[glotjoe]

Does anyone have an EXCELLENT carrot cake recipe that I can use to make a 6" cake with as well as cupcakes?

If anyone also has an excellent chocolate cupcake recipe, please let me know...

[kiwisizzler]

Here's my carrot cake recipe. Apologies for metric measurements - it's what I know!
I haven't tried baking it as cupcakes but can't think of any reason while it won't work. Obviously, you'd need to reduce the cooking time.

Check out my blog (at the end of this post) for an absolutely fantastic chocolate cake recipe. Again, I haven't tried it out as a cupcake but worth a try. Post a comment if you try it and it works - I would love some feedback.

Carrot cake

600g plain flour
4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp Baking powder
4 tsp cinnamon powder
600g caster sugar
900g grated Carrots
400g shelled walnuts, finely chopped
600ml vegetable oil
8 Eggs, beaten
3 bananas, mashed
4 tsp vanilla essence

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 1/1 gastro tray.
2) Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cinnamon powder into a mixing bowl. Stir in the caster sugar, carrots and walnuts.
3) Pour in the corn oil, and add the eggs, banana and vanilla essence. Stir to mix, and then beat for one minute until everything is combined.
4) Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of an oven for about 40 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Leave to cool completely.

[Bazza]

Mine too is in metric so here goes;



Ingredients

• 300g plain flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 250ml vegetable oil
• 1 orange , zested
• 1 lemon , zested
• 300g carrots , finely grated

For the cream cheese frosting

• 125g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 50g icing sugar
• 250g cream cheese

1. Heat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Line a 20cm, 10cm deep cake tin. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together and stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs with the oil and citrus zests. Stir in the carrots and fold everything into the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool.
2. For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until soft and then beat in the cream cheese. Chill the mixture until it's thick but spreadable. Spread a thick layer on top of the cake, making sure the side of the icing is flat and continues upwards from the side of the cake.