A perennial favourite, carrot cake is hard to improve upon - but we think our resident chef Carol may have done it with her recipe for this boozy carrot cake!
We can’t guarantee it will help you to see in the dark, but this easy bake sure tastes delicious. We didn’t know that a ginny white chocolate frosting could taste this good! Its velvety texture is something else…
Top tip: Use a gin flavoured with carrot as an aromatic, such as Elg Gin No.1, to really bring out the intensity of the flavours.
Gin-soaked Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
4 large eggs, free range
200ml vegetable oil
250g carrots, coarsely grated (no need to peel)
100g sultanas
100g pecans or walnuts (or a mix), roughly
chopped
Zest of one clementine – keep juice for frosting
200g self-rising flour
200g light muscovado sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp each mixed spice, ground ginger and
ground coriander
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Coloured fondant icing to make carrot decorations (optional)
For the syrup:
50g caster sugar
50ml water
1tbsp Elg Gin No. 1
For the frosting:
60g unsalted butter
200g full fat cream cheese
150g icing sugar
1tbsp clementine juice
1tbsp Elg Gin No. 1
100g white chocolate
Method
Set the oven to 180C/160 fan/ Gas 4. Grease and line a deep, 8-inch round tin.
Whisk eggs in a bowl then add oil, carrots, sultanas, nuts and clementine zest.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, spices, baking powder, muscovado sugar and salt.
Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir well, to make sure all is thoroughly combined and there are no pockets of flour.
Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 1 – 1 ¼ hours until risen and golden, and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
Meanwhile, make the syrup. Pop the sugar and water in a small pan, bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Allow to cool, then take 2 tbsp of the syrup and add the Elg Gin No. 1.
For the frosting, whisk the butter until light and fluffy, then whisk in the cream cheese, followed by the icing sugar, clementine juice and Elg Gin No. 1. Continue whisking until smooth and creamy.
Now, melt the white chocolate in a microwave, or in a bowl over hot water. Add the melted chocolate to the frosting and whisk until fully incorporated. Pop into the fridge while preparing the cake.
Slice the cake in two or four horizontally, and drizzle the gin syrup over the cut surfaces of the cake.
Layer the cake with a third of the frosting, then use the remainder of the frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with nuts, fondant icing carrots or grated clementine zest, and enjoy the best carrot cake in the world!
Want more easy and delicious cake recipes featuring gin?
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