
- Cut into slices and enjoy
Notes
Pans: If you only have 2 pans, still divide your mixture into 3 even portions and cook the first 2 in your pans, when they have cooked wash your pan, oil it and cook your last portion of batter. No need to buy extra pans.
Drips: The more pressure you apply to your piping bag the thicker your salted caramel drip will be. If you want a thin drip, squeeze your piping bag lightly.
Storage: Store your cake in the fridge and when you want a slice, cut your piece and let it come to room temperature before you eat it.
Watch the video below to see how simple this cake really is to make plus it’s deliciousness (“,)
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