Spelt Carrot Cake with a Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Servings: 8 slices
Ingredients
Cake:
- 125ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
- 160g (¾ cup) sugar
- 100g (3½ oz) grated carrots
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 120g (1 cup) spelt flour (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Frosting:
- 55g (2 oz) cream cheese
- 55g (2 oz) butter
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 100-200g (1-1½ cups) icing/confectioners'/powdered sugar
Pink Drizzle:
- Around 50g (¾ cup) icing sugar
- a couple of drops of food colouring (see note 2)
- water (added a little at a time)
Instructions
Cake:
- Pre-heat oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease/line a small springform tin (mine is 7" / 18cm).
- Beat the oil and sugar together until light and airy.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the grated carrots until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the lower part of the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing the sides of the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla together until fluffy.
- Add just enough icing sugar to achieve a thick, spreadable consistency.
- Spread the frosting over the cake. I went for a "semi-naked" look (if you can call it that with just one layer).
- If adding a drizzle, chill the cake in the fridge for about 15 minutes before doing so.
Drizzle:
- Mix the icing sugar and food colouring (see note 2).
- Gradually add water, a little at a time, until a drizzle consistency is reached.
- Drizzle over the cake and decorate however you like. Enjoy!
Notes
I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements.
- You can use spelt or regular flour for this recipe (just use the same amount). Read my post for more information about using spelt flour in cakes.
- For this recipe, I did use food colouring, but prefer to use berry juice with some icing sugar to make a drizzle. You could use either.
