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A slice of carrot cake on a plate with a bite taken out to show how moist the cake it.

Moist Carrot Cake

Robyn
This moist carrot cake with an orange drizzle, studded with crunchy walnuts, sultanas and warming spices, topped with a simple but luxurious mascarpone icing sweetened with maple syrup, is sure to be your new favourite carrot cake recipe!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course afternoon tea, cake, Dessert
Cuisine American, British
Servings 12 people
Calories 443 kcal

Equipment

  • 21cm / 8 inch deep round cake tin

Ingredients
  

  • 50 g walnuts
  • 2 large eggs
  • 175 g soft brown sugar
  • 150 ml olive oil or neutral oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 150 g plain flour
  • 50 g ground almonds (almond meal)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarb
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch salt
  • 220 g carrots peeled and coarsely grated
  • 1 orange zested
  • 100 g sultanas
  • 30 g desiccated coconut

Orange drizzle

  • 1 orange juiced
  • 50 g white sugar (granulated sugar)

Mascarpone Icing

  • 250 g mascarpone
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • walnuts to decorate, optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 150℃ fan / 170℃ / 340℉.
  • Whilst the oven is heating, tip the walnuts into a small baking tray and roast for 5 minutes. Set aside.
  • Grease and line a deep 21cm / 8 inch round cake tin with baking paper. Set aside.
  • Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk the eggs with the sugar, oil and vanilla until the sugar is dissolved.
  • In a separate bowl mix the flour with the ground almonds / almond meal / almond flour, baking powder, bicarb, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and a pinch of salt.
  • Roughly chop the walnuts.
  • Fold the dry ingredients into the whisked eggs and sugar.
  • Once the dry ingredients are almost incorporated, fold in the grated carrots, chopped walnuts, orange zest, sultanas and coconut.
  • Spoon into the lined tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in to the middle comes out clean.
  • Leave to cool slightly in the tin.
  • Whilst the cake is cooling, make the orange drizzle.

To make the orange drizzle

  • Combine the orange juice and white sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Using a toothpick or skewer, prick holes all over the cake. Spoon the orange drizzle all over the top of the cake.
  • Leave the cake in the tin to cool.
  • Once the cake is completely cold, ice with the mascarpone icing.

To make the mascarpone icing

  • Beat the mascarpone with the vanilla and maple syrup until smooth.
  • Spoon the icing over the top of the cake (it will seem runny). Sprinkle over extra walnuts, if using.
  • Leave to set for 30-45 minutes before serving, or place in the fridge for 15-10 minutes, until the icing has set.

Notes

INGREDIENTS NOTES
  • Carrots - the star of the show! Grate them using a cheese grater, you want to grate them coarsely, not fine. Do not use bought grated / shredded carrots, they are too dry.
  • Ground almonds (UK) - known as almond meal in Australia and NZ, or almond flour in the US, this helps create a delicious texture and is another trick to keeping the cake moist.
  • Walnuts - crunchy walnuts add texture which I love. Substitute with pecans, or leave out if you aren't a fan of nuts in your cake.
  • Sultanas - if you don't want dried fruit in your carrot cake, just leave them out!
  • Orange - orange zest is used to flavour the cake, and the fresh orange juice is used to make the orange drizzle.
  • Coconut - desiccated coconut helps create that delicious moist but not dense, texture.
  • Oil - helps create a beautiful moist carrot cake. I love to use a mild olive oil to make the cake, or substitute with vegetable oil or another neutral oil.
STORAGE
Once iced, this cake is best enjoyed on the day of baking, however leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cake itself can be baked and drizzled with the orange drizzle one day ahead.
You can freeze the cake, with or without the drizzle, wrapped well, for up to 2 months. Do not freeze once iced.

Nutrition

Calories: 443kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 6gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 205mgPotassium: 243mgFiber: 3gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 3450IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 125mgIron: 2mg
Keyword carrot cake, moist carrot cake

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