I found the queen of all carrot cakes! She’s highly evolved, zesty yet sensual, spicy yet sweet, full of character yet delicate, and packs quite a punch. From the time you make the batter, you’re swayed by her fruity zesty countenance. And while she’s baking, her heavenly aroma binds you in a trance till all you can dream of is biting into this royal carrot cake.
Ritu Dalmia captures this recipe, Carrot Cake with a Difference in her book Italian Khana: Desserts. Filled with only a handful of dessert recipes, this delightfully small book captures Italy’s decadent desserts from Italian homes. You can see it’s a work of love, including only special Italian desserts. I have to admit, I haven’t followed Ritu’s recipe faithfully. It’s only because I couldn’t get my hands on hazelnut and chocolate chips in time. I had everything else, you see. And I really wanted to make this. So I used walnuts and cooking chocolate bits as substitutes.
Oil does not adversely affect the taste of your cakes and locks in a lot of moisture. Not at all what you’d expect of oil, right? Read this article on how different fats affect cakes if you’ve always used butter and are skeptical about using oil. And while we’re on the subject of oil, you might want to consider making these oil based cakes: the epic vegan chocolate cake, and the apple ring cake (apple ciambella) — you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Wanting a break from the regular carrot cakes, I thought I’d try this recipe. And my mind was blown! This was an exceptional cake, and I had to share it with you.
What sets it apart? Why do I think it’s the queen of all carrot cakes? Well, where can I begin, I ask in turn. Each ingredient adds a different level of flavour: the raisins and walnut, the orange zest, cinnamon and nutmeg, and the chocolate. Oh, the chocolate! It takes the cake to a whole other level. That’s why I think this is a highly evolved cake.
Try this, and you’ll look at every other carrot cake in disdain!
Presenting, the queen of all carrot cakes! She’s highly evolved, zesty yet sensual, spicy yet sweet, full of character yet delicate. Her fruity zesty countenance and her heavenly aroma bind you in a trance. Try the best carrot cake recipe ever — you’ll look at every other carrot cake in disdain!
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150 g brown sugar
- 300 g grated raw carrot
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tspn baking soda
- 2 tspn baking powder
- 100 ml olive oil or any vegetable oil
- 1/2 tspn nutmeg powder
- 1 and 1/2 tspn cinnamon powder
- 1 tbspn orange zest
- 50 g raisins (optional)
- 50 g walnuts and hazelnuts (I used only walnuts)
- 2 tbspn cooking chocolate (cut into small bits, that resemble chocolate chips) or chocolate chips
- 1 pinch salt
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Heat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF).
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Beat the eggs in a large bowl for about 3 minutes.
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Add both sugars slowly until well blended, and then add oil and beat it for another couple of minutes.
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Sieve together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg powder and cinnamon powder and add them to the wet mixture a little at a time, while you mix it all in.
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When they’re well blended, add the salt, grated carrot, chocolate bits, raisins, orange zest and walnuts and mix it all in until just combined.
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Pour the mixture into a well-greased baking pan (9″x9″ or 9″x11″) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
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Serving: Serve it after the cake cools.
It tastes better the next day! And yes, it can be eaten for breakfast.