I found this recipe about a year and a half ago and I make it quite often since some of my colleagues at work are always asking for more! The cake is extremely moist and the frosting is light and fresh! I like to make mini muffins because it just feels like I am not eating as much as if I were eating a big one. Honestly who I am kidding, I always eat a ton of the small ones anyways! 🙂
Recipe Source:Â http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pastry-cake/a-rather-pleasing-carrot-cake-with-limeCourse: Dessert Yield: 15 servings Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 60 mins
Ingredients
- 2 Cup of brown sugar
- 1 1/4 Cup of butter, room temperature
- 5 eggs
- 1 orange (zest and juice)
- 1 Teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon of cinnamon
- a pinch of cloves
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 Teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 Cup of ground almond (I used walnuts)
- 4 ounces of chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1 1/2 Cup of self rising flour
- 10 Ounce of grated carrots
- 4 Ounce of mascarpone cheese
- 8 Ounce of cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 Cup of icing sugar
- 2 limes (juice and zest)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x9x2 inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add orange zest and juice; pulse to combine. Add baking powder; pulse to combine. Add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger; pulse until mixture is well combined.
- In a large bowl whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Gently fold in almonds, walnuts, flour, and carrots; fold cake mixture into egg white mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cake cool in the pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- If you want to do mini muffins like I did, bake them for 15 minutes and test them. If the wooden sticks does not come out clean, bake for another 5 minutes and test again or until the stick coms out clean.
- In a medium bowl, mix together mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and lime zest and juice. Spread mixture over top of cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.