Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese

Apart from being part of dishes in any corner of our planet, now we can use carrots as an ingredient in a cake. More and more it is present in sweets and cakes, and it has an amazing acceptance.

In addition to giving the cake a soft and fluffy texture, the carrot will provide us with healthy benefits. In addition, it is the perfect excuse for children to eat vegetables.

In this recipe we are going to show you how to make a carrot sponge cake covered with orange cream cheese. A dessert delight that you can serve at events, snacks and informal gatherings.

Do not forget to accompany it with a granita in summer, or a hot coffee in winter.

Carrot cake with cream cheese 

Ingredients

For the cake

• 160 g of sifted pastry flour.
• 250 g of brown sugar.
• 3 XL size eggs.
• 120 ml of sunflower oil.
• 40 g of peeled walnuts.
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (5 g).
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder (10 g).
• 210 g of carrots.

For the filling and topping

• 250 g of icing sugar.
• 220 g of cream cheese type Philadelphia.
• 170 g of unsalted butter.
• Peel of an orange.
• A pinch of salt.

Necessary utensils

• A removable mold.
• Mixer ( if possible, electric with rods ).
• Grater.
• Spatulas

Preparation

We prepare the cake

1. Add the brown sugar and sunflower oil to the glass of the electric mixer with rods . We beat it for at least 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, you can chop the carrot and then the walnuts. Set them aside.
3. Lower the power and add the eggs to the blender glass , one at a time, without stopping beating.
4. Until an egg is fully integrated with the brown sugar and oil, we will not add the next egg. Beat until everything is well mixed.
5. Add the yeast to the flour, mix and sift well. Add them to the mixture of brown sugar, oil and eggs little by little, by tablespoons.
6. As before, when a tablespoon is integrated into the mixture, we will add another. So until all the flour and yeast are added. Beat everything well.
7. Then add the ground cinnamon and continue beating.
8. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
9. Add to the mixture the walnut that we had chopped before. Beat the whole mixture again.
10. Finally, we will add the chopped carrot. We beat everything well until creating a homogeneous mixture. It will be a bit soupy, but do not panic.
11. Prepare the mold. Place parchment paper on the base and grease the walls with butter.
12. Pour the mixture into the mold.
13. We will bake our carrot cake in two stages: first, at 180 ºC, about 30 minutes and then, without opening the oven door, we will lower the temperature to 160 ºC and bake for 25 or 30 more minutes. When an hour passes, prick with a toothpick and check that it comes out dry. If so, remove from the oven.
14. Let cool completely.

We prepare the cream cheese of the filling and cover

1. Clean the bowl of the blender and add the butter softened at room temperature. Beat with the rods for two minutes.
2. Then add the Philadelphia type cream cheese and continue beating.
3. Little by little, add the icing sugar without stopping to beat. Then beat everything for another 4 minutes, at maximum power.
4. Then add a pinch of salt to enhance the flavors. Also add the zest of an orange  and continue beating for 2 more minutes.

Mounting

• Cut the cake in half.
• Take a part of the cake and put half of the cream cheese on top, then cover with the other half of the cake.
• Spread the rest of the cream cheese on top, as well as the ends and sides. It must be completely covered in cream cheese.

Decor

• If you have cream cheese left over, fill a pastry bag and decorate the carrot cake.
• Optionally, with fondant and green and orange food coloring, you can make some small carrots.