Carrot Cake and Assorted Frostings

Alright - enough already! All that talk of business planning, health regulations and customer service and it's easy to overlook what attracted us to the cake decorating business in the first place - cake! So, just for a while, let's forget about rules and regulations, and focus on the good stuff. Today I am going to share my favourite carrot cake recipe, some simple frosting recipes, and some videos on how to make buttercream icing, and how to make and use icing bags to decorate cakes.

CARROT CAKE RECIPE
This is now the only recipe I use for carrot cake. The friend who gave it to me got it from his next door neighbour, who described it as a 'foolproof' carrot cake. She claimed to have occasionally forgotten various ingredients and said that the cake turned out fine regardless. I have used an egg substitute when making it for my allergic son's birthday cake, and it has been fine. It is always a popular cake when I make it for guests or functions, it freezes well, and is pretty simple to make. You can make one large cake, or make a medium size one for home and a loaf tin size as a gift for someone.
The recipe works equally well when made into muffins or cupcakes - just be careful to adjust your baking time. Some people like to put pineapple pieces or sultanas in a carrot cake - I don't like these additions so I prefer the cake as is. Be aware that if you are making the cake for a function which includes a formal cake cutting, the addition of pineapple pieces will make it difficult to cut the cake neatly. Anyway - whatever you want to use this delicious cake for - here it is.

Ingredients
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups raw sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup olive oil
3 cups grated carrot
4 eggs, beaten

Sift and mix dry ingredients
Add oil and mix well
Mix in beaten eggs, then mix in grated carrot
Place in greased or baking paper lined 25cm cake tin (or muffin, or cupcakes if desired) and bake at 180 degrees celsius/ 350 fahrenheit for 1 hour (less for smaller sizes). Cake is ready when thin knife inserted comes out clean.
Cool on rack, then ice with your choice of frosting.

1. Cream cheese frosting

100g/3 1/2 ounces vegetarian cream cheese
50g/ 1 3/4 ounces melted butter
2 cups sifted icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat all together, spread over cake, and sprinkle with chopped nuts

2. Lemon icing

1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind
hot water to mix

Mix all together with enough hot water (added slowly) to achieve desired consistency
NB: Quantity of lemon juice can be increased according to taste - I love the stuff, so I use a whole lemon which often means I don't need any hot water

3. Maple syrup icing

Mix vegetarian cream cheese, maple syrup and lemon juice to desired taste and consistency. Add icing sugar if texture is too soft.

Buttercream Icing Video

Buttercream is one of the most popular icings. It is easy to make and use, and it is rather tasty. Have a look at this video for recipe and instructions on how to use it.


Piping Bags

Now that you know several different types of icing, have a look at this video on making and using icing bags to decorate a cake, especially lettering and more intricate decorations. It is a good idea to practise by making an inexpensive icing and piping it onto baking paper or an easy clean cutting board. You can re-use the practise icing, and work out your designs before applying them to a cake.


Happy frosting! Check out my next post for some more cake decorating tips, before we get back to the nitty gritty of starting and running your cake decorating business.