I was given the Avoca Cafe Cookbook: Bk. 1 by my mum and sister Anne-Marie. This is the first carrot cake I’ve made and the first recipe I’ve tried from this book. I made carrot muffins once when the boys were quite young and they hated the idea so I’ve never got around to trying carrot cake until now. Avoca’s carrot cake recipe doesn’t have any dried fruit in which surprised me but I made it up exactly as the recipe. The cake is moist, colour is lovely pale colour with streaks of orange and taste is very pleasant but I think I’d still like some dried fruit. The icing is very soft although I did add an extra 50g icing sugar. I also cooked the cakes an extra few mins. I’ve put some carrot cake in the boys packed lunch, I’ll have to update this post with what they think. I’m planning to slice one loaf and freeze for Jon’s aunt and uncle, I hope it freezes ok. I must try a different carrot cake recipe soon and compare. (Updated to add, a quick browse of my recipes books suggests the carrot cake in Rachel Allen’s Bake cookbook would be a good one to try)
Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)
- 400g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 400g self raising flour
- 400ml sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 400g grated carrots
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
For the topping
- 175g full fat cream cheese
- 50g unsalted butter
- juice and grated zest 1/2 lemon
- 350g icing sugar
- Line 2 900g/2lb loat tins
- Whisk together sugar, eggs and oil until thick then mix in flour and mixed spice.
- Stir in the carrots and vanilla essence.
- Pour mixture into loaf tins and make in oven preheated to 170 degrees C for 1 hr (or until a skewer comes out clean).
- Leave to cool in tins for 10mins then turn onto a cooling rack.
- To make the topping beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice and zest together, then beat in the icing sugar. Spread on top of cooled cakes.
100 Cook Books 
the amount of sunflower oil is missing from recipe cant take chance
Sorry, so it is. Thanks I have now corrected the recipe
would this quantity suit a 6 inch round tin
A 2lb loaf tin is about 1500ml volume. That volume of cake mixture in a 6 in round tin would go about 3in up the side rather than the 4in of a loaf tin so it would make a flatter cake but it shouldn’t be too flat. You’d need to keep checking for cooking time. I suspect because it’s further to the middle it would take about 10min longer to cook but without trying I don’t know for sure. Please let me know how you get on if you try.
Have you tried Nigel Slater’s recipe in volume 1 of his kitchen diaries? It is really very good and also worth a go.
Thanks Danny, I’ll try that one, I didn’t get to trying any more carrot cake recipes I must have another go. Thought you did brilliantly on GBBO this week. I suspect there was a collective gasp around the country for you when your puddings fell, so pleased to see Mary and Paul were decent about it. It must be odd to be all finished and know who won when it’s showing on tv.
It would be hard to better this one, but a few chopped walnuts added to the mix and sprinkled on top make it better for me!