The most moist, delicious, citrus and orange forward carrot cake with orange curd and cream cheese frosting
I have eaten enough carrot cake throughout my life to comfortably say it’s never been anything I’ve ever been in love with. It’s cake, so I eat it, but the texture is so different from anything cake-like in my vocabulary that I struggle to quantify it. I can imagine the unsuspecting look on my young face the first time someone gave me a piece as a child, and I began to consume it. Bite, chew, full-stop! What is in my mouth right now, and why did someone say this was cake?!
I’ve since cruised into adulthood happily never looking back at carrot cake, until recently. An acquaintance of mine was raving about a restaurant in my neighborhood and the exquisite carrot cake they had on the menu. I can imagine the unusual look on my face once I heard the words “exquisite & carrot cake” used in the same sentence. I’ll admit, I tried it, and it wasn’t terrible. This set me on a journey to better understand this unusual confectionary enigma.
Why carrots, why cake, and who thought it was a wonderful idea to put these two items together?
To answer this question, we must go all the way back to Europe in the Middle Ages. Carrots along with other items like raisins & dates, were used in place of sugars. Sugars & sweeteners were outrageously expensive or simply unavailable in parts of the world. There have been numerous different styles and recipes throughout the years (centuries, actually) but apparently popularity of this confection really came into its own in the 1940’s during World War II. In the UK, rations were in short supply and carrots were being promoted by the government for consumption. So carrots, along with the need for critical calorie intake, resulted in this popular cake.
Seeing as how this has European origins, I thought it was necessary to start reviewing European recipes when it came to embarking on this endeavor. I’ve derived this recipe from a Mary Berry recipe for Spiced & Iced Carrot Cake. I decided to use crystalized ginger in place of raisins, mainly due to the fact that I personally don’t like raisins in baked goods—alternatively however, since sugar is readily available and reasonably inexpensive, extra sweeteners are simply unnecessary. Not to mention with all of the orange in this recipe, how can you go wrong with adding ginger.
This recipe has many parts, so planning is key:
- Orange Curd
- Icing
- Citrus drizzle syrup
- Cakes
The orange curd and icing can even be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator. The icing is easiest to work with at room temp, so give yourself enough time for it to thaw before you try to use it.
Gluten-Free Iced and Spiced Carrot Cake
Serving Size: 16
Prep time: 1 Hour
Total Time: 2+ Hours
Ingredients:
For the Orange Curd:
- 3 large navel oranges
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 75g superfine/caster sugar
- 75g butter
For the Drizzle syrup:
- Juice of 1 large navel orange
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 50g superfine/caster sugar
For the icing:
- 135g butter, at room temperature
- 200g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 115g confectioner/powder sugar
- 4 Tbsp of the chilled orange curd
For the cake:
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 175g neutral flavored oil
- 115g light muscovado sugar (light brown sugar)
- 115g dark muscovado sugar (dark brown sugar)
- 281g of my gluten-free flour blend
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 375g of coarsely grated carrots (6-7 medium carrots)
- 75g crushed pecans (praline pecans if you have them)
- 75g desiccated coconut
- 35g crystal ginger, diced
Directions: Orange Curd
Makes about 100g
Finely grate the zest from 3 navel oranges into a medium heatproof (stainless) mixing bowl. Cut 2 of the oranges in half and squeeze out the juice – you need about 100ml. Pour the juice into a small pan and boil rapidly until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Add this reduced juice to the mixing bowl containing the zest and leave to cool a bit until lukewarm.
In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork, just to mix. Add the eggs to the bowl with the zest and juice reduction. Add in the lemon juice, sugar and butter and set the bowl over a sauce pan of simmering water, like a double boiler. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens, but don’t let it get near boiling or this will turn into scrambled eggs.
Quickly pour the curd into another heatproof bowl. I like to strain the curd through a sieve so it’s nice and smooth, but this is up to you. Leave to cool, then cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly. The curd can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Directions: Drizzle Syrup
Makes about 100ml
For the drizzle syrup, put the orange and lemon juices in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and heat gently until it has dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil for I minute. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Directions: Icing
Makes about 2 cups
To make the icing, put the butter into a large bowl and beat thoroughly with an electric mixer or wooden spoon. Beat in the cream cheese until smooth and evenly combined. Sift in the icing sugar and mix in, on low speed if using an electric mixer. Stir in the chilled orange curd. Cover and chill the icing until it is firm enough to spread (10 min).
Directions: Cakes
Makes two 8-inch round cakes
Grease and line two 8-inch (20.5 cm) round cake pans. Heat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the eggs, olive oil and both sugars into a large mixing bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes until very frothy. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into the bowl and gently fold in with a large metal spoon. Add the carrots, pecan pieces, desiccated coconut, ginger and grated zest to the bowl and fold-in until thoroughly combined. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the cake pans. Place in the heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
While the cake layers are baking, make the drizzle syrup and keep warm.
When the cake layers are ready, remove from the oven and set the cake pans on a wire rack. Prick the cakes all over with a cocktail stick, then quickly spoon 3 tablespoons of the hot drizzle syrup over each cake. Leave to soak in and cool completely in the cake pans.
Once cooled and ready to assemble, turn out the cake layers on to a large board. Spread half of the icing over the top of each sponge, then set one on top of the other. Transfer the cake to a serving platter. Swirl the icing on the top of the cake using the handle of a teaspoon. Decorate as basic, or elaborate as you like. Store in an airtight container in a cool spot. Best eaten within 4 days.
