serves
10-12
prep
30 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Easy
serves
10-12
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
I am in no way trying to be misleading when I say this cake is wholesome – it does have spelt in it. Though perhaps my reference is intended to reflect the more spiritual variety of ‘wholesome’. The type that makes you smile and feel there can be no wrong in the world.
Ingredients
Cake
- 150 g white spelt flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 eggs
- 2 eggs, separated
- 180 ml sunflower oil or olive oil
- 225 g caster sugar
- 200 g grated carrot
- 80 g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 40 g chipped coconut
- 40 g desiccated coconut
- 1 pinch salt
Cream cheese frosting
- 250 g cream cheese, softened
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened
- 50 g pure icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
To decorate
- 2 tbsp whole walnuts, toasted
- 2 tbsp chipped coconut, toasted
- ½ orange, finely grated zest of
Cooling time: 1 hour
Instructions
- Cake. Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 22 cm round cake tin with baking paper.
- Sift the flour, spices, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a bowl and set it aside.
- Place the whole eggs and egg yolks in a bowl and lightly beat them with a fork. Reserve the egg whites for later.
- Place the oil and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until they are combined. This will only take a couple of minutes (you are not looking for the sugar to dissolve). Gradually trickle in the egg, using a spatula to ensure all the egg is scraped into the batter. Increase the speed a little and beat for another 5 minutes or until the mixture is pale and fluffy and the volume has doubled.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add the carrot, walnuts and both types of coconut all on top of one another and fold them through.
- In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites and salt using a hand whisk until you see soft ribbons appear. Gently fold one-third of the egg whites through the carrot batter, followed by one third of the flour mixture. Continue to alternate the egg whites and flour until they are both incorporated into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 150°C and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Add another 15 minutes if you are baking the larger size. Cool the cake completely in the tin before icing.
- Cream cheese frosting. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed, then increase speed to medium and continue for 10 minutes until the frosting is soft and fluffy. I can’t stress enough the importance of having both the cream cheese and the butter completely softened. If either of them are too cold they will form tiny lumps in the icing, which no amount of beating will remove.
- To decorate.Using a serrated knife, slice the cooled cake in half horizontally, and spread the bottom with half the cream cheese frosting. Replace the top half of the cake and spread the remaining frosting on top. Decorate with the walnuts, coconut and orange zest.
Nadine's tips
• To bake a 26 cm cake (which will serve 15-20), use the following quantities instead: for the cake: 175 g spelt flour, 2½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¾ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground allspice, ¾ tsp ground nutmeg, 1¼ tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 3 eggs, 3 eggs (separated), 200 ml oil, 260 g caster sugar, 320 g carrot, 90 g walnuts, 50 g chipped coconut, 50 g desiccated coconut, and 1 pinch of salt; for the cream cheese frosting, 300 g cream cheese, 120 g unsalted butter, 60 g icing sugar, 1½ tbsp each of honey and vanilla extract.
• This cake will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge. Just bring it out an hour before serving to allow it to reach room temperature.
Recipes from by Nadine Ingram (Simon & Schuster Australia, $55, photography by Alan Benson).
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
I am in no way trying to be misleading when I say this cake is wholesome – it does have spelt in it. Though perhaps my reference is intended to reflect the more spiritual variety of ‘wholesome’. The type that makes you smile and feel there can be no wrong in the world.
