egan Carrot Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting
Apt 2 Baking and The Little Epicurian
Makes 2 x 9″ cakes

Ingredients
For the cake:
• 2 ¼ cups flour, sifted
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp all spice
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup pecans, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, macadamia nuts…
• ¼ cup toasted coconut
• ⅛ cup dried goji berries
• ⅛ cup cocoa beans, crushed/broken
• 1 cup orange juice
• ½ cup mixed dried fruit
• ½ cup groundnut oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups grated carrot (about 2 large carrots)

For the frosting:
• 450g tub of soft cheese/cream cheese
• ½ cup (115g) butter
• 1 ¼ cups icing sugar, sifted
• pinch of salt

Preparation
For the cake:
Add the mixed dried fruit in a medium-sized bowl with the orange juice, and leave to soak for 45 minutes (overnight would be better).

Preheat oven to 175°C.

In a large bowl, sift in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice, baking soda, and baking powder. Add in the nuts, toasted coconut, dried goji berries, and cocoa beans.

In the bowl with the fried fruit, grate in the carrot, add the sugar and groundnut oil.

Pour in the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, and pour into 2 x 9″ silicon cake moulds, and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the moulds on the kitchen worktop.

For the frosting:
Melt the butter in a large Pyrex bowl in the residual heat of the oven (or you can turn the oven back on, or do it over the hob). Then add in the soft cheese and mix well until homogenised. Leave to cool to room temperature before sifting in the icing sugar and salt, and mixing well.

Assembly:
When the cakes have cooled, remove one from the mould/tin, and put it on a plate (be careful, the cakes are delicate!). Spread a layer of the frosting on top, and then carefully place the other cake on top. Cover the assembled cake in cream cheese frosting, putting it all on top, and using a knife to spread it around the outside. Decorate as desired, with nuts, carrots, cocoa beans, etc. Keep in the fridge. When the cake is cool, it will be easier to move to another, cleaner plate.

Found this recipe here: http://cafe.tiggalina.net/?p=2060