Stella McCartney's carrot cake recipe

Stella McCartney
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Stella McCartney's carrot cake recipe

A simply classic cake.

At a glance
  • Cuisine British
  • Recipe Type Cake
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation time 20 mins
  • Cooking time 35 mins
  • Serves 8 people
Ingredients
  • 100 g (3.5oz) Walnuts
  • 375 g (13.2oz) Plain flour
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 0.5 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 3 Large organic eggs
  • 375 ml (13.2fl oz) Groundnut or sunflower oil
  • 450 g (15.9oz) Golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 500 g (17.6oz) Coarsely grated carrots
  • 40 g (1.4oz) Raisins
  • 100 g (3.5oz) Desiccated coconut
  • 2 tbsp Juice from an orange and its zest
  • 50 g (1.8oz) Unsalted softened butter
  • 3 tbsp Honey or maple syrup
  • 300 g (10.6oz) Cream cheese

Step-by-step

  1. Grease the insides of two 20cm cake tins and line the bases with a disc of buttered baking parchment.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
  3. Tip 100g walnuts into a small roasting tin and toast in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reserve a handful to decorate and roughly chop the remainder and leave to cool slightly.
  4. Sift together 375g plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
  5. In another bowl whisk together 3 large organic eggs, 375ml groundnut or sunflower oil, 450g golden caster sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth.
  6. Add the toasted walnuts, 500g coarsely grated carrots, 40g raisins, 100g desiccated coconut, 2 tablespoons of the juice from an orange and its zest and mix until thoroughly combined.
  7. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients until smooth and divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins.
  8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30–35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cakes.
  9. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 3–4 minutes and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack until completely cold.
  10. Beat together 50g unsalted softened butter and 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup until combined. Add 300g cream cheese and mix until smooth.
  11. Place 1 of the cake layers on a serving plate and spread with half of the cream cheese frosting.
  12. Top with the second cake and cover the top with the remaining cream cheese. Scatter with the reserved toasted walnuts to serve.

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