Friday 22 August 2014

Carrot and Dates Cake

A moist and rich carrot cake with dates, walnuts flavoured with orange zest , cinnamon and nutmeg. My kitchen was filled with aroma of cinnamon and fresh citrus. I served this cake with the evening tea. The cake itself is too sweet and doesn't require frosting. However, if you wish you can serve it with cream cheese frosting.

 
 

 
 


Preparation Time : 25 Minutes
Baking Time : 45 Minutes

Yield : One 8 Inch cake

Ingredients

1 Cup All Purpose Flour / Maida + 1 tablespoon for coating dates and nuts
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg Powder
1/4 Teaspoon dry Ginger powder
a big pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon Orange Zest / Lemon Zest
1 Cup powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoon Honey
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Finely grated Carrots
1/2 Cup finely chopped dates ( chop it very finely, otherwise they tend to settle down at the bottom while baking)
1/2 Cup chopped  mixed Nuts ( I used walnuts and cashew nuts)

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 170 C. Grease and dust a 8 inch cake pan and set aside
2. In a bowl, add all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, ginger powder, salt and whisk until combined. Set aside
3. In a small bowl , add dates and nuts and toss them with 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour. This will prevent the nuts and dates from settling down at the bottom of the cake while baking
4. In a large mixing bowl, add powdered sugar and oil and beat it on low speed for a minute using a hand mixture
5. Once the sugar is well combined with the oil, add honey and beat for 30 seconds
6. Then add one egg at a time and beat them in until the wet ingredients are soft and creamy
7. Add vanilla extract and orange zest to the wet ingredients and stir
8. Now add the dry ingredients we have in the bowl ( prepared at step number 2) in to the wet ingredients in 3 additions beating the mixture on medium speed after each addition
9. Add the dates and nuts we prepared at step number 3 in the cake batter and gently fold them in using a spatula
10. Finally fold in finely grated carrots in to the cake batter
11. Pour the cake batter in the greased cake pan and bake at 170 C for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. After 40 minutes of baking, check if the cake is done. Baking time differs in oven
12. Once out of the oven, let the cake remain in the pan for 5 minutes
13. Then invert the cake on a cooling wire rack and cool completely
14. Serve it simple and plain or serve it with classic cream cheese frosting

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