A moist, spiced British carrot cake packed with grated carrot and walnuts, topped with a rich cream cheese icing. A timeless teatime favourite.
A great carrot cake is moist, warmly spiced and topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting — and this one delivers in spades. Packed with carrots and walnuts, it's wonderfully tender, keeps beautifully, and is the kind of bake everyone asks for the recipe to.
Prep 25 min
Cook 75 min
Total 100 min
Easy
- 450ml Vegetable Oil
- 400g Plain Flour
- 2 tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 550ml Sugar
- 5 Eggs
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 500g grated Carrots
- 150g Walnuts
- 200g Cream Cheese
- 150g Caster Sugar
- 100g Butter
Tags:
Cake Treat SweetVideo
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3 and grease and line a 26cm/10in springform cake tin.
- Mix all the cake ingredients except the carrots and walnuts together in a bowl until well combined, then stir in the carrots and walnuts.
- Spoon into the tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar and butter together until fluffy, then spread over the top of the cooled cake with a palette knife.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Grate the carrots finely so they melt into the crumb and keep the cake moist.
- Don't overmix once the flour is in, or the cake can turn tough.
- Make sure the cake is completely cool before frosting, or the cream cheese will slide off.
- Toast the walnuts first for deeper, nuttier flavour if you have a moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually overmixing or too much flour; fold gently and measure carefully for a light, moist crumb.
Absolutely — leave out the walnuts, or swap in raisins or sultanas for sweetness and texture.
Because of the cream cheese frosting, keep it chilled and bring to room temperature before serving.
