Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

• 60 g (2 oz / ¼ cup) unsalted butter softened
• 60 g (2 oz / ¼ cup) cream cheese softened
• 1 ½ cups (195 g) icing sugar / powdered sugar sifted
• 2 tablespoon (40 mL) lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
• ¾ cup (188 mL) canola oil
• ½ cup (120 g) caster sugar / superfine sugar
• ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (260 g / approx. 4-5 large) grated carrots
• 1 ½ cups (225 g) plain flour / all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon (16 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Grease and line a 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin with baking paper.
2. 2 In a large mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugars, vanilla essence, eggs and grated carrot.
3. 3 Sift over the plain flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir together until just combined.
4. 4 Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. 5 In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat together the butter and cream cheese on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
6. 6 Add the sifted icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla essence. Beat for another 3-4 minutes on high speed until fluffy, thick and pale. If your frosting is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
7. 7 Spread evenly over the top of the cooled cake. The frosting will continue to firm up over the next couple of hours.

NUTRITION

Calories: 570kcal | Carbohydrates: 68.6g | Protein: 4.7g | Fat: 31.4g | Fiber: 1.8g | Sugar: 48.9g